Driving back to New Jersey after a wedding in Pennsylvania last year I had the pleasure of listening to an interview with Booker T. Jones, the grandmaster of the Hammond B-3 organ. Aside from the excerpts of music, which were absolutely wonderful indeed, the interview was more than a little interesting and I drew some comparisons with what he, Booker T, said about writing music and what I feel and see when I capture photographs, especially at weddings.
When one thinks of the name Booker T. Jones, the Hammond B-3 is probably the first thing that comes to mind, then if you're at all like me you'll think of many of the recordings he made at Stax Records with people like Otis Redding. Neil Young's name though is probably not one that you'd immediately associate with Booker T. until he explains how he was influenced by Neil Young's big guitar sound. I think this was the point in the interview where I pulled over and sat and listened intently to the rest of the interview.
I'm glad I did for as I listened to the track called "Native New Yorker" I could feel that big sound and I laughed out loud when Liane Hansen said that one writer had described it "as grungy as the subway on a summer day", what a wonderful visual description that summed up exactly how I felt one hot, muggy Sunday last June as I rode the subway after photographing a wedding at the Terrace in the Sky in New York.
However the really interesting part of the interview was when Booker T. described how he has pictures in his mind as he writes his music. "Yup, that's just like me!" I felt like answering back to the radio; "I have music in my head when I shoot"
Just as he sees images as he writes I let the music guide me as I attempt to capture the "feeling" or the "sense" of the sound that the performer is giving us, it's not simply enough to capture a sharp, crystal clear image if all that results are sterile images devoid of emotion, movement, drama, or to be blunt empty! The images needs something, anything to impart more about the performer or performance.
Other parallels between music and photography?
Q. "What's the new Booker T. sound we're hearing on this one?
A. It's actually the old sound with some new elements, I believe. It's the same instrument and it's the same me, but I am just motivated a little differently here.
Q. What's the new George Weir style now that you've been shooting weddings for more than ten years with digital?
A. It's the same me, I'm seeing the same, I'm shooting the same, I'm simply going a little further with the tools that I have.
Q. Is there a lesson you think you've learned in your career that would be good advice for young musicians today?
A. I would advise to do something I do, and that is to practice every chance I get. I still go back to the scales that I was playing when I was 15 and 14. That hasn't changed.
Q. Is there a lesson you'd like to share with young/new photographers today?
A. Yes, for me to be in control of the images I have to remember that E=IxT (Exposure = Intensity times Time) and that exposure begins in my head.
The album is titled "Potato Hole" and you may find the interview here
