Spiral Staircase | Chrysler Museum | Norfolk, VA

Another of the stops during my parents’ visit was the Chrysler Museum of Art. You might recall that I blogged about this museum not long ago. I had captured a cool photo of their spiral staircase, but didn’t bring the best lens for the capture. This time, I did.

After viewing the Edward Burtynsky exhibition and eating lunch at the museum restaurant, Wisteria I headed to the back of the museum, armed with my 16-35mm wide angle lens.

Spiral Staircase = Alluring Architecture

Once again I found myself laying down on the floor to squeeze in all of the detail I could at 16mm. While the field of view was more to my liking, the lighting wasn’t as good as it had been on my first visit. The first time, it had been overcast outside and the light coming through the skylight was diffused. This time, it was a bright and sunny day, making for harsher highlights and shadows.

Even with the lighting challenges, I’m pretty thrilled with these photos. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE my 16-35mm lens.

Capture & Processing Notes

Both of these photos were single exposures captured with my Canon 6D and 16-35mm lens. They were processed in Lightroom and On1 Effects 10 (you can grab the free version of this amazing software here). Initially I had bracketed the shots for HDR, but decided to use only single exposures. The results were clean and I was able to selectively bring detail out only in the areas I wanted.

Visiting the Chrysler Museum of Art

The Chrysler Museum is fantastic. They have a great permanent collection and rotating exhibitions that keep me coming back. The museum is free (which is amazing considering the quality). I advise grabbing lunch at their restaurant, Wisteria, as a way to give something back and support the museum. Their food is delicious! For photographers – cameras are allowed (no flash), but backpacks, large bags, and tripods are not. Plan accordingly.