MMXII::04

 I will be editing a photo a day for the remainder of 2012::Project MMXII, this is my ‘after’, you can view the ‘before’ here.

The before should be nice and cringe worthy just the way you like them. I don’t own a wide angle lens that opens up to let in a lot of light.  I have a small 50 mm lens and I am blessed with a sort of wobbly balance (I have small feet for my body, I think it makes me sway), when it comes to hand holding in a low light situation. I took this photograph in a room at the NYC Natural History museum that is very neglected.  I would think for a city as wealthy as New York and as invested in their museums that there would be no exhibits that needed attention. This room was a little more than an after thought–elephants stood sentry with thick layers of dust (and not exhibit planned dust either), scratched glassy eyes abounded and moth eaten fur coats were de rigeur.  This exhibit is certainly not the one you want to spend the most time in, but I did.  I wanted to make up for all the other museum goers that rushed past this room in a huff. I wish I could give you the name of the exhibit, especially since I spent a couple hours there, but all I have are my photographs.  The lighting was horrific, a naked bulb hanging from an exposed wire would have been more flattering. From the ‘before’ image you can gauge that it wasn’t the most optimum photo-op.  I liked the solitude, as I often do, crowds make my head buzz. Being alone in a room of stuffed animals felt strangely comforting. I liked that I didn’t have to push small children out of the way to get a photograph (not that I would, but I am glad that I didn’t have to). I used textures from Shadow House Creations to assist in the ‘after’ image, you’ll find it a wonderful resource for high quality free textures.

4 thoughts on “MMXII::04

  1. A while back,it might have even been about a year ago, you wrote about a couple of books you were wanting to read. One of them was about an elephant. As soon as I saw it on here, I bought the book. It was wonderful and I loved it, but being the stupid girl that I sometimes am, I gave it to someone and never got it back. Now I can’t find the post or the book. Sads!

    Anyway, after reading that book I always have a soft spot in my heart for elephants. I feel the need to fly to NYC and take care of those poor neglected stuffed elepants. I want to give them pretty shiny eyes and patch the holes in their coats. At least a kind soul like you took their pictures and made them look pretty. I’m sure they appreciated the attention. (Well, in my head they did anyway. It’s kind of a crazy world inside my head.)

  2. Oh Toi I read it and wept my heart out! If there was ever a book that needed to be made into a movie this is one of them. I know these poor elephants they need a dusting fund or something the other animals in there were worse for wear as well:(

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