another day at the Taj Mahal

A tour agent tries to snare a Nigerian tourist

It was my eighth visit to the Taj Mahal. While this may seem to be an obsessive preoccupation, each time I visit I try to find new photos to make often with some kind of brief in mind.

On this occasion, I decided to try manual exposure. It was mid-morning (10 a.m) when I arrived and so the sun was quite high in the sky and there were not to be much change in the brightness of the light. After awhile, I decreased the exposure by a third of a stop while I found that areas of complete shadow required an increase in two stops of exposure.

I could not increase the exposure here because of the mausoleum in the background

too intimate an image perhaps? it was good to get a bit of audience participation
and although it might appear otherwise, this photograph was not posed for!

At the suggestion of another photographer, Raghu Rai, who has done a book on the Taj Mahal and has visited many times, I sat in one place and photographed from there only. This was an interesting exercise and allowed me to capture passer-bys with the Taj Mahal in the background. Being in the shade cast by a minaret also made it more comfortable than walking around in the sun.

One thing I might have done is to use fill flash to lighten up shadow areas while I was out in the light.