The Great Court
My second shot from The British Museum, this is the stunning Great Court. It was a pretty overcast day when I visited so there wasn't much light coming through the glass roof which made the area look a bit dull, but after a bit of editing in Lightroom I've ended up with a shot I'm happy with.
I got to the museum fairly early and despite not having been there since I was a kid, I managed to find my way to the upper level quite easily to photograph from this view looking down into the court. I had my camera set up on my mini tripod and managed to get a few shots off before being told off by a security guard who said tripods weren't allowed, but I had what I wanted so didn't argue with him.
I'm going to visit here again in September on my next trip to London to see if I can improve on this shot.
Designed by Foster and Partners, the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court transformed the Museum’s inner courtyard into the largest covered public square in Europe. It is a two-acre space enclosed by a spectacular glass roof with the world-famous Reading Room at its centre.
In the original Robert Smirke design the courtyard was meant to be a garden. However, in 1852–7 the Reading Room and a number of bookstacks were built in the courtyard to house the library department of the Museum and the space was lost.
In 1997, the Museum’s library department was relocated to the new British Library building in St Pancras and there was an opportunity to re-open the space to public.
An architectural competition was launched to re-design the courtyard space. There were over 130 entries and it was eventually won by Lord Foster.
The £100 million project was supported by grants of £30 million from the Millennium Commission and £15.75 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Great Court was opened on 6 December 2000 by Her Majesty the Queen.
The Great Court
My second shot from The British Museum, this is the stunning Great Court. It was a pretty overcast day when I visited so there wasn't much light coming through the glass roof which made the area look a bit dull, but after a bit of editing in Lightroom I've ended up with a shot I'm happy with.
I got to the museum fairly early and despite not having been there since I was a kid, I managed to find my way to the upper level quite easily to photograph from this view looking down into the court. I had my camera set up on my mini tripod and managed to get a few shots off before being told off by a security guard who said tripods weren't allowed, but I had what I wanted so didn't argue with him.
I'm going to visit here again in September on my next trip to London to see if I can improve on this shot.
Designed by Foster and Partners, the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court transformed the Museum’s inner courtyard into the largest covered public square in Europe. It is a two-acre space enclosed by a spectacular glass roof with the world-famous Reading Room at its centre.
In the original Robert Smirke design the courtyard was meant to be a garden. However, in 1852–7 the Reading Room and a number of bookstacks were built in the courtyard to house the library department of the Museum and the space was lost.
In 1997, the Museum’s library department was relocated to the new British Library building in St Pancras and there was an opportunity to re-open the space to public.
An architectural competition was launched to re-design the courtyard space. There were over 130 entries and it was eventually won by Lord Foster.
The £100 million project was supported by grants of £30 million from the Millennium Commission and £15.75 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The Great Court was opened on 6 December 2000 by Her Majesty the Queen.