To take this picture was one of the reasons why I planned this trip to London. To take the Main Hall of the Natural History Museum…with no people inside the frame, just to mention it.
I entered the museum in the late morning through one of the side entries, visited the museum and on the way to the hall, I’ve been told that no tripods are allowed inside those walls. Damn, that was kind of a setback. Nevertheless, I proceeded to the main hall and there were...thousands of people at least… I got up the stairs to the upper level, tried to stabilize my gear with my book (thank you Ken Follet) and a filter pouch on the handrail and started to take a few shots, with and without ND filters. Did I mentioned that I wanted this frame without people inside of it…To make it short, none of those shots were good enough.
But on the day of my flight back home, I decided to give it another shot, but this time, I went there in the morning, half hour before the opening, and I went for the main entrance, which leads directly inside the main hall. Finally, the gates opened, a final rush inside the main hall…and here I was, alone, inside this majestic hall, wrapped in silence, taking the perfect picture of this journey.
NIKON Z 9
NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
24mm ƒ/5.6 1/100s ISO 1100
I did the same with the Giant's Causeway in Ireland—woke up at 4:00 AM, walked down, and had one of the greatest natural wonders of the world all to myself until about 6:30 AM. I was able to capture night shots and all sorts of light painting—it was glorious.
Your image took me back and brought back that memory. Thank you for taking me back to that morning. :)
Yes, those are these special moments worth walking the extra mile ;-)
If you don't know already, learn how to take multiple exposures and paint out people where necessary. Sometimes it's the only way to get the shot, and frankly it's a lot less time consuming.
Great shot, though.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz0x_S1AIpB/
Yes, I know, but I like the challenge and that's the kind of picture I want to take as raw as possible. It's also the atmosphere which makes those pictures so special.
Thks though.
M.