The Day The Music Died

murphyz March 7, 2011

The Day The Music Died

Yesterday I took another trip to West Park Asylum, and what a fun time was had by all.

The last time I went was in December; I had no sleep the night before after spending it on a London rooftop and climbing a crane, getting home in the very early hours and feeling it was better to simply not sleep in order to ensure I was awake in time to leave the house and catch a train. I spent the 2 hours or so I had spare watching Shutter Island – a fitting film to watch before visiting a former mental home. After a few hours on location though I was spotted and kindly asked to leave…I blame this on my tiredness.

Yesterday was very different. The place was pretty much wide open; groups of photographers wandered around seeing the remaining infamous sites; security was nowhere to be seen, and construction crew didn’t seem to care that we were there. As such we could wander around as much as we wanted, and this time I was able to view many things that I had missed the previous time.

One such item was the grand piano. I have seen images of this in the past and some people have taken excellent shots with this as the subject. I think the rose petals in the above image were the remains from the shots Nick Wild had taken a few weeks ago. As most of the shots feature the whole piano I certainly wanted to try and get a little of the detail and the bashed up keys with petals provided a perfect opportunity.

I’m really pleased with how this one has turned out, and was grateful to be able to return to such an awesome location and see many of the sights I missed previously.

72 thoughts on “The Day The Music Died”

  1. Wonderful shot, Mike. Your choice in framing and the inclusion of those rose petals really creates a cinematic and dramatic feel. Well done!

  8. A very powerful image, Michael. The broken, grimy keys and decaying rose petals and the inlaid golden manufacturer name all add up to make a great story unfold in the mind. Beautiful post processing.

  23. Thanks to everyone for your positive comments on this image; I’m glad you all seem to like it as much as I do.

  24. The Day The Music Died[http://www.flickr.com/photos/medwayboy] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/50921563@N03] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/oski77] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/lamirkazione] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/andregovia] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/lovely-like-custard] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/dimmilan] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/deridere] [http://www.flickr.com/photos/franckbouffard]
    Thanks very much everyone 🙂

  39. This is stunning. I could stare at the piano all day and play music in my head. I can hear tunes jumping off those keys in earlier days. Brilliant! Thank you for this photographic piece of art.

  46. The Day The Music DiedThis one of the most striking images I have seen in awhile. Truly worth hanging on the wall. If I had taken this image it would be. There are a ton of interesting pictures all over Flickr, HDR Spotting, etc. But this one stands out.

    Great job.

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