Curators must take a special course at museum school: “Lighting effects 101: how to screw over amateur photographers to increase postcard sales revenue”. I've never been to a museum that didn't make me want to take pot shots at the harsh overhead lighting - and I've been to a few.
As we're celebrating a great pagan festival this weekend, the consumption of the chocolate egg god, I thought I'd pay a visit to my favourite museum, the musée d'Arles antique, and mess around with 3-D effects in black and white.
A grateful G. Julius Caesar (he of Ides of March fame) founded Arles as a direct Roman colony with veterans who remained loyal to him during the civil war (its citizens were Romans, not foederati), which may go some way to explain the quality and quantity of what they carved and purchased.
All these taken with a manual focus tilt-shift lens (ha!).
Musée d'Arles antique
It's a bust
Gaius Julius Caesar's great-great-great nephew (great-grandson by adoption), also called Gaius. Poisoned by Livia. I edited the wrong image, so ignore and take at look at the last one in the series.
Self-portrait
Can-can girls
Psst… Phaedra's sleeping with Hippolytus. Pass it on.
More from the Phaedra and Hippolytus sarcophagus, mid-second century CE. Marble, probably from Attica.
The whole thing. The sarcophagus relates the story of Theseus' son, Hippolytus, and Phaedra. Theseus is the central nude. The holes were made by medieval grave robbers. At least they didn't destroy the whole thing.
Thanks to my friend Stéphane (who pointed out that No. 3 was lacking in contrast and OOF), I added this one, which is the raw file I should have used). I hope I've kept the 3-D effect and something of what must have made Gaius Caesar a very handsome young man.
Despite the adverse lighting you did a great job. In my experience car and aircraft museums take the biscuit for bad lighting - usually just very dim!