The Cyborg Carnivore – that light looks like a laser eye
I am not a big partier. I used to go out more during my college days, but that was eons ago and I would now much rather do something sans crowds….unless, of course, it’s an interesting venue and I can tote along my camera.
My company’s 2014 Employee Appreciation Party was held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. With the exception of a few exhibits, we had the entire place to ourselves. I couldn’t refuse the photo ops, now, could I?
The Dance Floor and The Welcome Speech
I knew the light would be low or bright only in spots, but I did not want to take along a flash because I did not want to ruin the ambience that available light bestows. Flash would have created shadows and would have destroyed any of the neat available-light colors seen in these photos.
The shots above are of the Paleo Hall, where tables and food stations were set between the skeletons of pre-historic denizens
So, I set the ISO high – varying it between 1000 and 2500 on my Canon 1DX and used my Canon 24-70mm version II lens. The shutter speed was between 1/40 and 1/60 and the f-stop was set to 4.
I applied what is called the “spray and pray” method of image capture (I’d never heard this before until just recently). It means you hold down on that shutter button, clicking away (the “spray” part) and “pray” that one of the images comes out the way you want it. I’ll go with that. It’s always worked for me in the past and I have plenty of memory cards.
A View of the Dance Floor from My Table
Foucault’s Pendulum
Hall of the Egyptians
The Paleo Hallway
Face Off!
Spotlight on the Stegosaurus
My Favorite Dinosaur: The Triceratops
I applied noise-reduction software to all of these images because the high ISO settings required elimination of the inherent grainy look.
Me and A Friend
I joke that someday, when I become a famously-recognized (and wealthy) photographer, I will rent this museum’s Paleo Hall for a reception. 
