A room lit by its own lamps

Twelve exposures, one tripod, no flash. The Reading Room kept every lamp it owns, and the pictures had to keep them too.

A restored room is a record of decisions: the colour of the glass, the warmth of the bulbs, the brass on the rails. Adding light would have rewritten all of it.

Bracketing the room

Each view is a stack of exposures, from the bright dome to the dark corners under the gallery. I blend them by hand so nothing glows that didn't glow on the day.

Waiting for the lamps

• Daylight and lamps balanced at dusk
• Twenty minutes per view
• Readers asked to stay, not to pose

The archive got its record. The press got one picture with a reader at the far desk, lit only by the lamp in front of her.