Steinway & Sons

Early in the month of June, I happened to stop in with Robert at the Steinway Piano of Chicago outlet not too far from IBLP Headquarters. The moment I entered the store, I scolded myself for not bringing a camera. There were so many pianos I could hardly believe it! And each one was unique–each a perfect photographic subject. The complementary pictures that adorned the walls only spurred my inspiration to make me promise I would return with a camera.

Well, I was back within the next two weeks. At first I was a bit apprehensive about what restrictions there might be on taking pictures. After all, each Steinway is as much a work of art as the masterpieces performed upon it combined. And many in the store were worth tens of thousands of dollars, and some hundreds of thousands! But my fears were quickly abated. “Take as many pictures as you want!” one of the jolly, yet well-versed shop assistants affirmed after spending several educational minutes showing me around the place. That was the coup de grâce! For the next 20 minutes I was preocupied with simply taking as many pictures as I could.

I guess the moral of the story is an encouragement to break out of the norm every-once-in-a-while. Think of all the places that the average Joe with a camera would never go! But oh, as a word of caution: make sure to be prepared! I forgot to bring a tripod, which really would have been handy in the low-light show-rooms. However, an external speedlite which, bounced off the walls, ceiling, and even the floor sometimes, saved a ton of pictures from being ruined by camera shake.