Guggenheim Museum This year the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, one of the most significant architectural icons of the 20th century, celebrates its 50th anniversary. The museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is devoted to ‘art of the 20th century and beyond’. However, art at the Guggenheim is not limited simply to what hangs in the museum but also the unique architecture of the museum itself. As you enter the lobby the first thing you notice is the use of the circle which spirals upward to a glass dome with six fold symmetry. Unlike the typical museums with galleries spread across many rooms, the Guggenheim breaks with tradition in true Frank Lloyd Wright style. Wright’s architecture is based on integrating both beauty and function. Here a stroll along the spiral walkway allows the visitor to see everything from top to bottom. Of course at the top you will undoubtedly be looking down the center of the spiral to the bottom just like you spent time staring up when you first entered. Guggenheim Architecture-314 If you love architecture, photography, and have an appreciation for the spiral form, then grab your widest lens next time you are in NYC and head off to the Guggenheim and point it straight up. The perspective you will see through your viewfinder with a super-wide lens can be described as a religious experience. You can start out in the center, point straight up and frame to photograph the spiral form. You will quickly notice that with a super-wide lens the slightest movement can dramatically alter perfect symmetry but in this place those distortions are welcome. By moving around, away from the center and playing with the tilt of your camera you can create and record your own private art show from the ever-changing shapes and symmetry. If you were a fan of the 60’s show, The Time Tunnel, you will have flashbacks. My goal was to use wide-angle lenses to capture a variety of dramatic and intriguing looks of the architectural style and symmetry under the limited conditions permitted for photographers. Those conditions/restrictions are no tripods and photography at the lobby level only. Guggenheim Architecture-162 My lenses for this shoot were both my Nikon 10.5mm fisheye and my 10-24mm used mostly at 10mm with my Nikon D300. All my shots were obviously handheld and captured at ISO 800 with an aperture of f/6.7 or f/8. Fortunately, my handheld technique is very good so I was able to get sharp results at shutter speeds as low as 1/15 to 1/30 sec. I had a little bit of noise at ISO 800 that was easily cleaned up. One tip when shooting is to be careful not to blow out the detail in the glass dome. At midday on a clear day the sky is so bright that it is easy to either blow out dome detail or severely underexpose the spirals. Best time is late afternoon or a cloudy day. A cloudy sky will cost you a full stop of light compared to a bright sky so you need good technique, high ISO capability, or simply open up a stop or more to get sharp results. I hope you take the time to look at Guggenheim Architecture gallery. If you would like to make a comment you can do so at this blog post