Behind the Image: A Five-Dollar Bribe to Invert the Taj Mahal

India in Reflection
Nikon N90s with a 24-120mm lens set at about 24 mm, exposed for 1/10 of a second on Fuji Velvia 50 film at f3.5
By Abrahm Lustgarten

Everyone has seen a thousand images of India’s spectacular Taj Mahal, and as a photographer traveling to Agra, India, it's tough to resist the temptation to re-shoot the same old classics—so I did. But once I was confident I had taken a shot as good as any of the postcards I had already seen, I set out to bring home something a little different.

On the first day, I walked around the Taj Mahal complex and discovered a unique view of the palace from the rarely toured riverbank on the property's backside. A jovial group of local laborers sat on the banks, and I photographed a fantastic series of portraits with the recognizable landmark in the background. But I still wanted a unique shot of the front of the main building.

The next morning I arrived early, about an hour before dawn, but found 30 or so other tourists had already beat me to the roped-off head-on view of the palace—the angle everyone wants to photograph. The clock was ticking and the sun was rising as I desperately tried to think of a way to get a clear shot at dawn of this majestic site. Finally, I settled on a bribe. Five dollars slipped to the guard gave me free access to the acres of courtyard between the Taj Mahal steps and the clamoring tourists, and I set off to find my shot before the rising sun splashed over the buildings.

About half way down a narrow pool that ran the length of the long courtyard, I noticed the building’s crystal-clear reflection on the still water. I quickly set up my tripod and shot a series of mirror images with the Taj Mahal adjacent to its reflection, and then decided to concentrate on the reflection itself. I liked the way the fountain's design included echoes of the ornate grand structure itself, the way the little spires periodically rose out of the water. I framed those as the only "real" part of the Taj structure, with the massive palace reflection shimmering, inverted, behind them. I tried a number of different exposures, bracketing apertures for best luck, and also seeking different effects with longer shutter speeds. This one turned out to be the best of the bunch.

Abrahm Lustgarten in an internationally published, award-winning photojournalist whose work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and Men's Journal magazines. He most frequently covers social, travel and outdoor adventure subjects, and is a regular contributor to Away.com. You can see more of his work at www.abrahm.com
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