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Taking a good picture of a monument is tricky. A statue might be an interesting work of art, offer unusual perspectives because of its size, and be subject to dramatic lighting because most are displayed in the round. But don't let these qualities fool you into thinking that a photograph of the bronze will be interesting. It might be, but more likely it will seem hollow, like the eyes of most sculptures.

Solution? And a person! If for no other reason than scale.

Leaving the British Library (after several unsuccessful attempts to make a good photograph about this work by Eduardo Paolozzi, 1995), I turned to see a woman stretching her legs in the sun. I fumbled to get my camera out of pocket quickly, and luckily she did not move while I did. Had she adjusted her legs, splayed as they were like Newton's divider, the photo would have been gone.

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