Dia:Beacon Hallway and Windows

This photo was taken of my friend sitting on the floor in one of the hallways at the Dia:Beacon museum. To get here, enter the Dia:Beacon at the main entrance. Once inside, turn left towards the café and main admissions area. After gaining admission, continue straight into the hallway on the way towards the exhibits. Once here, I positioned my subject on the floor in between the two large windows. The afternoon light was constantly changing and slightly diffused from the windows, but created a few beautiful pockets of light to play in. Directions from New York City: - Take Upper Level of George Washington Bridge New Jersey bound - Take first right off Bridge to Palisades Parkway North - Take Palisades Parkway North to end - At rotary, take 6 East/202 across Bear Mountain Bridge - Take the first left onto Route 9D North - Continue 16.5 miles north on 9D into the city of Beacon - At the fourth traffic light in Beacon (just past Beacon City Hall), make a left turn onto Beekman Street - Continue on Beekman Street .5 miles - Dia Beacon's entrance is on the right, marked by a gray sign. (Travel time: approximately 80 minutes.) Address: Dia:Beacon, 3 Beekman St, Beacon, NY 12508

As the Dia:Beacon is inside, the museum is suitable for photography year round. Their entrance days and times change according to the season, so make sure to check that it's open before you go.

I recommend shooting in the Dia:Beacon museum between morning and afternoon, when you'll have ample daylight to experiment with. Throughout the day, you'll find different opportunities for light cascading through the museum's large windows.

This is a public walkway within the museum, and a fairly busy one as it's right by the entrance. Be conscious of your surroundings and always be respectful of other museum patrons and staff.

Be patient! On a busy day, it may take you awhile to get an empty shot like this. Later in the afternoon and right before closing, crowds in museums generally lighten up, so be diligent if you're determined to get a photo clear of other people.

Experiment with light and focus to explore a variety of ways to get your shot. By allowing the windows to backlight my image, I focused on my subject and the windows themselves, allowing the rest of the frame to fall into darkness. This creates extra visual interest, and is more powerful than an evenly exposed picture.

Located just south of Beacon is Bannerman Island — also known as Pollepel Island — a small spot of land in the Hudson River that houses an abandoned (and slightly haunted-looking) military castle. It looks like something straight out of the British countryside.