Cade Martin was honored recently to photograph the cover story for Southwest Airlines’ Southwest the Magazine. And it’s a doozy of a story about Derek Amato, sudden savant. Amato dove into the shallow end of a pool at a party. After being diagnosed with a severe concussion and resting for 5 days, he woke up a piano virtuoso, with a sudden ability to play and create complex, intricate music.
"This was such a unique opportunity - I just had to figure out how to pull it off", says Martin. "Kevin de Miranda, creative director at Pace Communications, came to me with the conceptual idea of Derek playing the piano at the bottom of the pool. I loved the idea of creating something ethereal and beautiful. It was a bit of challenge logistically as well as technically but Derek was amazing throughout – as generous with his time and energy as he is with his story and his music. I love this story, because it reminds me that we can still wowed."
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