Photography in museums
This caught my eye on Boing Boing and something in the explanation was definitely missing. Yes there’s an argument for being able to take pictures of things in museums, but there’s another argument against it that’s very important to a lot of people: if you let people take pictures, they’re inevitably going to use the flash because they’re indoors. Flash photography emits a lot of light, and light, as any conservator will tell you, is very bad for exhibits.
The conservator’s ideal museum would keep all objects in climate-controlled enclosures, sealed off from each other and the outside world, without any lights or visitors.
Such a museum wouldn’t be very useful, but it would keep the objects in good condition!
Perhaps a compromise would involve the museum providing free downloads of images they’ve taken themselves to help reduce the number of photos being taken.