Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Digital Image Processing => Topic started by: Dave (Isle of Skye) on August 30, 2013, 06:37:19 pm
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I've found over the years, when processing and working through my images on the PC, that some good foot tapping music helps me concentrate on what I'm doing and the time just flies by as I disappear into a world of my own. I'm also a bit of an aging heavy rock/metal/blues type person, so I tend to go for early AC/DC, Rory Gallagher (not the acoustic stuff), Free (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpc1EtEODbk)/Bad Co, Stevie Ray Vaughan etc and I am currently enjoying the deep and heavy tones of "Heaven and Hell Live from Radio City Music Hall", which was a collaboration between Dio and Black Sabbath, Dio's voice had pretty much gone by the time they did this live Gig (he was in his late sixties), but Tony Iommi's guitar riffs are just sooo heavy, that it still works well.
So, does anyone else play music as you work on your images and if so what do you listen to and more importantly, what would you recommend?
Dave
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Plenty of Rory, and Free, but also Buddy Guy, Freddie King, BB, Robin Trower, Peter Green, Gary Moore, Sonny Boy Williamson, Otis Rush ... and maybe some folk in the blues mix
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Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, Todd Snider, John Hiatt, and a collection of old time and traditional bluegrass music. Very relaxing.
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For editing sunset landscapes I play this...
Urbie Green: "Here's That Rainy Day"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zGkRAtJQ9A
For doing a lot of spot healing brush I play this...
Thievery Corporation: "Beatfanatic-Cookin' (version)"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu6LPsDxMyA
And to bring out character in portraits...
Tom T. Hall: "Ramona's Revenge"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9WsX4gXyDU
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Pink Floyd. Deep House.
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Jazz and blues. But no matter what I listen to, I have found that once I start really working on an image I don't hear the music. It gets completely filtered out. Same happens with radio news or any other sound source. I found this out when I tuned in to a program I really wanted to hear. Heard the beginning, and after working on my images I realized the next show had been on and I never noticed. Nor had I any memory of the program I wanted to hear.
I think the sound simply acts like white noise, blocking other distracting sounds.
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Jazz and blues. But no matter what I listen to, I have found that once I start really working on an image I don't hear the music. It gets completely filtered out. Same happens with radio news or any other sound source. I found this out when I tuned in to a program I really wanted to hear. Heard the beginning, and after working on my images I realized the next show had been on and I never noticed. Nor had I any memory of the program I wanted to hear.
I think the sound simply acts like white noise, blocking other distracting sounds.
I seem to vaguely recall a recent article saying people worked better with some ambient sound as opposed to silence.
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Jazz and blues. But no matter what I listen to, I have found that once I start really working on an image I don't hear the music. It gets completely filtered out. Same happens with radio news or any other sound source. I found this out when I tuned in to a program I really wanted to hear. Heard the beginning, and after working on my images I realized the next show had been on and I never noticed. Nor had I any memory of the program I wanted to hear.
Yes that's exactly it and even though I use headphones and have the sound cranked up to 11, I find I am still only listening to it on a sort of semi subconscious level, but still very much enjoying it and how it allows me to really hone in on what I am doing and get into the zone (a modern term I know, but I cannot think of any other way to describe it). I can only assume the music is stimulating whatever the creative part of my brain is and at the same time, allowing me to really concentrate on what I am doing, by shutting out every other distraction.
The missus usually brings me a cup of tea after a couple of hours or so, which always ends up going completely cold, even though she puts it right in front of me. ::)
UFO have a live box set (http://www.amazon.co.uk/On-Air-The-1974-1985/dp/B00B6CVS52/ref=pd_sim_m_h__2) out from various BBC recordings I've just discovered, so I think I might give that a go next, or possibly something by Michael Schenker ;D
Dave
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Bach, mostly. Mozart. Shostakovich for the darker, more dramatic scenes.
Jeremy
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Streaming of WRTI jazz out of Philly whenever my local community radio station isn't playing blues or reggae.
