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Cameras, Photography and Museums
Museums can range from obscure little rooms with a specific theme (like the terrific sword fishing museum on Martha's Vineyard that's nothing more than a wooden shanty) to grand architectural statements housing the world's great artworks.
Most will allow some photography (call ahead and ask), but there are usually restrictions about using tripods and flash, so you must frequently rely on fast films. Even when flash is allowed, use it only in desperation. Most museums invest considerable time and money in lighting design, so why mock it with flash? Whether you use daylight or tungsten-balanced film will depend largely on the architecture of the museum and how accurate you need the colors to be in your prints. Some museums have large areas lit by windows or skylights (usually in sculpture rooms, where fading is less of a concern), and using daylight film will provide natural colors. If the main lighting is from tungsten fixtures, however, the colors will turn out much warmer than they appear to your eye, and this may distract from the artwork or display. Again, if color accuracy is important, switch to a tungsten-balanced slide film.
The best photo subjects in museums are usually sculptures, dioramas (in natural-history museums), and overall room views. Getting a quality shot of a painting is difficult, so it's better just to hit the postcard or poster rack and buy copies of your favorite works. If you're unfamiliar with the museum, bring several lenses: a wide-angle (around 28 mm) for overall views or when space is tight, a normal lens for close-ups, and a medium telephoto (85 mm to 105 mm) for shooting details from a distance. The matter of picture-taking etiquette is very serious in museums. People come from great distances to spend just a few hours in a museum; it's important to respect their concentration and privacy. Work as quickly and quietly as possible, and if you notice anyone becoming annoyed, move on and return later.
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