Hope the Blue Whale Skeleton, Hintze Hall at Natural History Museum

This photo was taken from the landing of the stairs in the Hintze Hall main entrance of the Natural History Museum (Green Zone). After you've entered the main entrance of the museum from Exhibition Road, follow the signs that lead to Hintze Hall (Green Zone). Walk the length of the hall and up the grand staircase near the statue of Charles Darwin. Once on the first floor where the Charles Darwin Statue is, walk to the left toward the end of the hall that you entered from. Here you'll find the landing on the staircase with a view of the hall and Hope the Blue Whale. By London Underground: - Closest Station: South Kensington (via Piccadilly, District or South Kensington lines) - Head east on Thurloe St toward Exhibition Rd - Turn left onto Exhibition Rd and the museum will be on your left Address: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom

You can photograph the Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum during any month of the year.

For similar lighting, visit this place early in the morning when the museum first opens to capture fewer people in your shot. You can also find beautiful rays of sunlight entering the hall in the mid-day and late-afternoon.

I recommend using a wide angle lens (10mm) to maximize your framing of the surrounding temperature.

Tripods aren't allowed in the museum so just simply rest your camera very steadily on the ledge to do a long exposure.

To get that perfectly symmetrical shot, position yourself right in the middle of the ledge and make sure the ceiling ridge is centered.

Keep an eye on your camera axis to make sure all the columns are vertical, and the leading floor lines run to the bottom corners of the shot.

After you explore The Natural History Museum, South Kensington offers all different kinds of museums in the area. I recommend visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum just over the road to see all sorts of artifacts. Built in 1852, the space has a collection of over 2.27 million decorative and design objects.