While down in London recently, I decided to swing via The British Museum on the way home, to take advantage of the wonderful architectural photography opportunities that it provides, especially with in its grand Great Court. Having seen many photographs online, I was excited to see what was on offer and even though my visit was brief, it did not disappoint.
Although it is free to enter the museum, a ticket is still required, which I discovered on my arrival at the entrance. These can be quickly purchased online but at busier times, you may not be so lucky and have to hang around for a slot to get in. A quick security check and I was in and free to explore.
As mentioned, my time was limited, so I headed straight into the Central Atrium, although a large staircase in the entrance hall did catch my eye but I saved that for later, The place was packed and it was going to be challenging to get the minimal photography I wanted but I treated this as a scouting trip and wandered around.
Due to the bright sunlight and white marble, I had already decided that any shots would be in black and white. I also wanted to lean into the bright scene, especially when contrasted with the older and darker parts of the building and planned to process any images with a high-key approach.
There were so many opportunities and despite it being so busy, I patiently worked some scenes and was rewarded by getting them without people, which was my preference. The sweeping lines and contrasting materials made for some really interesting compositions and I was very happy with some of the shots I managed to grab.
As I left I spent some time on the grand staircase and my patience was rewarded here and I was able to get a shot from below that was completely clear of people and a couple from above, which I was able to blend to give an empty staircase. As this was the older part of the building I went for a more traditional black and white process here, although a desaturated colour approach also worked well.
Finally, I grabbed a shot out of the window overlooking the Great Court. This was tricky with all the people, so I did do quite a bit of cleaning up during the post processing, removing some of the people from the scene to hopefully give a more balanced composition. I am not sure on the museums policy regarding tripods but I only had a mini one with me anyway and shot everything handheld. My assumption is that due to the crowds, a tripod would be frowned upon, although if you could use one, this would open the opportunity to use long exposures to remove the crowds.
All in all I spent a little over an hour there and only scratched the surface of what this location has to offer a photographer, especially one interested in architecture. I have included some of my favorite shots from my time there below but will definitely be looking to return again soon and explore deeper into the museum.
