My Classical Story

When Classical Music became my Muse.

October 18, 2024 :: Landscape

It was the dead of winter the first time I listened to Aaron Copland’s "Appalachian Spring." A Midwest blizzard was blowing against my window, but inside my dorm room, a spring rain was falling.

I was enrolled in a music course called “The Symphony” at the University of Wisconsin. The professor recommended we close our eyes when we listen to a recording for the first time. As I did, the music transported me from my frozen world to a green landscape where rain began falling on an ancient forest.

I imagined it starting gently, then building to a steady shower. The rain filled a creek that fed a stream that flowed into a rushing river. Soon the rain subsided and the forest was peaceful again.

Twenty years later, I visited the Great Smoky Mountains for the first time. Rain began falling as I photographed a cascade that spilled into a small river. When I got back in my car, I played Copland’s masterwork on the radio as the rain fell all around me. But this time my eyes were wide open.*

A rain-fed river in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Since those days in my radio story, I’ve explored the Smokies many times in every season. But when I’m there in the spring and rain starts falling, I close my eyes and drift back to a snowy day that opened my heart to classical music.

*This short essay was my one-thousand-word submission to Minnesota Public Radio’s classical music channel. YourClassical.org asks listeners to record their stories about their connections with classical music. Then the sound engineers dub the voices over selected portions of appropriate musical selections.

The two-minute stories are aired by DJs during their music programs. Eventually, the recordings are posted for listeners to enjoy any time at Your Classical Story. I’ve asked for my photo above to accompany my story.

MAKING THE PHOTOGRAPH

SUBJECT: Oconaluftee River, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina

CONDITIONS: Calm, clear, mid-70s F; late Summer

EQUIPMENT and SETTINGS: Nikon D850 camera, 24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor lens @ 35mm, Circular polarizing filter, Gitzo tripod, Really Right Stuff ball head; Matrix metering, Aperture Priority exposure mode, Back button auto focus, electronic cable release .

EXPOSURE: 2 sec @ f/22, ISO 800; natural light

On a late summer day in the Smokies, I explored a small river that was new to me. I walked back and forth along the river bank until I found a promising place to perch. I climbed down to the river's edge and stepped out onto a dry boulder in the river. Then I got down low and chose a wide focal length to let me capture the near and far elements I thought were essential for a pleasing composition.

Since the subject, light, background and conditions were all good and unchanging, I took my time. I fine tuned each composition. This meant watching the corners and edges for distractions; choosing comfortable amounts of the foreground and background; and cropping the sides of the frame to emphasize the tree branches leaning in over the stream.

The metamorphosed igneous boulder in the center of the photograph is placed there as a compromise of necessity and choice. If I offset it, I would lose elements I liked and gain others I didn't. And besides that, I was really drawn to this rock.

I'm pleased with it sitting proudly in the middle of the river in the middle of the frame. I'm fascinated by the geology of the Appalachian Mountains and fond of the big rocks you find in all the rivers and streams throughout the range. This boulder, in particular, is iconic with its water-worn surface, soft gray tone and trademark patches of lichen.

Lastly because I can't ignore an old mantra in my head, I tried a vertical composition after the horizontal. It meant framing the scene in a different way that wasn't as pleasing as the horizontal. But it was worth a try. I'd hate to walk away from a good situation and wonder later what I may have missed. I'd rather be late for dinner than regret never having made the attempt. That's a sure way to spoil a good meal.

My Classical Story

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