Museum Lighting by bmac62
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
Think about lighting as you look at these three photos taken on the 7th and 8th of June 2009 at the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
There are more than 400 aircraft on display and countless smaller related displayed items to include uniforms, bombs (inert), engines, etc.
The challenge is to photograph all without flash. Flash can be used but adds a harsh light that detracts from the artful way the museum is designed.
These three photos were taken using a 12-60mm, f/2.8-4 lens with Aperture priority. No attempt has been made to alter these photos by cropping to give you the best view of the conditions.
Primary aircraft above:
Top: Curtis 1911 Model D, Type IV
Center: Douglas B-18, "Bolo"
Bottom: Boeing B-52, "Stratofortress"
Walked away with 1700 photos...most of which came out rather well.
Will come back and visit lots of individual aircraft...all with individual stories to tell.
Bill:)

Comments (38)
Beautiful museum, excellent collage :)
Awesome images. Excellent shots!!!
Looks like you had a VIP tour. Each time I visit a place there are too many people walking about to take a wide shot like this with no distractions. Excellent presentation. Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun.
Great shots Bill and super put together jobbie, love that Bolo!!
1700 pics!! These three are wonderful! The bottom shot is stunning as it gives a real sense of what it was like to be there.
nice
Gorgeous!!! glorious! Yes, museum lights are always a challenge. Sandra and I , we try every kind of dirty tricks in order to "avoid" them (and people of course!!). The B52 photo is awesomwe, but I really like the "Bolo"'s POV.
If these are anything to go by Bill you had a great day!!
Great shots Bill! Did you use a tripod here? I bought a small prime for this purpose but have not had the chance to use it in a scenario such as this. Nice work!
that last photo - looks like the lights are different colour temperatures. The mind boggles to imagine trying to set that up...
Neat pics, Bill. Rob must have been pleased with the museum.
Oh gosh. You said I would like the lighting - you didn't say it was so exciting! I'm fairly bouncing out of my seat, here! I'm going to enjoy your trip through that museum FAR more than I ever thought I would. I'll admit, I read every word of what you said about the lights (above) with great interest, and when I got to the plane info, I sort of skimmed over that and started reading comments. When I looked back at the pics again (amazing!! gosh, those are good!) I sort of idly wondered if the bottom shot was a Boeing plane (we tend to recognize them up here - go figure) and suddenly realized you may have mentioned it in the part I didn't read! LOL! Whoever they hired to do the lighting did a wonderful job at creating intimate and moody spaces in that vast space. I can't WAIT to see more!
Wow, wouldn't like to be the fella in the top pic. You are having a great time it seems.
fabulous triptych, Bill!!!!!!!!!and a super-WOWWWW for the 3rd shot!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh dear, Tara said it all about the magnificent lighting! Wonderful images Bill! :)
WOWW I LIKE THIS SUPER DONE GORGEOUS COLLAGE
I could spend days here. Nice shots!
I live about 30 miles south of that museum but I have never been there...was a pleasure taking a peek inside of it through your art...thank you for sharing!
Superb...the low lighting conditions adds a nice sense of what the museum is actually like....
Excellent photos. Oh how I would love to visit this museum! Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful images!!!
This is a fabulous collage and the photos are all clean and beautifully lit.
OMG, look at all that surface and volume area! And with 400 aircraft and auxiliary equipment on display? Heaven on earth!!! Ah yes, I can see it all now. You drove all the way up to Dayton, Ohio just to make my aircraft stuff look bad, lol! How can I compete with that with my simple point and shoot camera with limited aperture control? Plus 1,697 pics more to make me salivate! Might as well wave the white flag. Tara has commented on a few of my automobile shots, but never on my aircraft postings, which really rubs it in. These captures are beyond fabulous, Bill, with sharp clarity and neat lighting effects under somewhat dim conditions. Awesome POV, DOF and perspective with the B-52. Really like the top image of the Curtiss 1911 Model D, with Glenn Curtiss at the controls. Super duper!
Wow! Fantastic collage and pictures.
Great lighting in this museum to get these super captures. What a great place.
Wonderful images! The place looks amazing.
This is incredible
wonferful series!
All together excellent images and captures, they really are impresive. The B, Is a really nice shot, love the angle!!!
Great shots and I see that they have changed the displays since I was there 10 years ago. It's cool that you can walk under the B-18 and check out the bomb bay. I have always contended that most museum lighting is very poor, but you mastered it!