The Taj Mahal

Approximately 6 hours after touching down in New Delhi India we were on the road to Agra and the Taj Mahal. It was a short 5 hour ride to Agra and for many of us a first look at India in the daytime. It was culture shock on steroids and after we got over India's unique traffic scenario, we got out our cameras and began shooting. We never really got over the traffic in India because it's like nothing you've ever seen or experienced before. It makes the traffic in California seem like a cool, easy and lemony fresh Sunday drive.

Our first stop in India was Fort Agra which is one of the best kept secrets in India and is almost as impressive as the Taj; I plan on doing a separate Blog entry just on Fort Agra. Actually the first pictures you see of the Taj are from a lookout post from the Fort across the river Yamuna. I got so much into the Fort that I forgot that I needed to save my energy and memory cards for the main course, the Taj Mahal.

After spending two hours at the Fort, we were a short bus ride to the Taj. Well, there's really no way to explain the feeling when you see the Taj Mahal in the flesh or I guess the marble to be exact. It's almost like when the bride removes the veil for the first time and all that love and devotion is staring you in the face; kinda takes your breath away. And there it is, that classic view of the Taj that you see on so many of the website and literature.

I was like a kid on Christmas, part of me wanted to just shoot everything and everybody in site while the other part of me wanted to savor the moment and look for the perfect shot. Well, after I got my breath back and the silly grin off my face, I went about my job to shoot the Taj in detail. I will confess that we didn't have a lot of time at the Taj and our tour guide was very diligent in explaining everything in exacting detail with historic accuracy and to this day I don't have a clue what he said. As soon as I got myself together, I started shooting. I shot standing up, from one knee, from the other knee, from my belly and on my back. Wanna get people thinking your nuts, try shooting in all sorts of weird positions in a land other then your own. Just kidding, they think I'm nuts over here too.

Well here it is, the Taj Mahal complex, Taj Gate, River Yumuna, the Towers, exquisite handcrafted inlaid marbling, etc. I will have to read up on everything I missed from our tour guide. These are only 1/3 of the shots I took at the Taj Mahal. Not bad for two hours worth of shooting. Enjoy.




Shot of the Taj from Fort Agra








Shooting from the hip, or should I say belly








Taj Gate






My Taj Mahal Post Card Shot




A little creativity with the camera's meter to create the effect
and nice rim lighting. - Thanks for the insight on how to
accomplish this Ross.




The rear of the Taj




Inlaid semi-precious stones




Koranic inscription






Roof vaulting over the front entrance






Taj Mahal Gate - a more distant view













Tower hides the impending sunset; another
play on the meter.



Tower along the River Yumuna



Another tower shot








More inlaid work

















Floor of the Taj






More marble work










Wider view of the River Yamuna




Just inside the front gate of the Taj





Another angle






Framing the Taj








Spectators view the Taj from the rear