Making Music the Backstory to Your Pictures

Synonymous with photography are road trips, and my favorite way to make a road trip into a lasting memory is with music.  There's nothing more freeing that exploring a new part of the country, or the world, with a song blaring from the car stereo and singing along. 

I burned a copy of my favorite iTunes to a CD on my road trip out west in November, and it's one of the most important items I packed.  Whenever I hear Paramore's "Still Into You" I can feel all the sensations that go along with zipping down Rt. 191 from Moab, Utah, to Monument Valley.  And bumping along the ridiculous loop at Monument Valley with its potholes and dust comes vividly back to mind when I hear "Wake Me Up" by Avicii. Or how about "Life is a Highway", the Rascal Flats version, reminding me of the road trip into Colorado with an amazing sunset?  These are all priceless memories that help keep the backstories to my photographs fresh and happy.  

And at the same time, I cannot think of Arches National Park without hearing "Trouble" by Neon Jungle.  Or New Zealand's Mount Cook without hearing Arvil Lavigne's "Innocence". 

It's like a gift that keeps on giving.  The image reminds you of the song, and the song reminds you of that place you don't want to forget.

It just makes the whole experience doubly memorable.  The images capture the moment, but the music captures the spirit of getting to that moment.  

Life is a Highway, baby!  Rt. 163 into Monument Valley, Arizona.