Just a warning to photogs visiting the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Melbourne.

The NGV has NEW bag size restrictions for items that you can take into the gallery. This will affect any photographer who is NOT keen on leaving their expensive gear in a busy cloak room. This is a recent change, I’ve never had a problem before yesterday (with the same bag), and one which is not documented on their web site (http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/about/repo...-public-entry/ ) so I can't tell you what size is actually allowable. However, I was not allowed to bring in a 'Billingham Hadley Large' ( https://www.billingham.co.uk/hadley-large.html ), despite it fitting (reluctantly) into the bag size gauge they have on their cloak desk. My bag is 380mm x 140mm x 310mm and is probably what you would call a medium size bag, probably a bit smaller than a laptop bag, just fatter.

I'm a regular at NGV Melbourne and have been for a long time so am annoyed at this change as it seems pointless and alienating considering it is otherwise quite ‘photographer friendly’. I’ve entered several galleries in just the last few weeks (Canberra Portrait Gallery, National Gallery of Australia, Geelong Art Gallery) with the same bag mentioned above with no problems. Not sure why NGV is making it harder than it needs to be, but consider yourself warned.

Is it ironic that I tried to see a photography exhibit and couldn’t bring in my camera bag? Maybe.