Life To Music: Think Music When Shooting, Gotye’s Somebody I Used To Know

LIFETOMUSIC by Ale

It was almost a year ago when I had the luck to meet the incredibly colourful and vital work of a man who lives 5641 miles away (9078 km) from me but showed me some traits of his persona so close and similar i kinda thought we were like brothers.

Sure, the first thing in common was the passion for photography as a fine art and a form of Communication. But then, something more was hidden behind our first exchanges of ideas, and the Communication started growing on fertile soils.

What really helped in our getting to know each other was Music. Our passion for the same rock music, and the same approach towards meaningful lyrics when using our mobile cameras shooting in the streets of our two, different, faraway, but yet so closer now, worlds.

That was the starting fire of our revolution and the immediate birth of our idea over the Instagramplatform, to link deeper and deeper the mobile photography of our everyday lives to the most catchy, significant songs we kept in our memories.

Be honest and confess.

Don’t you find yourself singin a song sometimes along your daily routine?

In the shower? Singin out loud while driving by yourself? Relieving your stress singin and dancing it out?

We do. And we also do that when we are out there with our mobile cameras looking for the great moment to freeze. We are constantly matching that moment with a particular song, or a lyric, or a memory.

And we create the magic of different forms of art combining into one.

This is exactly what LIFETOMUSIC stands for.

Passion for photography and Passion for music, in a single moment of sharing.

The Instagram community immediately received this message and shared their own life stills with us. Their own music moments with us. And the story started to unfold.

Today the #lifetomusic tag counts more than 9000 photos from all over the world. All precious and special as we see into them the magic of Sharing.

That faraway man you know as BP is now more than a friend to me, and I am proud to call him my brother.

This was a brief intro to our idea of community, and this is the story of one of those lifetomusic days, when people and friends all over the world sing and shoot all together, the same song in their different visions of (mobile) photography.

The song that brought us all together once more was the popular hit SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW by Gotye, and we are proud to tell him, if he is reading this, that his song was on the lips of artists from all over the continents. We gathered shots from Asia, Europe, Africa, America, Australia. And the one and only common ground was that song and our idea of sharing music and photography together.

Praise the Lords of Music. Praise the Lords of Photography, fellow artists.

Because Lifetomusic is a gift. And we are here to keep it alive and kickin!

- Ale, Lead Singer of the IG Band

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And now, the IG Band presents Gotye’s “Somebody I Used To Know” from the eyes of some of the world’s mobile photographers.

Carol, @sushidetortilla  Barcelona, Spain

Story:  I took this pic in Barcelona, a couple of days before Ale told me about the Flashmob you were organizing. I was with another IGer (@bier83) doing a photowalk when I saw this couple, eating a sandwich on a bench, back to back… and I saw the final pic on my mind. But the best thing is that while I was taking the pic Glee’s version of “Someone I used to know” was playing on my mind! I must admit it wasn’t until the day of the Flashmob that I heard the original version (don’t tell anyone :p)

Lyrics: “told myself that you were right for me, but felt so lonely in your company”

Rianne, @rianne69 The Netherlands

Story:  I took this picture when I went to Antwerpen, Belgium for a photowalk.  We just wondered around and stumbled upon interesting places. This was one of them.  One of my followers could tell me this square is called Groenplaats.  Beautiful light and lot’s of liveliness because of all kinds of people who wanted to catch  some sun, but most of those benches were full of chatting and laughing people. I noticed at this bench, the distance between the two people on it… And the way she stared at the couple near the train. I wondered what she was thinking, whom she thought of…

When I read the lyrics of somebody I knew this shot was perfect for it. It seems to me those words were her thoughts.

Lyrics: “now and then i think of when were together, like when you said you felt so happy you could die…told myself that you were right for me, but felt so lonely in your company…but that was love and its an ache i still remember”

Kate, @katecolumbia New York City

Story:  While riding the L train into Brooklyn, on my way home, I noticed this couple across from me. I was first drawn to them because they appeared to be so tender with each other. Her beau was nuzzling his head onto her shoulder adoringly, and for a moment I smiled, happy for them. After observing but another minute or so, it became clear that the feeling of love did not appear to be mutual, as I had presumed. It was only after the young man rested his eyes, still smiling lovingly, that her face, previously warm and endearing, turned cold, her eyes vacant. The warm emotions seemed to slip away moments after her lover was resting comfortably on her shoulder, oblivious to her body language.

I had kept the Life To Music song lyrics from “Somebody” in the back of mind all day, looking for a fitting moment on the street. It was clear instantaneously- this was it. I secretively slid my hand into my red trench coats pocket,  pulling out my iPhone nanchalantly, opened up Hipstamatic, leaned back in my seat, drawing my phone in closer toward my face, as to allow a greater distance between the subjects and myself, in hopes of getting a larger area framing the troubled couple, all without them noticing me, and finally snapped three shots. After further review, one shot was blurry, skewing the distant facial expression of the girl, the second was better, but failed to capture the moment I was witnessing adequately. The third was perfect, and I had very little editing to do after using the John S Lens & Nike AODLX film combination in Hipstamatic- a personal favorite of mine. So I opened the shot in PicFrame, ensured it was the appropriate 1:1 ratio necessary to post on Instagram after removing the default black border from the Nike AODLX film. I saved the shot, opened up my notes on my iPhone, and after reviewing the Somebody lyrics, I chose the most suitable lines from the song, and I posted the shot as my entry for the Life To Music week, Somebody song challenge.

 Lyrics:  “told myself that you were right for me, but felt so lonely in your company, but that was love and it’s an ache I still remember. you can be addicted to a certain kind of sadness”

Damien, @mrfreakz Toulouse, France

Story:  I took this photo in Toulouse in France, the day of the contest #lifetomusic.  Sometimes complete strangers look like they are in a relationship.  I saw the woman turning away from the man with contempt in her eyes as if she didn’t need her lover anymore.  The man seems to be complaining about her cruelty.  The sign on the wall says “A shared street,  circulation in both ways on an appeased public space”

Lyrics:  “But you didn’t have to cut me off… Make out like it never happened… And that we were nothing… And I don’t even need your love… But you treat me like a stranger… And that feels so rough…”

@iris_a Paris, France

Story:  Summer…Holidays… A man, a woman and the city of Rome. Staring at an old photo, remembering when we were one, my love… When we were looking to the same direction… How life can be so strange

Lyrics:  “Now you’re just somebody that I used to know”

Naomi, @naomimeran Zurich, Switzerland

Story:  We were strolling through the lively markets and streets of tel aviv.  In the middle of this vivid street life scene I saw them sitting there. Caught in silence. Together alone. Even though I am still a bit shy with candid street shots, I wanted to capture this lonely moment for #lifetomusic_somebody.

Shot with native camera (iphone 4), edited only with snapseed. On IG I used Sierra Filter to finish it. 

Lyrics:  “I thought that you were right for me. Now I feel so lonely in your company” 

Emma, @ejanej, North Wales Coast

Story:  I went for a walk to get some shots in the grim weather and his couple were sat on the bench together, they sat there for ages and ages but never spoke a word to each other! Just looked out to sea. Together but miles apart. The lyrics to this song came into my head to perfectly describe the vibe between them so I snapped them!

Lyrics:  “like when you said you felt so happy you could die, told myself you were right for me, but felt so lonely in your company”