9 January

chirp54
Jan 24, 2024
3 min read

It was time to see a new museum, I thought, so I headed to the Natural History Museum which is across Exhibition Road from the V&A. I’ve been wanting to go there because the featured exhibition is “Wildlife Photographer of the Year,” but I've been put off because the museum is usually teeming with schoolboys on field trips. This being the first week of school, there were apparently no school trips planned and I took advantage of it. The museum is enormous but, like many places I visited, lacking in signage. I asked directions of a security guard and after a walk through galleries devoted to sea creatures and birds, found the "Wildlife Photographer of the Year" gallery. There were several categories of judging, the most heartbreaking being the photojournalism category. I found the choice of winner a bit surprising, but there was a wonderful video presentation in a side gallery in which the judges talked about their criteria and upon seeing that, it made more sense. One of the things that impressed me was the display of photographs by young photographers. There was also an opportunity for visitors to vote for “The People’s Choice” Award. In fact, you can see the nominees and vote at this link. Here are some of the photographs from the exhibit that I found appealing.

Firebirds by Elza Friedländer - These storks are seen through the haze of a controlled burn in the Maasai Mara.

Death in Waiting by Pietro Formis - The stargazer fish is an ambush predator that buries itself in the sand until only its eyes and teeth are showing.

Hippo Nursery by Mike Korostelev

Winner on Points by Dana Allen - A young leopard trying to reach his paw around the quills of a porcupine.

Rabbit snatcher by Lauren Lavonne Pritchett - A raven scavenging a dead baby rabbit in the San Juan Islands, WA.

Mushroom Magic by Agorastos Papatsanis - A swirl of spores appears to dance beneath the gills of a deer shield mushroom.

The Dormouse Ladder by Anton Trexler (Young photographers, 15-17 years)

The Catwalk by Shashwat Harish (Young photographers 11-14 years)

Starry Starry Flight by Ismael Dominguez Gutiérrez (Young photographers, 11-14 years)

Coot on Ice by Zhai Zeyu (Young photographers, 10 years and under)

Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Laurent Ballesta for The Golden Horseshoe

It was a morning well spent. I did a bit of dinosaur viewing, stopped to see the animated dinosaur fight at the entrance to the café, then headed across the street to the V&A, hoping to stop at the members’ dining room for lunch.

A mile-long queue (slight exaggeration) convinced me to opt for a feast for the eyes instead. Down a half-flight of stairs from the members’ dining room is the Britain 1760-1900 gallery which features wonderful furniture and objets d’art. What I find so amazing is the extraordinary craftsmanship in these objects. My mother was an accomplished decorative artist whose work featured gold and silver leaf and inlaid mother of pearl among other things. She would have been gob-smacked to see some of these things.

Papier maché wine tray designed in 1847 by Richard Redgrave; made in 1865 by the firm of Jennens and Bettridge, Birmingham

Armchair for a music room, 1884-1886, designed by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tedena

Cabinet exhibited in Paris in 1855; designed by Alexandre Eugene Prignot, made by the firm of Jackson & Graham, London

Also on display is a scale model of half of the Crystal Palace from the Great Exhibition of 1851 along with a replica of the painting done to commemorate its opening, featuring Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, who planned the exhibition, and their nine children.