Interior Challenge

Reid Concert Hall Museum of Instruments before re-developement, June 2014.

In the last couple of weeks I have been out to visit both the Reid Musical Instrument Museum and St. Cecilia’s Music Hall to document the buildings prior to a makeover.

The Reid is a particularly challenging location for a photographer: tight spaces with mixed lighting and tall glass cabinets lining the walls and centre of the room. Reflections everywhere. It turns out that this was not a good day to wear my new white top!

After de-cluttering the room as much as possible and squeezing the camera as far into the corner as I could, I fitted a polarising filter to the wide angle lens to minimise the reflections, set the camera onto the self-timer and ran away to hide well out of the shot.

Reid Concert Hall Museum of Instruments before re-developement, June 2014.

Reid Concert Hall Museum of Instruments before re-developement, June 2014.

St Cecilia's Music Hall before re-development, July 2014.

St. Cecilia’s was more about emphasising the fine architectural details, symmetry and elegance of the oldest Concert Hall in Scotland. However, once again the lighting created some challenges- here I had to shade the camera lens to prevent the spotlights creating unwanted lens flare.

St Cecilia's Music Hall before re-development, July 2014. St Cecilia's Music Hall before re-development, July 2014.More about the Musical Instrument Museums can be found here

http://www.stcecilias.ed.ac.uk/about.html

http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/information-services/library-museum-gallery/museums-and-galleries/musical-instrument-museums/see

Susan Pettigrew, Photographer

6 Comments

  1. Jill said:

    the photos make the Reid especially look SO good – why would we ever want to change it?

    July 16, 2014
    Reply
    • Susan said:

      Thanks Jill! I’m looking forward to seeing what the plans are…

      July 16, 2014
      Reply
  2. Ianthe Sutherland said:

    These photographs are stunning. Well done Susan!

    July 16, 2014
    Reply
    • diu said:

      Cheers Ianthe- I really enjoy Architectural photography

      July 16, 2014
      Reply
  3. Laura Macpherson said:

    Really lovely, Susan. And the insights into the process of actually making that beautiful shot are great! Is not wearing white when shooting, the same as not wearing stripes on TV.? 🙂

    July 16, 2014
    Reply
    • Susan said:

      I don’t know Laura, no stripes could be down to the Moire effect, just a comment on fashion sense, or perhaps it is like Zebra’s…the stripes confuse their predators (the cameraman?!).

      July 16, 2014
      Reply

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