Picturing Shelburne Museum

With our walking paths, gardens, and historic buildings all set on 45 acres, Shelburne Museum is an ideal backdrop for the amateur--or more experienced--photographer.



Museum guide Roseann Petrie meets visitors everyday who come from far and wide, many of them with a camera in tow. She has a special connection to photography as an art form.
"Ten years ago," she explains, "I quit smoking and started walking."
She began taking hours-long hikes that inspired her to see the world in a different way. Natural light, textures, and colors jumped out at her, and she took up photography to capture these beautiful new discoveries. Eventually she went professional, founding a self-titled studio that specializes in portraiture and fine art photography.



Working at Shelburne Museum has influenced and inspired Roseann's art. She loves photographing historic buildings because of the reflection of light on the glass and the lines of the old architecture. Shelburne Museum buildings, then, often inspire her artistic work, and last year she participated in exhibition of local artists that took place on the grounds. Roseann encourages everyone to give photography a try.

"Anyone can take a picture," she says, "but it takes practice...to tell a story without words." What better place to practice than Shelburne Museum?  

Roseann's Top 5 Places to Photograph at Shelburne Museum:

#1: Settler's House and Barn, for the atmosphere and lighting.

#2: Dutton House for the same reasons as above, as well as the distorted panes of glass in the window, which create an impressionistic effect when you look through them.

#3: Kalkin House for its wonderful shadows and refections. There is also an interesting point of view from the second floor looking down.

#4: The Ticonderoga--there is a great point of view from the upper deck, warm light, great textures, mirrored reflections and amazing architectural design.

#5: The Blacksmith Shop. The light from the fire and filtered light from the smoke sets a dramatic atmosphere, the blacksmith at work makes a great human study.

Roseann also recommends the floral and vegetable gardens, fruit trees, the duck pond, and, of course, the covered bridge. 

"The museum," she emphasizes,  "kicks a photographer's senses into overdrive."

All images courtesy of Roseann Petrie