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All instrumental...nothing with lyrics as those seem to distract me. When working on images, I want the music to be in the background. When I have music in the foreground, all I'm doing is listening to it. While my musical tastes are wide and I like many of the artists already mentioned (seeing Rory Gallagher play in San Francisco is a wonderful memory!), I like artists such as Dean Evenson, Peter Kater and his collaborations with musicians like R. Carlos Nakai (Native American Flute based music in general works for me), Nawang Khechog, Paul McCandless, William Eaton, etc. There are many more out there in the genre of world/new age music that I listen to while "getting out of the way" for the creative muse, too many to mention and fairly obscure at that.
I also like a bit of incense in conjunction with the music.
I find post processing flows best for me in a meditative-like state and the above assist me in this way.
Phil
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I have a music degree and have directed orchestras and bands as well as playing french horn professionally for 40 years. This may seem strange to many of you but I don't listen to any music when doing any other work. I cannot concentrate on anything else when music is playing. I simply cannot help myself, when music plays, I listen - to the detriment of most anything else. I rarely even play music when driving. When I play music, I stop and listen.
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None whatsoever... I find it immensely distracting
...however I take regular breaks from the computer and have a grand piano downstairs :-)
What gets played really does depend on how I feel, I find the very definite change most refreshing
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It's probably to do with teaching music for the last 25 years, but I can't work on my photos and listen to anything, it really breaks my concentration. When I want a break I may go into my studio next door and play something. But if I think about my photos while doing that it ruins the flow of notes. :)
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I’ve been following this thread with interest (has such a question ever been asked before on this forum?). Now that some fellow musicians have responded, I might as well add my own two cents. I’ve been a professional musician for all of my adult life and come from a musician’s family (I am a violinist). I have always found it extremely difficult doing anything while listening to ‘classical’ music (sorry, I really don’t listen to much anything else). Even while driving, when I find myself in an unfamiliar part of town and/or traffic conditions become hazardous, instinctively the radio gets turned off! My best post-processing takes place in a quiet room, devoid of distractions (like music, or even other human beings). Not that it’s impossible for me to work in another, less ‘ideal’ environment. It’s just seldom my best work. Just as a passing thought, I’ve often found it quite intriguing, the connection between music and photography. Even for those photographers who do not have a musical background (Ansel Adams, Don Worth, Huntington Witherill, just to name a few), music often plays a predominant role in the lives of so many photographers. Perhaps it’s some form of kindred love.
In any case, "thank you" Dave (Isle of Skye), for asking the question! It provoked a few enjoyable thoughts.
Best regards,
Larry
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I was a trombonist in a swing band back in the early '90's (my 21 Trombones link being a new find for me) and my guess the connection with music and photography may have something to do with creating a dream like state of mind in order to get a flow going similarly experienced with movies and their accompanying soundtrack providing flow to the plot line. Photography is about telling some type of story for the creator and viewer.
I don't play my music loudly and only in the background in another room just to add some ambience. Empty silence in front of a computer for any extended period of time can create its own metronomic dead tone which can eventually get on one's nerves after a while.
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Boards Of Canada
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Depends on my feeling at the time, but mostly hard rock. Puddle of Mudd, 3 Doors Dow, A7X, One Bad Son, AC/DC, Kid Rock that sort of thing. But blues and jazz finds its way into the mix at times. As do female vocalists like Sarah McLaughlin. Then I have a whole pop mix with the likes of Elton John, America, Simon & Garfunkel, Jim Croce.
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My photo studio is in a separate building (man cave). After teaching kids all weak long, I look forward to having time alone to work on images. Lately I've been listening to a 1990 box set of the Grateful Dead, String Cheese Incident, Dave Mathews Band, and Pat Matheny. Maybe I work on photos so as an excuse just to listen to music?
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I think it is because we are all creative people (whether you realise it or not), so not only will there be photographers on this forum, but also musicians, poets, actors, sculptors and every other form of creative artist. I don't know what it is that drives us all, other than we seem to have been born with an overriding need to create something, anything, and so much so that we probably have little control over it, we just need to be creative, it's in our DNA, and for me, music seems to help stimulate that creative process. I mean it's not that I can't work without music, I can, it's just that it seems to help me to really focus on what I'm doing, without having to think about what I'm doing, or even about how I am doing it - it's all a bit of a Zen thing I suppose, and I just wondered if anyone else did the same thing and it seems as though there are more than a few that do.
