Photography as a substitute for drinking
It's good to have friends who have itchy shutter-fingers. I'm talking about A and J who I visited in Stockholm. Like me, A is tempted to take pictures in forbidden places. ;-) Curiously, in Sweden, airports are not off-limits for photography! J said it's because airports are not military objects. The latter are off-limits, everything else is not.
The Royal Castle, however, is a military object - because the Swedish king still happens to live there, in the part of the castle that hasn't been turned into the museum. So, A could not resist temptation to snap pictures of the former royal living apartments when no one was around. That's a good way to make a museum a lot more thrilling than it would be otherwise. :-) An extra challege was to do it without using flash, because if you use flash, the museum attendants will see it from several rooms away, and will come running to you. They did come running to us a couple of times anyway, such as when she took a picture of this very cute mini-elevator -- apparently for handicapped -- but A managed to sweet-talk her way out of the situation.
Fortunately, A and J are good at taking pictures without flash, even indoors -- it's a point of pride for them. They have had a lot of practice, because they turn every situation into an opportunity to play with their cameras. Well, not every situation, just those relaxed moments when people are hanging out. To A and J -- especially J -- an unusual lighting presents a challenge to take interesting pictures. So, last night at the bar we did a lot of experimentation with different kinds of lighthing and camera settings. The first bar we went to was more like a restaurant, with candlelit tables. For about half and hour A, J and I shuffled the candles, bottles and drink glasses around the table to take "interesting" portraits of one another -- that's before we even started drinking. "Interesting" is relative, of course, but the best thing about it was that it was exhilarating without having anything to drink. :-) But we did that too eventually -- of course. :-)
The Royal Castle, however, is a military object - because the Swedish king still happens to live there, in the part of the castle that hasn't been turned into the museum. So, A could not resist temptation to snap pictures of the former royal living apartments when no one was around. That's a good way to make a museum a lot more thrilling than it would be otherwise. :-) An extra challege was to do it without using flash, because if you use flash, the museum attendants will see it from several rooms away, and will come running to you. They did come running to us a couple of times anyway, such as when she took a picture of this very cute mini-elevator -- apparently for handicapped -- but A managed to sweet-talk her way out of the situation.
Fortunately, A and J are good at taking pictures without flash, even indoors -- it's a point of pride for them. They have had a lot of practice, because they turn every situation into an opportunity to play with their cameras. Well, not every situation, just those relaxed moments when people are hanging out. To A and J -- especially J -- an unusual lighting presents a challenge to take interesting pictures. So, last night at the bar we did a lot of experimentation with different kinds of lighthing and camera settings. The first bar we went to was more like a restaurant, with candlelit tables. For about half and hour A, J and I shuffled the candles, bottles and drink glasses around the table to take "interesting" portraits of one another -- that's before we even started drinking. "Interesting" is relative, of course, but the best thing about it was that it was exhilarating without having anything to drink. :-) But we did that too eventually -- of course. :-)