Daily Photo - The Guardian of the Tomb
I sometimes mistakenly call the Taj Mahal a "temple". There is a fleet of people ready to jump down my throat and tell me, in no uncertain terms, that it is most certainly a tomb. Of course, whenever I do call it a temple, these are all honest mistakes; I'm always a bit flummoxed as to why people get so agitated,
Anyway, besides all that mess, I thought you might enjoy this photo I grabbed of one of the gentleman guards of the tomb. I slipped on my 70-200mm lens (See my NIkon 70-200mm Review) to get both the guard and the tomb compressed in the background. I was a little worried that he would see me lurking about, aiming a giant lens at his head. So, I took shots quickly then moved on... I had no burning desire to make a guy like that angry.
New Secret Project Goes Live Soon - Get Ready!
I've been up late at night for several weeks working on a really cool new project that I can't wait to share with everyone here. I'll be releasing it in one week, so stay tuned. Here is a little tease of some of the behind-the-scenes stuff below.
Tags: stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com travel blog travelblog photography photoblog photographyblog hdr high dynamic range imaging digital processing software tutorial hdrtutorial trey ratcliff treyratcliff world republic of india bharat ganarajya south asia indus valley subcontinent भारत गणराज्य Bhārat Gaṇarājya agra आगरा آ گرہ Mahabharata agrevana Rājā Badal Singh Mahābhārata महाभारत Yamuna uttar Pradesh उत्तर प्रदेश اتر پردیش UP Taj Mahal ताज महल تاج محل mausoleum tomb taj mahal palace Buddhist muslim wonderoftheworld architecture ancient burial solemn UNESCO minaret dome funerary weapon November 2007 Nikon d2xs
I was taking some architecture photos in downtown Tokyo when this advertising-truck went by. I thought it was so strange/funny to have this scene rolling through the city.
It would be kind of awesome to find the opposite situation, but I think it is quite doubtful!
- Trey Ratcliff
Click here to read the rest of this post at the Stuck in Customs blog.
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I was barefoot like the rest of them.
The day must have been around 95 degrees and as stuffy as can be, but the cool marble seemed to keep me from being drenched in sweat. After a long walk, I had finally made it to the inner core of the Taj Mahal, around the main tomb structure where pilgrims from all over the country had gravitated. The faithful coiled in long lines and snaked their way around the complex, waiting patiently to reflect at the megamausoleum and communing with the god of their choice. How could a billion people be wrong?
When I travel, I actually always enjoy talking to Indians (or whoever) about their religion. Here is a little thing I do... I'm not sure it's totally ethical since I say the same thing over and over, but I enjoy seeing people's reaction as a probe a panoply of personalities. Inevitably, when I'm in a taxi or man-powered trike-mobile, there is some sort of deity that is jiggling about on the dashboard or handlebars. It can be anyone from Shiva to Brahma to Vishnu to Krishna to Ganesha and beyond.
So, I always ask, "Who is the god to whom you pay reverence?"
They respond quickly and directly, usually naming one from of the top ten from the pantheon of possibilities.
I respond back, in all seriousness, "Oh! He is a very powerful god!"
To this, they always turn to me and nod gravely.
My guide there was from no from one of the traditional Hindu sects -- he was a Jain. The Jain don't recognize the divine origins of the Vedas (made popular in the US from Oppenheimer's re-quote after testing the Bomb), nor do they believe in any one supreme deity. They instead revere Tirthankaras who have raised themselves to divine perfection. So anyway, if you ever try out the little trick above, don't bother with a Jain because they will just give you a funny look and a wobble of inconsequential solitude.
So if any of you get the chance to go, I recommend it. The people are all nice as can be and very eager to engage in conversation about just about everything. Or, of you've already been, then you know what I mean!
By the way, this comes from my new Lucis Pro Tutorial.
from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
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If you want to see how I made this photo, you can visit the HDR Tutorial. It may show you some new tricks!
India is a beautiful and magical place. I wish I could say my journey to get to this exact vantage point was the just as beautiful and magical, but it was not.
I really wanted a unique vantage point, and I was reticent to try to set up inside the complex with the teaming crowds. So, I talked my driver into taking me to the backside of the Taj Mahal because I had seen a river back there on Google Maps. We started circumnavigating the place and we came to the old trestle bridge. It was quite a long stretch to get across the river. The bridge was just barely standing, and everything about the dilapidated structure was sketchy. We were the only car on it, and it was hard to get around all the ox-carts, donkeys, and bicycles.
Looking out the window at the rusting girders, I asked our driver, “When was this built?”
He wobbled his head and said, “Eighty-three.”
Well, I thought for a moment. That doesn’t sound so old.
Then he turned back to me, “Eighteen Eighty-three.”
Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
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For more information on the book parties, visit the FB Fan Page at www.facebook.com/stuckincustoms
The Taj Mahal is an awesome place. I mentioned it last night in the live video chat (thanks to those of you that could make it -- we should have a recording up soon). I spent the day taking photos of the place, and I was dog-tired when it was all done. Plus, my feet were hella dirty. You have to take off your shoes there. It turned out, actually, to keep me pretty cool. It was a very hot day; the marble was nice and cool on my feet.
from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
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