The word Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (dʑjen) (pinyin: Chán), which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "absorption" or "meditative state".
Do people ever ask you how you worked a particular image and the steps that you took to complete it, and you think to yourself 'you know what, I don't really know, I just sort of did it and here's the result', although of course that could all be down to muscle memory, but that would be a whole new topic I think. :D
Dave
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... music seems to help stimulate that creative process. I mean it's not that I can't work without music, I can, it's just that it seems to help me to really focus on what I'm doing, without having to think about what I'm doing, or even about how I am doing it - it's all a bit of a Zen thing I suppose, and I just wondered if anyone else did the same thing and it seems as though there are more than a few that do.
Do people ever ask you how you worked a particular image and the steps that you took to complete it, and you think to yourself 'you know what, I don't really know, I just sort of did it and here's the result', ..
Floating, cruising, sailing are words that come to mind. You're absolutely correct. I don't need to listen to music but find that it certainly helps, alleviates the whole process.
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Pat Metheny ! "Cathedral In A Suitecase" a most visual music................ "Finding And Believing" very complex....................." Facing West" & " Letter From Home" beautiful.
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This thread has taken an interesting turn. Photography's association with music is of course related to all of the arts but music and photography do indeed seem to have a unique connection. I have always thought that it has to do with the non-verbal nature of each.
The most widely known photographer/musician is, of course, Ansel Adams who played piano his entire life and credited his study of piano with building in him the discipline for which his darkroom work is so well known. His biography tells of the difficulty of his decision between a photographic career or a musical career.
Paul Caponigro (the father) studied music at Boston University School of Music before turning to photography. He told me 30 some years ago how one of his goals was to have an exhibition during which he would give piano recital. I understand that he was later able to realize that goal.
There are many more photographer/musicians. One interesting case for Dave is probably the composer Felix Mendelssohn. Although he died in 1842 so didn't get much of a photographic chance, he was a painter of some repute and like both Adams and Caponigro, had to decide whether to pursue a career in art or music. He heavily illustrated his travel journals (see some of them here below) and only decided to pursue a musical career after his famous trip to the Hebrides in 1829. Hence the Mendelssohn festivals on both Mull and Skye each summer. I don't know if he actually made it to Skye but his time on Mull is well documented.
Thanks, Dave, for starting this interesting discussion.
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I have a music degree and have directed orchestras and bands as well as playing french horn professionally for 40 years. This may seem strange to many of you but I don't listen to any music when doing any other work. I cannot concentrate on anything else when music is playing. I simply cannot help myself, when music plays, I listen - to the detriment of most anything else. I rarely even play music when driving. When I play music, I stop and listen.
I understand this completely, and I generally prefer to work in a quiet environment. However, if I am performing some simple or tedious tasks, I may listen to classical music, but not the sort that commands my attention (e.g. Mahler). BTW, I have come to love Spotify. For $5/month, you can listen to a vast selection of music without commercial interruptions.
Rob
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BTW, I have come to love Spotify. For $5/month, you can listen to a vast selection of music without commercial interruptions.
What do you think of Grooveshark?
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What do you think of Grooveshark?
I am not aware of Grooveshark? How does it differ from Spotify?
Edit: I just checked out Grooveshark. It is a dwarf compared to Spotify, at least in terms of classical music. Mostly, Grooveshark has excerpts and a few albums of any given piece, while Spotify has a huge selection of complete works. I don't know if Grooveshark is commercial-free or whether you have to buy a subscription to be spared obnoxious advertising.
Rob
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I am not aware of Grooveshark? How does it differ from Spotify?
Edit: I just checked out Grooveshark. It is a dwarf compared to Spotify, at least in terms of classical music. Mostly, Grooveshark has excerpts and a few albums of any given piece, while Spotify has a huge selection of complete works. I don't know if Grooveshark is commercial-free or whether you have to buy a subscription to be spared obnoxious advertising.
Rob
Already have a long playlist at Grooveshark. Thought I'ld ask you to see if you had any info on their history or who they are. Not much into classical music, but I can understand why Spotify would be your go to choice.
I'll have to thoroughly check their extent of their library which I'm sure is quite extensive considering they keep getting mentioned in the mainstream media.
