The perfect place to look for pictures
Galleries and museums are a great place to shoot on gloomy days and here's why.
If you're like me, you'll have built up a list of favourite and reliable places that you like to visit on your photowalks. Where you go depends largely on what you're looking for and what type of street photography you want to do. But sometimes we should think about broadening our horizons and exploring places and locations that we would not normally visit.
I like to think of photography as a seasonal occupation and looking at the months ahead I'll try to form a general idea about my what projects might be and where I would like to be at certain times of the year. For example, during springtime I like to head out to the architecture in the City of London and the financial district around it. Come May, the light is beautiful and the sun is high enough to penetrate the streets and I'll be hoping for some good shots.
By early summer, I'll move into the central area of London and walk around the busy shopping streets and then in September, I'll cruise the river area and feast upon the softer light and long shadows of early autumn. Winter is largely night photography and editing. That's a great year’s photography but I do like to break it up a bit by sometimes spending time away from these usual places. So, I'll forget about the streets for a while and I'll venture off to hunt in more unusual surroundings.
There are many interior spaces that can prove fruitful for pictures that perfectly capture the feel of the town and city. Cafes, bars, clubs, hotels, galleries, museums, train stations and bus stops are all buzzing with activity and good places in which to find pictures. They are usually well lit and if the weather suddenly turns foul, handy for taking shelter. Art galleries and museums in particular are excellent hunting grounds for candid shots as people work their way around the pictures and exhibits.
It's fun to watch people looking at art because they can become so absorbed in it. I like the photos where life imitates art and whatever is in the artwork is somehow mirrored by the viewer or something happening around it. This can be someone’s pose or what they are wearing perhaps.
If you're shy of taking someone’s picture, you can always pretend that you're photographing the artwork itself. Try using the exhibits in your shots in a humorous or abstract way, perhaps making them appear as though they are interacting with the people looking at them. Some places are still a bit fussy about photography on their premises, indeed I have been told off myself quite a few times. It's not as bad as it used to be because the smartphone has meant it’s far harder for them to monitor, but it might be best to check before you start.
Museums and galleries can also be good for more architectural type shots. In modern galleries that are spread over many floors, you can come across some really dramatic viewpoints. Perhaps something minimalist or abstract takes your fancy? I sometimes find looking through my viewfinder more interesting than looking at the art on the walls.
Look also for opportunities to use the buildings interior design to your advantage. I like the idea of using people in an abstract way to illustrate key design elements of the space. Stairways are sometimes brilliant areas to look for this type of shot.
Look for ways you can use the upper levels often found in galleries and musuems for different viewpoints. Looking down onto a scene below can reveal good abstract opportunities as people move around.
It's easy to lose track of time when you're shooting in this way as it can become quite addictive. I've spent whole mornings in places like galleries and museums and I won't have looked at anything hanging on the walls, only through my viewfinder. Sometimes I won’t even have spent much time in any of the exhibition spaces themselves. At the tate gallery for example, there is quite a bit to explore away from the galleries themselves that can be great for capturing people within the architecture. These are the kinds of locations I like as there is always a plentiful supply of people to work with.
As we head into the winter months where the light dims and the days shorten, a great place to look for pictures is the perfect place for pictures - galleries and museums.
Give it a try and you’ll be surprised at what you can find - and you’ll stay dry!
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Thank you, Chris! Let me know what you'd like to hear about on here.
Rupert, another enjoyable article, full of interesting images, coupled with a fair smattering of instructional and inspirational content!😀