Music & The Zone

One of my biggest influences in photography is music. Being a musician makes it difficult for me not to visualize something without a soundtrack to it in my mind. Every good image has rhythm, a hook, etc. Sometimes I like to look at an image and figure out what song compliments it best, and conversely, sometimes I hear a song and it reminds me of an image (or smell, or climate, or emotion). When I start to connect the different artistic influences in my life and they begin to harmonize, at that moment I feel most alive. It’s in this zone that I’m on autopilot and start to let my subconscious break through my masks and reveal the real stuff inside. It’s a very honest yet sometimes frightening state of mind.

Take a listen to the song below and look at the image below it. See if you can make the connections that I did. I’ll describe my feelings towards this relationship below.

Here is a shot I made of the Ben Sawyer Bridge:

I made this photo one evening all alone on this bridge connecting Sullivan’s Island to Mount Pleasant in South Carolina. Here’s a map so you can see how the stretch of road and this bridge is laid out:

Hopefully you can see how it might be a little frightening to stand alone on a bridge over the Inter-coastal Waterway surrounded by marshland in the dark while cars fly by. It’s quite a rush to try and hold your tripod steady under the vibrations from vehicles and wind while shooting long exposures. All it takes is one inattentive driver and your day is completely ruined.

When I stood up there creating this image, I had a steady thumping beat in my mind (could have been my heart influencing that). There was a sense of urgency, yet at the same time it was quite peaceful. I was determined to get the shot I had envisioned in my mind, and the energy of the whole scenario started to pick up as it got darker out. The longer I stood on that bridge, the more alive I started to feel. Then the light was perfect, and just the right amount of motion from passing cars was captured. It all worked. I knew I had my shot, yet I stayed just a little longer. Not necessarily to get a better shot, but to keep that feeling going. Sometimes when this happens, I get an even better shot than the one that I had planned. But that wasn’t my goal – I just wanted to let the emotion of it all disperse slowly so I could truly enjoy the whole experience. I really think Black Dub’s interpretation of “Ring The Alarm” captures that feeling musically. The drums and bass are perfectly executed, and the mix of the guitar and organ create such an incredibly passionate mood that you can’t help but get excited by the time they start in with the vocals. The song doesn’t follow any real pop formula – it just moves me in a fantastic way that makes me want to stand in the middle of traffic and watch the colors draw lines against a black backdrop through the lens of my camera.

What song would capture this mood for you?