Week 25: Where It All Started

So this is, more or less, where it all started. I met Kristi and got to know her when she was my accompanist for a vocal competition early on in undergrad. No instant sparks or anything along those lines - just a friendship. We sang in choir together and knew each other tangentially. However, it was the piano that would eventually bring us together.

After a couple of not so great accompanists my Freshman year of college, my studio professor encouraged me to ask Kristi if she was available. I did as I was told and reached back out to her. She had a spot available and became my accompanist. From that point forward we started spending more time together - lessons, practicing, etc. and a true friendship blossomed. Over time it became something more and (I'll fast forward through some details here that actually make it a better story - sorry) we started dating at the end of my Sophomore year.

We were living in Pittsburgh when we purchased our first home and were fortunate to have a perfect spot for a baby grand piano. We didn't have a ton of disposable income, having just purchased our first home, but Kristi really wanted to have a piano again. So, we looked through the classifieds for pianos, looked at a couple, and found a beautiful old 1920 something baby grand with carved legs. It was a beautiful piece of furniture, but left a bit to be desired as far as the piano part goes. It had a couple of cracks in the soundboard that we missed when we played it before purchasing because it was so far out of tune. Not perfect, but it filled a void.

When we moved to NYC, we had to leave it with a friend in Pittsburgh. There was no way a baby grand was going to fit into our apartment unless it doubled as a dining room table. So, we went without for a couple of years. When we bought our current apartment a few years ago, we were fortunate to have enough space for an upright piano. This all took place right around our 10th wedding anniversary so I decided that Kristi needed a new piano for our anniversary.

Shortly thereafter, Jonah came along and now I'm even more thankful that we have our piano. He loves it. He loves to sit at the piano with Kristi as she plays. He loves to "play," too. He's starting to be able to pick out instruments in recorded music and piano is one he definitely knows.

Photo - I decided to go a little more subtle this week. This is lit with one Profoto head in a 1x4' stripbox turned horizontally directly above the piano pointed back and down toward Kristi and Jonah - it's just outside the frame. This is my 50mm at f/2.