I visited the Marine Corps Museum last week. It has been on my list of things to do for a while. I finally got there, and I am glad I did. I plan to return. The displays are excellent. I was there for several hours, but this isn't nearly enough time to see it all. One attraction for me was the opportunity to take a few photographs. For those of you who have tried to photograph museum exhibits, you know the difficulties. There are many exhibits situated so close together that clutter is unavoidable. Depending on the the background, clutter can take hours to remove in Photoshop. If you aren't careful when you frame the shot, it may become a throw-away because it will take too long to edit it into something "believable". "Believable" being something that doesn't look like it was taken in a museum.

The museum has several levels that allow you to get very close to the airplanes, probably the easiest exhibits to photograph. Because of these different vantage points, it is possible to shoot at angles that make editing easier. I have a couple of examples below.

This is the shot as taken at the museum. You can see what I mean about clutter. Since the clutter is behind the image, it is easy to remove. I have replaced the background with a darker sky at sunset. I think the red in the sky sells the image.

I took another shot of the WW-II airplane hanging from the ceiling. It was heavily back lit and other exhibits were behind it - tons of background clutter, too.

The image below is with the clutter removed and a believable background in its place. I wish I would have taken my polarizing filter with me. I could have removed the glare on the canopy and actually seen through. It would have been a better shot. I was trying to travel light, so I just took the camera and one lens. Next time I visit, I'll take a little more equipment. A polarizing filter is small, valuable not just for blueing up skies but also for removing glare.

These shots were taken with a Nikon D850 with a 20-70mm f2.8 zoom lens, so you can imagine how close I was to the airplane when I took the picture.

I recommend visiting the Marine Corps Museum. One other thing, be sure to visit the Combat Art Exhibit. It is excellent! It has all been created by Marines and some of the art is world class.