Finally!

It's amazing how music can enhance emotion. Something so neutral that struggles to provide an emotional reaction can change its effect by being accompanied with music.

Due to the extra free time this week, I finally had enough time to put together a DVD slideshow of my trip to the British Isles. I still haven't shared my photos with some friends and family because it is difficult to share them while crowded around a computer. My response to fix that problem, make a DVD.

I had about 1,000 photos to put in the DVD but cut it down to 800. I also added some video clips and clips of the Icelandic volcano that kept us in Ireland for an extra 3 days. The last thing I added to my movie was the music. I spent 2 days pouring over cds trying to find the perfect songs. I listened to song after song of Scottish, Irish, and English music in order to find the perfect match for my photos. After two days of hard work, I had a finished DVD of my photos.

When I watched my movie for the first time, I never expected to have an emotional reaction, but to my surprise I finally experienced what I thought I would have felt on the trip--I was in awe, pure mind numbing, stop you in your tracks awe.

Since I was young, I have dreamt of traveling to Scotland and the British Isles. It was the only place that called my name and I had to go there. I have a large amount of Scottish heritage and I wanted so bad to touch the ground of my ancestors, see what they saw, experience a little bit of family history. I felt such a strong desire and attachment to the British Isles that I had no doubt I would be in awe during the whole trip and without words but to my disappiontment I never had that feeling. I often tried to force my mind to wander and find that emotional fulfillment I yearned for but I never succeeded. I came home from the trip feeling drained and disappointed, how come this seemingly "magical" place didn't move me? Why didn't this historic place leave a deep impression?

I attributed my lack of emotional response to the busy schedule of the trip. We were often traveling so much that I never found time to sit and reflect on my experience, I could never find the time to let the magnitude of the trip sink in. When I got back home I attributed my lack of emotional response to the amount of reflection that had to occur in order to enable an emotional response. I just didn't have the time for two weeks of sites to settle and have impact. But I am finally experiencing reflection, awe, and that emotional respose I always expected to happen and it is all because of the DVD and the power of music.

I've watched my slideshow a few times now and each time I build upon the last emotion. I am in complete awe. I was there! I can hardly believe I was really there! The bagpipe music evokes pride, the Beatles music brings out disbelief, and the Irish Folk music enhances the feeling of nostalgia.

Earlier this summer, I went to the Backstreet Boys concert. I joked that the Backstreet Boys were better at bringing out an emotional response than the British Isles, but who knew that all I needed to do was add some music to my photos.