George Gershwin's Piano

[Mike Buckley]

Considering that this piano was owned by George Gershwin during some of his most productive years, these are surely the most famous ivories I'll ever photograph. The piano is on display in the U. S. Library of Congress.

I had no control over the lighting setup and there were only two places that I could position the tripod. So, I decided to isolate the keys, their reflection and the logo both in the composition and the depth of field. I also used a polarizer to control the direct reflection on parts of the shiny, black finish.

EDIT: Cropped versions are displayed later in the thread.

Please click the photo to view it at a larger size.


Version 1

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I can hear Rhapsody in Blue coming off them now.
Great capture of a great instrument.
Thanks for sharing.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[Stagecoach]

Spot on DoF there Mike.

I have not yet used a polariser for solid surfaces reflections, I must give it a try.

[TonyW]

That's nice and reminds me that I must get a polarising filter some day soon.

There was an interesting picture posted here a few months ago, perhaps by Andre, of a piano keyboard in colour, even though it looked black and white at first glance. When I downloaded and converted it to black and white it looked terrible in comparison. Have you tried this in colour?

Now I probably should duck for cover.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Mike, very nice image I think that part at the top left corner is a bit distracting for me, but I don't think it is a good idea to clone it, because it is a part of the piano.May be darkening it a bit or reducing the highlights selectively?

[pnodrog]

It was a bit lucky he could play the piano seeing as he was mainly just a composer...

You seem to have lost a bit of shadow detail on the right. After some of the other threads I am terrified to even ask if you ETTR so you can drag a bit more out.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

Have you tried this in colour?

All of my monochromes are taken to their full potential in color before being converted. I prefer the simplicity of the monochrome in this case.

I think that part at the top left corner is a bit distracting for me

It's not at all distracting to me. Just the opposite, that area of the image makes the scene more dynamic, less static for me.

It was a bit lucky he could play the piano seeing as he was mainly just a composer...

Though he will always be remembered for his compositions more than his abilities at the keyboard, anyone who can legitimately play his compositions as he did at places such as Carnegie Hall is a very accomplished pianist.

You seem to have lost a bit of shadow detail on the right.

That's a result of the lighting imposed upon me and the limitation of where I was able to position the camera. It was impossible under those circumstances to achieve a direct reflection throughout the entire keyboard on the top of the black keys, which would have separated the tops from the side and front of the keys. So, I chose for the lack of separation to be on the right side of the image.

I might crop to eliminate part of the right side. I haven't lived with the image long enough to know whether I prefer that or leaving it as is. I'm leaning toward cropping it.

[Rita]

Nice image of a treasured piece.

[Brownbear]

As always... Great image, beautifully photographed! I love the creative composition, and especially the reflection. So much to learn just from viewing your photos.

Merry Christmas!

[bnnrcn]

Hi Mike, if you decide to crop the image from right, then IMO that part at the top left corner makes more sense and adds to the scene more

Thanks, everyone!



All of my monochromes are taken to their full potential in color before being converted. I prefer the simplicity of the monochrome in this case.



It's not at all distracting to me. Just the opposite, that area of the image makes the scene more dynamic, less static for me.



Though he will always be remembered for his compositions more than his abilities at the keyboard, anyone who can legitimately play his compositions as he did at places such as Carnegie Hall is a very accomplished pianist.



That's a result of the lighting imposed upon me and the limitation of where I was able to position the camera. It was impossible under those circumstances to achieve a direct reflection throughout the entire keyboard on the top of the black keys, which would have separated the tops from the side and front of the keys. So, I chose for the lack of separation to be on the right side of the image.

I might crop to eliminate part of the right side. I haven't lived with the image long enough to know whether I prefer that or leaving it as is. I'm leaning toward cropping it.

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Rita and Christina!

This is the crop I'm leaning toward. Comments anyone? Feel free to display a crop that you like more.


Version 2

[bnnrcn]

Crop works much better

[Loose Canon]

I like the crop Mike.

Less muddy in the black keys to far right and the shot jumps better. Makes the logo and white key reflections more prominent. Well, I thought so anyway! I might have brought it in a couple of black keys more even. Get the logo a bit closer to the left third and lose that last little bit of black merging in the right side 2-3 black keys?

Why am I not surprised Gershwin played a Steinway?

Why am I surprised that you could use a tripod in the LoC?

Great shot of a great instrument.

You converted this? Did you have to? It's a b&w instrument.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks to Binnur again and Terry.

Terry: Your ideas about the composition motivated me to create the two versions shown below. One version builds the symmetry around the F#, G# and A# keys. The other version builds the symmetry around the C# and D# keys and loses the diagonal lines in the top left corner. I like both of them for different reasons and will have to sleep on this. Thanks for the ideas!

Why am I surprised that you could use a tripod in the LoC?

Doing so requires getting permission. I went during a really slow period and I doubt I would have been granted permission during a really busy period such as the height of the summer tourist season.

It's a b&w instrument.

Tell that to the Steinway family. The logo is gold and the piece of felt (I can't think of the name of it) that is between the top of the keys and the piece of wood displaying the logo is bright red.


Version 3



Version 4

[Loose Canon]

Oh yeah, right Mike! The red piece of felt stops the keys from banging against the wood. Of all the Steinways I have been close to I guess I wasn’t paying attention to the logo, or the felt! Probably overwhelmed by the awesomeness of the piano’s sound and the incredible action of the keys but as I recall (vaguely) same red felt on the hammers? There is no mistaking one of these magnificent pianos!

It ain’t a Steinway for nothin’! And I’ll mention that to the Steinways next time I see them! Now I'd be interested in seeing your finished (before conversion) color shot. Any of them in the states and they call me to see if I want to buy them lunch! And do I have one of their grands in my living room?

I like version 3 buddy! And I like the bit of the face in the top left of the frame. Adds to the diagonal and banged my (one good) eye back to the shot.

I re-visited my Gershwin collection thanks to this.

[FootLoose]

Good subject for a black and white image, Mike. It's a pity about the keys on the right because I much prefer the original frame. The cropped versions lose some of the sense of 'breadth' of the keyboard.

[Brownbear]

Just to say that even though I miss the long expanse of keys and fading DOF, I think I prefer the last two images, version 3 & 4 best... I'm leaning towards #4 as my favourite because it has more fading keys and I like the way the reflections of the keys disappear into the black abyss, and then one looks up and sees the rest of the keys and the text.

[Mike Buckley]

Continued thanks to everyone!

It's a pity about the keys on the right because I much prefer the original frame. The cropped versions lose some of the sense of 'breadth' of the keyboard.

I agree. That explains why I'm presently leaning toward Version 2. It might be the best compromise because it displays the largest breadth of keyboard that nicely separates the top of the black keys.

[Manfred M]

Mike; I like version 4 the best. In the first three versions, the top left corner of the piano draws my eyes out of the frame.

I too wonder about the colour version. The image is so highly monochrome, I wonder have the two coloured elements you have mentioned would change the viewer's perception of the image.