Gallery: every picture tells a story
Every picture tells a story
Rod Stewart
While I hope I can say of many of my photos that it ‘tells a story’, I have chosen that title for this particular gallery for a reason. As a song (and album) title, it fits perfectly with my theme, mixing images with music.
You see, for this week’s Lens Artists challenge Egídio would like ‘to hear the music you make when you photograph’. So I’ve chosen some images from my archives that I believe illustrate song titles. In some cases I started with the song and looked for a photo, in others I spotted a photo that reminded me of a song.
And for a bit of fun, I’ve not mentioned those titles in my captions so that you can play a guessing game. Many will be pretty obvious, but a few are less so. If you’re stuck, I’ve included the answers below the gallery.
My feature photo was taken in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It’s not intended to illustrate a particular song title, just evoke the overall theme of music!
1. In Shoreditch, east London
2. Lakeside in Puerto Varas, Chile
3. In Laguna Beach, California (from an old slide taken in 1991)
4. Sign entering Pie Town, New Mexico
5. Surfer on the beach at Cape May, New Jersey
6. Road through the Atacama Desert, Chile
7. On the road from La Paz to Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico
8. In Tirana, Albania
9. In the Route 66 museum in Santa Rosa, New Mexico
10. At the Gila Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico, once home to the Mogollon people
11. The grave of William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, and two of his ‘pals’, near Fort Sumner, New Mexico
12. Freshly picked at a rose farm in Bulgaria
13. In Chobe National Park, Botswana
The answers
Here are the answers, for those of you playing the guessing game. How many did you get right?! I’ve included links to YouTube videos in case you don’t know any of the songs, or would like to hear them again.
2. (Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding
3. Hotel California by the Eagles
5. Surfin’ USA by the Beach Boys
6. The Long and Winding Road by the Beatles
7. On the Road Again by Canned Heat
9. Pink Cadillac by Bruce Springsteen
10. The Cave by Mumford and Sons
11. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan
60 Comments
Annie Berger
GREAT post, Sarah – enjoyed it so much but just wish it were longer even if it meant my tally would be lower! Can’t believe how much of New Mexico you’ve seen – far more than us and it’s just south of us. Normally, it’s just a pas through state for us. Also enjoyed your Pie Town post – Steven and I will have to look at going there after my upcoming surgery.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Annie 😊 New Mexico has been one of our favourite states to explore to date. There’s loads to see and really varied – landscapes, history, space exploration and even aliens!
Annie Berger
Yup, Steven has always had a soft spot for Roswell!
Sarah Wilkie
I found it absolutely fascinating!
wetanddustyroads
I was able to identify a few songs – your first and last photos were the easy ones (oh, and Hotel California). Your “Knockin’ on Heavens Door” photo is clever 🙂 – got that one wrong. And when I went through your post a second time to look at the photos (and not guessing the song), the Chile photo was my favourite, with the soft roses of Bulgaria just as beautiful.
Sarah Wilkie
Glad you had fun with this and got some right 😀
navasolanature
Very clever – Hotel California the easy one for me but will listen in again to Paul Simon’s African Skies. Some amazing and varied photographs of your travels.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much 😊 Under African Skies is a real favourite of mine, and indeed the whole Graceland album 🙂
navasolanature
Yes, it is timeless and thanks for the reminder and being able to listen quickly. There’s a vinyl inna cupboard somewhere!
photobyjohnbo
I am ashamed of my score… let’s just leave it at that!
I always enjoy your travel photos, whether I picked the right musical accompaniment or not. >grin<
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you John – I wouldn’t dream of asking your score after those kind words about the photos!
Sofia Alves
That was fun, Sarah! I loved your photos but was very poor with my answers! What a great way to join in on this challenge 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Glad you enjoyed playing along Sofia 🙂
equinoxio21
Very good. Thank you…
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks, glad you liked it 😀
grandmisadventures
very fun and clever mix of pictures and music 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Meg 🙂
JohnRH
Great photos, great quiz. Well done!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you John 🙂
Ju-Lyn
I love so much your music & image pairings! Good songs, all of them, and they illuminate your captures in a very special way. I have to say my favourite is the Pie pair!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ju-Lyn, I’m glad you liked my song choices as well as the photos. Several of these are real favourites of mine 🙂
Sue
Excellent images- but I got less than half of the songs!
Sarah Wilkie
Well, you beat quite a few people I reckon! Thanks Sue 😀
Chuckster
Slick post, nice twists on the songs Cowboy! Do another!
Sarah Wilkie
Glad you liked it, thanks 🙂 But no more like this for the time being at least, it took a lot of work and I’m ready for something different now!
margaret21
Well, I got not a single point, but I enjoyed your pictures!
Sarah Wilkie
Oh dear! These are mostly older numbers so I’m surprised you didn’t get any, but if you enjoyed the photos that’s the main thing 😀
bushboy
Fabulous idea Sarah. I had so much fun, only “disagreed” on some.
