Michael Zimney - Piano as More Than Just an Instrument

            For my recipe, I chose a different photo than my POW because it was the other of my photos that received many compliments and comments.  I used an IPhone 5 with the app “Camera360 (version 4.8).”  The phone was initially set to the strait black and white setting.

            Techniques – I did not set up the lighting as much as I stumbled upon the setting.  I was looking for subject matter that would allow me to explore unique angles of otherwise ordinary objects.  My goal was to create a feeling of mystery with an object that normally holds very little mystery.  I shot from many different angles and distances until I was able to cut out all of the extraneous aspects of the background.  I found I was only able to achieve what I was looking for when I held the phone directly against the piano and shot many times while changing the angle and direction slightly, until I found just the right combination.

            Strategies – As I mentioned in the techniques section, I was looking to employ unique angles of ordinary objects to pull something different out of them.  My hope was that this would create a bit of mystery, in that it would allow the viewer to see an otherwise ordinary object in a whole new and unique way.  I was searching for objects that, of their own accord, create feelings and images for people, and for which many people already have preconceived notions.  I t was my belief that a piano is something that most everyone is familiar with and which brings with it many sense memories for people.  My hope was that by employing unique angles and lighting I would cause people to take pause because the image of the piano keys was different than what they were used to.

            Recipes - Once I got a photo that I liked I first used the cropping tool to further cut off the edges of the photo and bring the piano keys as close as possible.  I then adjusted the Sharpness of the photo to try to create more “crispness”.  Additionally, I used both the highlight and shadow tools to enhance some of the shadows that occurred off of the reflection of the keys against the back of the body of the piano.  Lastly, I used a texture tool to enhance the aspect of light shining into the upper left corner of the photo.