In Performance

Music is a very big part of my life. When I was growing up I listened to Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and the other big bands that were popular during the 1940's and 1950's. I had no say in the matter really, my parents liked them and that's what we listened to. I can remember many Saturday evenings when we watched Lawrence Welk on television. At the age of 10 I started taking piano lessons. It took me a few years to develop an appreciation for the instrument, but when I did the piano became a part of my life. I was never much of an athlete, actually I was NOT an athlete, so music became a very big part of my life. When I was a teenager, my piano teacher had me play transcriptions of classical music. Here I learned about Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and the other great masters. When I was in the 9th grade I heard Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for the first time. I was mesmerized by the work and I listened to it many times. 

Fast forward too many years and we come to the present, and I am photographing musical performances. My works are taken during live, there is no staging or posing. Only then can I capture what is happening between the performer and his/her instrument. Today's work were is an artistic rendering of a soloist that I photographed last summer. Her facial expression is almost trance like. There is nothing but her and her instrument. How ironic that I feel that when I am using my camera, there is nothing else between me, my instrument, and the visions I see in my head. 

I hope you enjoy today's work.

Cheers, Paul