The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has four staircases. Each one is a different color: green, yellow, red and blue. The stairs are named is a simple manner: Green Stairs, Yellow Stairs, Red Stairs and Blue Stairs. I always enjoy taking pictures of staircases, so I captured some photographs of these stairs during one of my visits to the museum.

There were some challenges. The museum is crowded so it takes some patience to wait until the scene clears. Glass panels are placed above the railings to prevent the many young visitors from climbing over the railings. Without setting up a ladder, it's impossible to avoid shooting through the glass. The reflections in the glass present more challenges. Finally, the museum frowns upon tripods. I was only able to get a couple of exposures using a tripod before security asked me to put the tripod away. Without the tripod, I was forced to boost my ISO (compromising image quality). Removing the tripod from the equation also prevents me from creating high dynamic range (HDR) images.

The museum has a policy which prohibits the use of tripods. However, when I became a member of the museum, I was told that the tripod policy is very loosely enforced. I was encouraged to give it a try and to stop using it only after being confronted by security. So, that's what I've done. I usually get in about a half hour of shooting with the tripod before having to put it away. My approach is to start photographing exhibits that are away from the main hall (less security presence) and then gradually work my way towards the center of the building.

Here are a few pictures of the staircases:

Yellow StairsThe Yellow Stairs at the Museum of Science and Industry at 5700 S Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois on March 24, 2015

The Yellow StaircaseThe Yellow Stairs at the Museum of Science and Industry at 5700 S Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois on November 17, 2014

Green StairsThe Green Stairs at the Museum of Science and Industry at 5700 S Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois on March 24, 2015

Blue StairsThe Blue Stairs at the Museum of Science and Industry at 5700 S Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois on March 24, 2015