When music sounds, gone is the earth I know

Music

When music sounds, gone is the earth I know,

And all her lovely things even lovelier grow;

Her flowers in vision flame, her forest trees

Lift burdened branches, stilled with ecstasies.

When music sounds, out of the water rise

Naiads whose beauty dims my waking eyes,

Rapt in strange dreams burns each enchanted face,

With solemn echoing stirs their dwelling-place.

When music sounds, all that I was I am

Ere to this haunt of brooding dust I came;

And from Time's woods break into distant song

The swift-winged hours, as I hasten along.

Walter de la Mare

Korbie came all the way from Nashville to have her photos taken by Erin and I. We pretended like this didn't flatter us, but we would be liars if we said it didn't. We knew the pressure was on. When someone drives 486 miles just for you, it makes you nervous. Erin and I talked all week about how we could do something worth driving that distance for. We knew the expectations were high. We started with her music as our first inspiration. The way the notes ebbed and flowed from her finger tips out of the piano in "not tonight" was what we kept coming back to. We wanted to make images that fit the smooth and soft sound of the Piano but also the strong and soulful tones of Korbie's voice.
We went thrifting (my idea) for ideas when by a complete stroke of luck we found a lonely organ for sale. We knew instantly this was what we had been searching for.
Getting the organ from the thrift store to the creek was a feat all of its own that required many helping hands. I made my dad pick it up from the store and then we had to switch cars once he got the organ and we got back from shooting down town. We knew Korbie wanted some down town Chicago photos and the grand finale was going to be the organ in the creek. I assured them it would be worth the hour drive and hassle of carrying a car load of crap.
we ran a bit behind schedule downtown and we were losing light fast. I literally drove on the shoulder of the highway at 60+ mph with Erin holding her heart and praying next to me. And Korbie and her brave manager following behind us looking worried. I called Phill half way to our destination to see if he would help unload the organ to make it go faster. we were legitimately dealing with maybe 20 minutes worth of shooting time with good light and Korbie and Jonathon were leaving the next day to return to Nashville. It had to work. We had no other options.

We pulled up to the creek unloaded quickly and started shooting immediately.

When Korbie stepped into the water, the rush of the water fountain behind her was loud enough that we had to yell to her to give her directions. Erin bravely put both feet into the creek and walked in despite her fears of falling with her camera and for those of you have seen Erin working know this was a valid concern. (She falls a lot) I was proud of her.

Korbie turned around, barefoot, and playing the organ silently, Erin and I were breathless. We knew that all we had to do was capture this moment exactly as it was, because it was extraordinary without any of our help. we both paused for a second to take the moment in. the sun was setting. the light was blue, the water was cool, the excitement was overwhelming. It seemed as though we couldn't shoot as fast as our minds were racing. We finished the shoot in record time, as the sun left the sky and the air turned blue and haunting.

As Erin and I drove home at 45 MPH when compared to the rest of the day it seemed like a crawling pace.  we couldnt stop talking abou the shoot. We were so excited about the magic we had witnessed unfold before our eyes. We could only describe it by saying we felt like there was music playing when there was none. And Erin said it was worth me almost killing her on the shoulder of the road for it.