The daily challenge topic today is “handle with care” so I chose to photograph a deteriorating piece of sheet music, the Black and White Rag, which was published in 1908 by George Botsford, a contemporary of Scott Joplin’s, and, which obviously, was NOT handled with care. It is 104 years old and I acquired it at an estate sale about 15 years ago in this deteriorated condition. I must admit I have done nothing to preserve it but it hasn’t gotten any worse because I scanned the music then so I could play it. I’m glad I did because it’s a lively and fun piece to play. No wonder it was Botsford’s most famous composition.
I photographed this on my dining room table with natural window light. Because it was overcast and cloudy, I set the white balance to cloudy which resulted in perfectly rendered colors of the yellowing pages.
Focal Length 35mm
ISO 100
f/16
3 seconds
WB-Cloudy
SOOC