Reflections of the Taj
OK, this is an instagram favourite and not entirely within my wheelhouse of preferred images, but you have to admit it’s a great shot and one most of us would love to have if only knowing how to capture it.
The location is obvious and again recently taken on a quick tour of northern India on 21st March 2023. It was a planned shot and I remember walking away from our guide to capture it. At the time he told Lyndall “oh, there’s nothing there to photograph” but Lyndall knew what I was up to and apparently replied, “really, come with me.”
The framing arch is from a red marbled mosque located on the eastern side of the Taj Mahal and chosen to bring the rising sun behind the camera casting unbelievable light onto the subject. There’s a matching facility on the western side but we would have been photographing directly into the sun and hence why that wasn’t chosen.
The composition is self explanatory but many ask why there’s a pool or pond in the mosque. There isn’t. I took my water bottle and splashed a small amount of water over the stone floor of the mosque. Not much mind you, just enough to create a very thin layer of water to reflect the light as intended. Lyndall was positioned accordingly and the camera placed directly on the pavement and framed as I wanted, in fact propped up by the lens cap just a little for the right perspective. The self timer function was set for 3 second intervals and I positioned myself in the frame with Lyndall and allowed about 7 or 8 shots to be taken just to be sure.
Focal length was set at 18mm being the widest available and f stop at 5.6 to try and get some of the shadows highlighted at the edge of frame. A shutter speed of 1/800 was chosen because of the timer function used and the people in the background were moving - we knew what was going on and could remain still, they didn’t.
In the end it’s a cracker shot and looks unreal on the instagram grid. Not perhaps my best capture because of that but one, when in Rome, we all need to take.
As a pointer for those wanting a similar shot, an iPhone can be used just as effectively. The water technique is the same but when using the phone turn it upside down and get the lenses at the rear of the phone as low as possible to the water. The phone can even be resting in the water. Adjust the angle for the desired affect and click away. I took many shots for other tourist in this very location using their mobile phones and they turned out equally, if not better than mine. In hindsight I should have charged them.
18mm. f/5.6. 1/800sec. ISO 100
Reflections of the Taj