Dec 22: India Part 9

Similar to my Taj Mahal images, I have many that use a human element to complete the picture.

For example, this image has a person in it, but it's too subtle. The resultant image is .... weak.

Adding a stronger human element helps.

Here's another where a human element provides depth and balance.

And another.

And one more.

Sometimes it's all about the people.

And sometimes the people look very natural.

Other times, not so much.

The women above are doing their best to blend in with the local color, but their fresh-bought saris are still creased from the packaging. She deserves credit for the perfect color matching though: sari, bracelets, phone, camera, purse... 

These women stand out because they look so unnatural.

These guys, however, stand out because they look just right.

Dec 18: India Part 4

One challenge of photographing Indian icons is the abundance of people. See: population 1.2 Billion, with a B.
The Taj Mahal averages about 6000 visitors per day. (~2-3 million per year.)

Unless you are French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who emptied the entire Taj so he could visit it privately, you can't take a photo without having half a hundred people in it.

The 'classic' angle has people crawling everywhere, from the walkways to the first platform. (The light is also not great, as the haze swallows the dawn sun.)

Searching for alternate angles to eliminate some of the people gave me an image that feels very forced.

After struggling to get decent images of the structure alone, I modified my strategy to embrace the people.

The sun broke through to bring out the colors.

I could then get more creative and photograph the Taj in interesting ways.

Often I waited a long time for good moments. Here, a fellow strikes a pose after seeing me.
I snap it anyway.

A few minutes later, the moment arrives.