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I don't listen to anything. If I did it would just end up being tuned out as with some of the other posters. But I don't really listen to ambient music anyway, usually if I'm listenting thats all I'm doing (except for the inevitable mind wandering).
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Boards of Canada (I recommend Julie & Candy as a taster)
Shifted Phases (ditto for Lonely Journey of the Comet Bopp)
The Other People Place (You said you want me)
Drexciya (Harnessed the Storm)
Brian Eno - Music for Airports
Fennesz
Willits & Sakamoto
Motion
Shuttle358
I won't say what they are, and leave it up to the adventurous to find out.
Cheers.
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NPR news, tv news or nothing most of the time. Now...back in the 70's when I lived in L.A. I listened to Dr Demento in the wet darkroom.
I don't like PP all that much. Right now I have to do about 125 to 150 images for a Blurb book. I hate it. I did 50 images in 3 or 4 days. It feels like a never ending job. Each image is a one at a time job. Some of them may have over a dozen versions.
My personality wont let me do much else until the PP is done. Then I have to do book design. But I can take my time on that. But until I have the pix done, the book seems up in the air to me. After PP I print them all out and do a final revise. Then do a layout of the work prints for the design.
Luckily I was through writing for the books when I finished book #1. I wont have to write much until I get to book #10. With books # 2 to #9, I only have to write a 1 or 2 page intro and the rest is pix. I like that. I hate having to write.
PP is of the utmost importance in any case. Look at this example from a negative I just found last month after being lost for 40 years. (Nude warning)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%27Left_Vintage_Silver_Gelatin_Print_-_Right_Inkjet_Print%27_Copyright_1973,_2013_Daniel_D._Teoli_Jr..JPG
OK, I was 19 when I did the wet print and not that great of a printer. The neg was terrible, underexposed and contrasty. Only light was the window. But even if Ansel Adams printed it, he is not going to get 2.5 hours of computer D&B into a 30 second exposure wet darkroom print.
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kinda of a fun thread.
for me, it's classic rock (70's and 80's) some days, classical music occasionally, but most days it's new age piano and guitar - David Lanz, Keiko Matsui, 7 & 5, Danny Heines, my personal favorite (who passed before his time) Michael Hedges (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTC7kPZZmuM), and a few others.
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Nothing - I generally find it distracting - but sometimes Radio Paradise (eclectic mix, on the Internet).
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I've been following this three with interest as despite being a music junkie [I have even DJed for my sins], I don't tend to have any specific music to process to. Usually I get so absorbed I don't notice when it ends. What gets played tends to be quite random, usually the latest purchases.
When writing film scripts however I use music as my muse or as soundtrack to scene I'm currently writing. Could be some dance music, could be a Metal band, could be orchestral.....
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I love to listen to hotel California http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOjYZR6geYY it is very relaxing
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Pink Floyd.... also some classic rock and alternative rock. Sometimes instrumental stuff and ethnic Chinmaya Dunster.....
Alan
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I guess I'm boring - Smooth Jazz. The main reason is that it won't take my mind off my images by listening to lyrics. It's like having white noise that masks other interruptions.
Mark
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None whatsoever... I find it immensely distracting
...however I take regular breaks from the computer and have a grand piano downstairs :-)
What gets played really does depend on how I feel, I find the very definite change most refreshing
Agreed.
When I'm listening to good music or editing digital music on the computer, I don't usually look at images at the same time (a distraction). ;)
But then maybe I'm missing something?
Glenn
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I do think that the kind of music I listen to or do not listen to has an impact on the resulting look of my images... but I am still trying to figure out the exact mapping.
The plan is to select semi-automatically the right music though an iTunes script that selects some random tunes matching a given theme as a function of some input parameters driven by the kind of image/processing.
Cheers,
Bernard
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I guess I'm boring - Smooth Jazz. The main reason is that it won't take my mind off my images by listening to lyrics. It's like having white noise that masks other interruptions.
Mark
one reason I like the new age. I like smooth jazz sometimes as well. Most rock either i've heard enough times i know the lyrics or it's a song I can't really understand the lyrics (quite a few fit that category for me). Now that I think about it, I tend to listen to rock when I'm sorting, key wording, and doing preliminary adjustments, but not when working on the final version.
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None?!
Best regards
Erik