EPx

This week's photo was taken on a recent trip to India. I had the honour of being invited to a research visit to colleagues in Jaipur, and of course, took the opportunity to explore both Jaipur and Agra.

One of the best known buildings in Agra is the Taj Mahal. To get the best photo opportunity you have to get up early (before 05:00), to be able to get in the queue early enough to get to the Taj with early morning light, while still being able to take a photo without too many fellow tourists. 

This specific photo is, of course, the obligatory shot of the Taj. This is why I call it ironically "My Taj". At the same time, I do think that the light haze at the base of the Taj, in combination with the early sunlight bouncing of the towers and the dome, and the mirroring effect in the water, give it a different atmosphere than one usually sees.

Admittedly, I did have to "remove" some tourists by combining different exposures, and I also increased the saturation of the sunlit parts of the Taj. But I had to do more. 

What is the worst that can happen when visiting a building like the Taj Mahal? Well. It could be that the building is actually partly in scaffolding due to restoration works. And indeed. The most right tower was in scaffolding when I visited the Taj. The original of this photo is actually here.

In creating the above photo, I used the left tower to replace the right one (including its mirror in the water). This, arguably, takes me to the edge of photography versus PhotoShop-artistry. At the same time, I didn't have time, nor the permission, to remove the scaffolding ... and I honestly think the photo would have looked like this without the scaffolding being there.