Sunday, November 12, 2006

Pulling Strings

No, It Ain't Harpo Marks



Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON
I was in Quebec City, Canada, walking down towards the famous Mural and the Old City, when I heard the wonderful sound of a harp being played. Now it's not every day you see (or hear) a harp, of all musical instruments. I have a severely recessive musical gene and have never played a single instrument, but you cannot imagine how soothing the sound was. It was being played by a musician named David (funny how I remember the name), who sat playing this beautiful music. I asked, in a whisper, if I could take his photograph while he played. Without averting his eyes, he nodded imperceptibly and I took half a dozen shots, using my film-based Canon EOS 3000, from both sides of the harp strings. His face enthralled me, beacause his features were so peaceful. And if you look carefully at this shot, you'll see that while he is concentrating totally on his music and nothing else, his eyes are fixed on some far-off point of reference.

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