The older "authentic" displays in the Natural History Museum have not been totally over-run with "interactive" installations for school kids. Something remains of the Victorian approach to categorising and valorising nature that birthed this place. Here are some of my favourite things.


"maybe they brought more fish"

A cute little diorama.


(Shot with the DA 12-24mm.)


Dodo

This is a fake, a model of an extinct species of Dodo. But next to it was an actual stuffed bird from a different Dodo species, and there was not much to tell them apart. They really do look like cartoon characters.


(Shot with the DA 12-24mm.)


whale skeleton

Pretty impressive hands on these things, or at least they were hands back when their ancestors were on land.


(Shot with the DA 12-24mm.)


coelecanth

About 365 million years old, this is the oldest sea creature on the planet, thought to be extinct until a specimen was found in 1938. Unpleasant to eat and ill-mannered at parties.


(Shot with the DA 12-24mm.)


flea-bitten fox

The museum no longer collects specimens and so only displays old, faded and flea-bitten animals. Or replicas.


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)


hybrid tiger

A cross between the Manchurian and Bengal tigers.


(Shot with the DA 12-24mm.)


crocodile purse

Apparently it's all the rage on certain Amazon basin runways.


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)


giant sloth

So slow it wasted away to this skeleton.


(Shot with the DA 12-24mm.)

[dadipentak]

Delightful photos and commentary, Robin!

[rparmar]

This is my second set of shots, focusing on dinosaurs and fossils. It can be difficult to show these in an interesting way. And also hard enough to avoid distractions in a museum buzzing with other visitors. But I became fascinated with how the Victorian architecture works with the skeletons, and also how the cataloguing and display systems frame the objects themselves.

I'd like to highlight the fact that a lot can be done with the two-lens combination I used throughout. The jump from 24mm to 77mm seems a lot on paper, but in practice I rarely need anything in between. I know this because although I carried the FA43 with me (and love the lens) it got very little use.

Though there were times the DA15 would have been preferable for its size, it would have been mostly useless considering field of view. Most of my shots with the zoom are at either 12mm or 24mm.


partners


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)


fossil display


(Shot with the DA 12-24mm.)


Icthyosaur


(Shot with the DA 12-24mm.)


like this for ages


(Shot with the DA 12-24mm.)


jaws


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)


snapper


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)


structural support


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)

[Ben_Edict]

This is an amazing set of images and I like each and any of these shots. Some are more documentary and others more artistic. In all cases your BW conversion is very good and your headers really add to the images. Great.

Ben

[RBellavance]

Great set, Robin ! I really like the sepia toning and the even processing of the whole series. For some reason I can't explain, "Jaws" is probably my favorite of the lot, although "Maybe they brought more fish" is very close.

Unfortunate reflection in the Coelacath shot. But I suppose the lighting conditions did not lend themselve to the use of a polarizer...

This makes me want to see this museum even more (the dino exhibit was on my shortlist for my failed trip en London this past april).

[rparmar]

Thanks for the comments. Though I did have a polariser with me, I didn't bother with it since I was there to enjoy the place with my friend first and photograph second. I do find them a pain to get out, attach and then use... at least on the wide angle zoom. But yes, the glare and reflections were quite strong.

[rparmar]

Some more random shots from the museum. Given the difficult lighting a certain number of photos did not turn out, but I got all I really needed.


pygmy shrew


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)


lamp fish


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)


layers


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)


crystal


(Shot with the FA 77mm Limited.)