Normally, I wouldn’t consider going to The Nation Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. I have little love for Westerns in TV and film. While I find history interesting, my tastes tend to go further back and toward Europe. The displays where you could photograph were so dim that often I was in H2 which for my camera is two stops below ISO 6400. Ironically, they had whole rooms of well-lit art; paintings, statuary, bronzes, etc. These were items for sale. Since the museum didn’t own them, no photography. Even the visiting exhibits were adequately lit; no photography. The rest was lit with 10w penlights. Seriously, your eyesight was dazzled by how bright the connecting hallways were before you went spelunking back into the exhibits.
Oh, how I agree with you. We visited (and really enjoyed visiting!) this museum a few years ago, but I was struck with how restrictive they were about photography, and (as you said) when it *was* allowed, things were just too dark.
There’s a research library somewhere on the grounds, and my Mom went in for a few minutes to look around. When I leaned in the door to signal to her, no less than four employees *leapt* toward me, concerned about the camera around my neck (lens cap in place, camera dangling by neckstrap, no danger of accidentally taking a picture of their precious research materials). I determined I wouldn’t go back, except maybe someday to show the kids (if they beg for it.)
It does look like you were able to capture some nice images, all things considered. 🙂