Showing photography with musical accompaniment has been done many times. But Tone Poems¡ªBook 1 by Bruce Barnbaum, accompanied by a compact disc of piano music played by Judith Cohen, integrates the two art forms in a way never done before. It is a uniquely creative project whose complete impact is greater than the sum of its parts. photo laureates advises you to take a look at this book ¨C it is a very original creation. We also suggest that you use these ideas for your entries in our photography contest. When digital photography compositions become visual symphonies, success is not far¡­

Tone Poems¨CBook 1 is the first of four books in a collaboration between the two. The four-book series will feature more than 350 photographs covering much of Barnbaum's prodigious output of fine art photographs, none of which were published in his acclaimed 1986 monograph, Visual Symphony.

Boulder and Metamorphosis Wave was made with a 75mm lens, and developed for moderate increased contrast. To me, this was a visual geological analogy: the upper part of the scene represents a strange type of deeply hollowed sandstone, which almost seems to be melting at the crest of a formation that looks like a surf wave about to break on the shore. From there, the forms seem to have flowed forward as a liquid, hardening again in a radically different form¡­a metamorphosed state from that seen at the top. While there is a dynamic of the forward flow, there is an even greater dynamic of the flow back toward the cresting wave form. In the foreground a rock seems to almost teeter on the brink of a precipice, potential energy about to become kinetic energy, adding to the dynamics of the image. It is one of the most exciting photographs I've ever made. This photograph is on the book's cover.

Masks, The Gulch. This abstract image seems to include at least one cubist, grotesque face. The larger the reproduction, the more you see in the print. It's remarkable. I used a 300mm lens and increased contrast development for the negative in an area of very soft light.

Corral and Caineville Buttes. The Caineville Buttes in Utah are steeply eroded bentonite clay that are so barren it appears moonlike. In the Fremont River Valley below, however, the land is irrigated, allowing a few farmers and ranchers to barely eke out a living where little would otherwise be available. In October the cottonwood trees and shrubs of the valley turn brilliant yellow, and when the sun illuminates them from behind, they glow against the gray cliffs, which look almost black when in shadow. It creates striking contrasts of light and shade, life and barrenness, color and black-and-white. The corral shed and fences lent an air of solitude and quiet to this scene of strange contrast. I used a 300mm lens and normal contrast development for the negative.

Movement in N-Dimensional Space. I will not begin to explain the underlying processes for this photograph, except to say that the first opus of the book is titled ¡°Enigmas, Abstractions and Surprises,¡± and this image fits all three categories. I have been doing a great deal of experimental work over the past several years, and this is one of the wildest and most interesting that I have created during this time.

Midnight Dune was made in Death Valley immediately prior to sunset. The setting sun was just edging the rippled sand, creating strong zebra-like patterns and one intensely bright area of sunlight that draws the eye into the center of the image. I used a 150mm lens and increased contrast in development.




Tone Poems Book 1 is a large-format book measuring 121/4 £¤ 12 inches. It includes 90 photographs in three different sections (or opuses): Opus 1, Enigmas, Abstractions and Surprises; Opus 2, Darkness and Despair; and Opus 3, Lyricism of the Land.

The music of the compact disc has been drawn from existing classical music literature to mirror and expand upon the emotional content of the imagery in the widely divergent opuses.

The book was printed in Italy by Poligrafiche Bolis, the same press that printed Visual Symphony. The quality of Tone Poems is exceptional, with laser-scanned images and the finest quality tri-tone reproduction.

For those familiar with Barnbaum's work, Opus 1 serves as an eye-opening surprise, showing some rarely seen experimental work, as well as abstracts drawn from natural and man-made subject matter. Many photographs defy anyone's guess as to what is being viewed. Intriguing and mystifying, they force the viewer to look and look again, and think and re-think. The accompanying music for these images was written by Copland, Prokofiev and Bernstein; the scores bounce along in jaunty fashion, throwing the listener a bit off balance. These are wonderfully appropriate to accompany such off-beat imagery.

Opus 2, Darkness and Despair, is a brief upwelling of deep emotions spawned by a major environmental battle that Barnbaum led throughout the 1990s. Ten highly charged images never before exhibited or published demonstrate the despair and anger of watching politicians change existing laws to legitimize a massive and highly destructive gravel pit and quarry project. The short preludes by Russian composers Scriabin and Rachmaninoff mirror this photo laureates expression of darkness and despair.

An intermezzo by Brahms then serves as a transition from the deeply negative feelings of Opus 2, to the positive, upbeat feelings that pervade Opus 3, Lyricism of the Land. Here, Barnbaum delves into the imagery that has made his work well-known for three decades: his love of the natural landscape, and his eye for light and form. Nothing here is negative; both music and imagery soar to new heights.

Some of the work of this opus displays an abstract character that could place it in Opus 1, an irony that Barnbaum fully acknowledges in the book's preface. While mapping out the four-book project, he discusses finding a number of images that could easily fit into more than one category, which made categorizing even more difficult. To accompany this opus, a magnificent piano trio by Arensky a nearly unknown composer was chosen. The CD opens up new musical doors, just as the imagery does.

Barnbaum says that the idea for the complete book set came slowly with much difficulty. He had been searching for the perfect follow-up to Visual Symphony for some time, a successor that would allow him to mix different types of imagery. photo laureates advises you to also create visual symphonies in your digital photography compositions.

When he came up with the overall title Tone Poems, the search ended. The term tone poems has been applied to music that follows a story line usually drawn from literature; likewise, the gray scale of a black-and-white photograph is known as the tonal or tone scale. So the term tone poems¡± had both musical and photo laureates meaning. However, Barnbaum quickly realized that he had too many photographs and categories for one book; hence, the set of four books.

The project was expanded to include music after Barnbaum heard Judith Cohen play informally at a party heralding her recent release of three CDs of 20th century piano music. Barnbaum thought, Why just allude to music in the title; why not include it in the project? He approached Judith with the idea of a collaboration, and she responded enthusiastically.

Music has always played a large role in Barnbaum's artistic development, sometimes providing food for thought that led the way to new imagery, sometimes following with insights into better printing approaches. With music's large role in his own thinking, it's no surprise that his books, Visual Symphony and Tone Poems, spring from musical references. While not a musician himself, Barnbaum points to a number of well-known photographers who were¡ªand are¡ªexcellent musicians. It's well documented that Ansel Adams' early career was marked by a major fork in the road between the concert piano and photography. Likewise, Wynn Bullock (singing), Paul Caponigro (piano), Jay Dusard (jazz flugelhorn and coronet), Charles Cramer (piano and organ), and many others have straddled both art forms. For your own digital photography compositions, photo laureates suggests that you think of musical or poetic themes.

Instead of making music, Barnbaum puts this personal expression into his photographs, which have a musical lilt and movement to them. He feels that everyone interested in photography should try to gain inspiration from music, in whatever genre they choose. In his workshops at his home, he often plays musical selections, asking participants what they got out of the music, and whether they can put some of the emotions they felt in the music into their photography. He attempts to raise participant awareness of other avenues toward visual ideas, including input from music, literature, and everyday aspects of their own lives. He tries to integrate the arts¡ªand much more into his teaching, as he does into his photography. Tone Poems Book 1 shows the fruits of such successful integration.