Journey to the center of the Earth

This is the Earth Hall inside the Natural History Museum in London. Hoping to capture images of some of the spaces before they filled with people, I arrived early and was one of the first people through the doors. After spending my first moments photographing the great Hintze Hall (published earlier in the Looking Down on Darwin post), I quickly made my way to this great space.

I thought the room would fill up quickly, but I ended up having the place to myself for about 10 minutes. Being alone, I had the benefit of getting some compositions that otherwise would have been difficult. Standing here at the bottom of the escalator is one example, and it turned out to be my favorite. With no one in front or behind me, I could take my time. This proved essential as it took several hand-held attempts to try to align myself and the camera in the right spot (tripods are not allowed).

I recently rediscovered this image going through some old files on my computer. I have always liked this image, but for whatever reason, I hadn't published it until now. With the museum closed indefinitely due to the global health situation, it seems like the right time to finally share it with you. It is best to experience this chamber in person, so let's hope the museum is able to open its doors again soon.

Ground Under Ben

I have to admit, the first time I visited London I was a little starstruck walking around most of the famous tourist attractions. I suppose I felt this way because I was actually standing next to all of these places that previously I had only been able to experience in movies or pictures. They were suddenly real!

Seeing Big Ben checked off one of my many bucket list items. I remember walking down the sidewalk, turning the corner, looking up to see this and just feeling happy. Finally, Ben right in front of me…awesome!

As I walked by this sign, I knew I wanted to get an image of it and Ben. However, when I stood by the sign, I discovered that I had to crouch down close to the ground to get an angle where Ben was visible. I had a problem…the sidewalk was flooded with tourists entering and exiting the Underground station nearby.  Getting on the ground would almost surely result in getting stepped on…or perhaps causing someone to trip over me as they walked by.

Fortunately my wife was with me and noticed my predicament. She offered to perform crowd control as I got low, doing an incredible job of shielding me from the passers by (and them from me!)

Problem solved. Memory captured. Photo assistant found!

To all of you in the U.S., Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you have a great holiday!

Looking Down On Darwin

This amazing place is the Natural History Museum in London. It is easily one of the most interesting buildings I have had the opportunity to visit and photograph. This is the massive main corridor filled with arches upon arches upon arches. 

I arrived when the museum was opening and was one of the first in the door. I thought it would fill up with people quickly, but I had time to walk around for 10-15 minutes as one of the only people inside. I took several photographs from various spots and kept climbing the flights of stairs until I reached the top platform. From here you have a great perspective of the entire hall, looking down and seeing all three levels. If you look closely, you will see a white statue at the far end of the hall…that is a statue honoring Charles Darwin.

I did not have a tripod, so I had to take this handheld…which presented a bit of a challenge. Aligning a camera properly to avoid distortion in lines, shapes and arches takes a steady hand and careful positioning. It has taken me a lot of practice, but I have become better at this technique was able to get the symmetry that I wanted for this image.

I could hear several people entering the hall as I finished shooting. Moments later, a group of about 30 elementary kids came charging up the stairs. All of them were wearing the same bright yellow “field trip” t-shirts and shouting Harry Potter phrases. Looking back, I probably should have taken a picture of that scene as well. :)