Photo 1 Waiting on a Friend – Rolling Stones
Photo 4 The Pie – Sutherland Bros and Quiver
Photo 8 Rearview Mirror – Pearl Jam
Photo 11 The Ballad of Billy the Kid – Billy Joel
Photo 12 Harley and Rose – The Black Sorrows
Photo 13 On a Plain – Nirvana
#12 is an Aussie icon you wouldn’t know. Listen if you have time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je9wu6YJ35E
Sarah Wilkie
Some interesting guesses Brian 🙂 I don’t know The Pie, despite liking the Sutherland Brothers (I preferred them before they joined forces with Quiver). In fact, apart from your #11 (which I don’t especially like, sorry), none of your choices are well known to me – we clearly have different taste in music!
bushboy
Thanks. I was wrong it was just the Sutherland Bros
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBB6tvsLWTE
I must admit my tastes are quite wide ranging except full on opera and any self indulgent music like some jazz. I studied classical music from Baroque to modern classical music.
My life has always had music, even now
thehungrytravellers.blog
A quiz right up my street. My guesses were…1-3 all correct, 4 My Little Town, 5 correct, 6 Road To Nowhere, 7 correct, 8 Look Through Any Window, 9 correct, 10 Take Me Home Country Road, 11 The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, 12 A Good Year For The Roses, 13 Africa (Toto)…….how’d I do?
Sarah Wilkie
Not bad Phil, and I thought you’d enjoy this 🙂 Most of your guesses make sense to me, and I smiled at your choice for #11! But your #4 choice, while a great song, could have been better illustrated I reckon – if you’d actually seen Pie Town you’d know there are no factories, no ‘dirty breeze’, not much of anything! Just two wooden cafes selling pies and a handful of houses. We would call it a hamlet 😀
thehungrytravellers.blog
😃😃
Wind Kisses
Great selections Sarah. I guessed about half, but it didn’t matter because I always like your photos no matter what, lol. The Pink Cadillac stood out for me. And I can’t believe you have been through Pie Town. So few people seem to know about that place. You sure do your research when you travel! Fun post.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Donna 😊 Oh yes, Pie Town – we went through after visiting the Very Large Array which was must-see for us in NM. And of course we stopped for a slice of pie! I even blogged about it a while back: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/a-pit-stop-in-pioneering-pie-town/
Wind Kisses
Nice. Oh yes. that Very Large Array is a must see. We have told people about it and they nod their head…like…uh…ok. We loved the strangeness of the whole thing. And yes. Pie.
sustainabilitea
What fun, Sarah! I got about half, I think. I got a good laugh from the “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” after going back to see what you’d chosen.
janet
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Janet – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door seems to have fooled a few people, which surprises me as I felt it was more obvious than many of the others! But as Jo said below, what’s in my head isn’t necessarily in that of the rest of you 😆
kzmcb
Very cool idea, Sarah. I didn’t realise I was supposed to guess the songs until I got to the end, I must have misread.
Sarah Wilkie
Sorry, I thought I was clear when I said that, ‘for a bit of fun, I’ve not mentioned those titles in my captions so that you can play a guessing game. Many will be pretty obvious, but a few are less so. If you’re stuck, I’ve included the answers below the gallery.’ But my apologies if that didn’t make it clear enough.
kzmcb
Oh definitely my fault all the way. I’m having to read while travelling and getting reception so I’m sometimes missing bits. I didn’t mean to suggest you hadn’t made it clear, more that I was disappointed with missing out on the fun.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s a shame but I know how hard it is to follow blogs while travelling so I appreciate you making the effort 😀
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Three. Streets of London, Surfin’ USA, and Hotel California. Like others, I kick myself at American Pie!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anabel – I confess I’m surprised more people aren’t getting American Pie!
Egídio
Sarah, how fun that you liked the challenge and came up with your own quiz. The images are beautiful, of course. I struggled with some of the songs simply because I did not grow up in the US. Some of the songs were unknown to me. Nevertheless, once I saw the answers, a light shone bright in my head. You nailed it perfectly with your choices. I especially liked the musical pairs in 2-9 and the final three choices. Thanks for offering this beautiful musical selection for your awesome photos. This was really fun for me, too.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much, I’m really glad you found this fun and liked the photos 😀 It was a great idea for a challenge, thanks for coming up with it!
Egídio
Thanks for the feedback. I’m happy to see several people reacting in a similar manner as you did.
Tina Schell
Terrific Sarah! I got most of them but Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – that was a stumper and it made me laugh when I saw the song! Loved your response.
Sarah Wilkie
Well done Tina 😀 I felt Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door would be completely obvious to some, if they remembered the film but puzzle a lot of other people!
restlessjo
I got about half, Sarah. I don’t think what’s in your head necessarily translates to the viewer in some instances, but looking at the answers they all make sense. Love those rose petals and that’s such a pretty Cadillac.
Sarah Wilkie
Half is good I reckon Jo, because you’re right that what’s in my head may not be as obvious to you as it seemed to me!
restlessjo
🤣🩵
Marie
Only 3!!!! Hotel California, Surfin USA and Pink Cadillac. I should have spotted American Pie!!! Streets of London and Long and Winding Road are my favs I think. That was a great exercise – I bet you really enjoyed it…
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Marie – I have to say I thought American Pie was quite obvious, but I know some of the others were hard 😉
Anne Sandler
I enjoyed your images and quiz Sarah. Well done!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne 🙂
Mari Nichlson
Love your musical gallery, Sarah, but I’ve fallen down on the titles as I only managed to get 3 titles from them, Streets of London, Pink Cadillac and Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay. I should have got American Pie! The pictures are evocative and even though I haven’t visited them, I feel they are familiar.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Mari 🙂 Yes, I thought American Pie was one of the easier ones but I know they aren’t all obvious!
satyam rastogi
Beautiful post beautiful pictures 🌹🌹
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks!