The Original

I know many of you have already seen the photo below of the Taj Mahal. It’s one the most famous photos I’ve taken of India. It is related to the daily photo…

Daily Photo – The Rest of the India Story

So, I took the photo above from across a slow-moving river. After shooting, I explored a bit more as the sun was setting, then returned to the same spot, rotating the camera about 45 degrees to the right. This is what I saw.

In the distance, you can see how it is a layer of smoke in the air. This is where families come from all over the Agra area to burn the bodies of recently deceased loved ones. They then throw some ashes in the river to begin the cycle again. Indians come from all over the area to visit this river, see the Taj Mahal, and visit other local temples. It’s a very peaceful place… I hope this photo helps to describe the general feeling of the place.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, Travel

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.

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.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, Travel

More Adventures in Hans Zimmer’s Studio Coming Soon

Watch this space for three more photos from Hans’ amazing studio coming up soon.  I’ve had a chance to process more photos, and I’ll be releasing them very soon!

You can see the first set of photos here in “The Secret Lair of Hans Zimmer“.

New Print Available – Hindu Ascent

There is a new Limited Edition Numbered Print available.  It is called “Hindu Ascent”.  This was taken as this old woman, who has never cut her hair, ascended hundreds of steps on her daily pilgrimage to a Hindu shrine.

Contact licensing@stuckincustoms.com for info on getting this limited print!

Daily Photo – The Purple Portal

When I was in Agra, I wandered around the streets surrounding the Taj Mahal for a few hours. The textures and details everywhere are an absolute field-day for photographers! There is so much to see and capture… it was totally overwhelming trying to grab all of that, while still thinking about getting into the Taj Mahal for another full slate of shooting!

So many of the little homes here are richly painted in every possible shade in the most interesting textures and shapes. This is one of many little snaps I got while walking around.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, Nikon D3X, Travel

A Collection of Art

I try to share a bunch of inspirational art links throughout the week. I drop these into Twitter from time to time. I need to update this page with new stuff, but you will find a bunch of cool inspiration art on the “Things I’ve Found That Inspire Me” page.

Daily Photo – The Mighty Temple

I can’t wait to get back to India for more photography. I shot nonstop while I was there, but I feel like I did not take enough! As you may know, I process these images out-of-order, and I still have plenty to go through, but the pile is thinning with each ensuing week!

This is a beautiful and huge temple in Agra, India. I was there in the morning, barefoot, and it was quite cool and arid. I felt a little strange running around a temple, barefooted, holding my giant camera… but it was really fun! These wonderful old temples have countless angles and compositions of interest. I did my best from this vantage to capture the grandeur of the fort.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, Nikon D3X, Travel

Tokyo Workshop Details

Everyone that subscribed to the free newsletter got early notice of this, and now everyone can see at on the weekend Tokyo Workshop page. It should have all the info you need, in case you live there or are looking for an excuse to pop over to Japan in the Spring!

Maybe I Won’t Go to London!

Well, of course I still will, but this article entitled “Photographers to lose copyright and right to photograph in public” gave me pause. What’s going on? If bureaucrats make these kind of decisions, it makes you wonder about all their decisions, eh? Of course, as a die-hard Libertarian, I’ve been saying this sort of thing for years….

Daily Photo – Floating Through the Temple

While in the north of India, I visited this Hindu temple. It was beautiful and decadent inside. I can’t even imagine what it used to look like back in the day. The walls supposedly had inlaid jewels and other precious stones. Despite time, it is still impressive.

I had set up for a normal multi-exposure shot, but then this Muslim woman came floating through the room, so I quickly made some adjustments and grabbed a quick single-exposure HDR.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, Nikon D3X, Travel

Another Nice Workshop Review

Thanks for all the nice emails and tweets everyone; I’m glad you had a good time. That is right, I still have no plans for future workshops, but I do appreciate all the feedback and kind requests.

Chris Stamper wrote an HDR Workshop Review on his blog that was very nice. Thanks Chris – I am happy you enjoyed it! Keep up the good HDR work and fight the good fight for us!

Nikon D3S Review Continues

I have a Nikon D3S still on loan from BorrowLenses.com, and I’m putting together some images for my Nikon D3S Review.  I don’t have it finished yet…. these things take a while, but, so far, I am very impressed!

In fact, I’m so impressed, that I am going to B&H Photo tonight to buy the full thing as a backup to my D3X! (You can see more info there on my Nikon D3X review)

The Taj Mahal from Akbar’s Palace

This image below was made with some textures from my Textures Tutorial. This is the only time that I “color” photos. Many times, I think people might think that I “paint” on top of my photos, but I do not. Sometimes, however, when I have an image that came out, ummm, a little more boring that it should be, I will give it a texture treatment. Maybe you are like me, and, on occasion, you take what you think will be a great shot. Then, you get home, and it just came out sort of boring.. that is always a bummer feeling. To get around that, I often use textures that I have collected from around the world.

Akbar’s palace has about one-tenth the number of visitors of the Taj Mahal, and it is almost just as stunning for photography. There are so many interesting and fun compositions, you just can’t go wrong. I recommend a full day here and a full day in and around the Taj Mahal. Besides these two major locations, the city streets, alleys, and everything in between are also highly recommended!

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, Travel

Amazon Sold Out in the UK

Thank you London! (and all over UK, obviously!) I can’t believe it… I saw the Tweet earlier today that Amazon UK is out of stock… that is amazing! (But not yet at the U.S. Amazon store!)

I know from looking at the website and newsletter stats what incredible fans we have in London and all over the UK. I can’t thank you enough… I hope you are enjoying the website, and I know you will enjoy the book when you finally get it. We need to do a celebratory photowalk over there eh? !!

[EDIT - I understand it is sold out in Canada too. Thanks cool Canadiens!]

My article on Scott Kelby’s Blog “Being an Artist Sucks. Being an artist is awesome.”

I wrote this long piece recently for Kelby’s blog. I’d like to thank RC Conception for helping to make this happen. It gave me a great chance to write a longer-format piece. I think there are many people here that will find it of use, perhaps. Please drop your comments over there on Kelby’s blog, and I’ll be sure to read them!

Daily Photo – Guarding the Portal

I really wanted to see what was on the other side of these little doors. I imagined scenes from “The Fall” inside there (has anyone seen that movie??). I tried to negotiate with this gentleman, but he just bobbed his head like he didn’t understand. I would have offered him my own shoes, but I left them on the other side of the temple with a young boy.

I never got inside, but we did exchange some pleasant conversation, even though we never really understood a single word.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, Travel

Book Parties Announced!

More details to come soon, but save the dates and come RSVP on Facebook! I’ll be signing books, meeting you, and hanging out. I hope you can make it! Don’t worry about coming alone… you’ll make friends with the nice people there soon enough!

• New York City – Dec 14th – Secret Location in Manhattan to be announced – Visit Facebook Event Page and say “Attending” or “Maybe”!

• Austin – Dec 9th – The Driskill Hotel – includes Photowalk and $500 prize! – Visit Facebook Event Page and say “Attending” or “Maybe”!

• Chicago – Jan 2nd – the swanky Hotel Sax – Visit Facebook Event Page and say “Attending” or “Maybe”!

The Timeless Tomb

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.

I obviously used a special texture treatment on this one — if you’d like to find out more, there is indeed a “Textures Tutorial” here on the site.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, Textures, Travel

The Taj Mahal is an extremely crowded place! People from all over India, which tends to have a lot of people, come visit this mausoleum from every corner of the country. It’s right near the northern border of the country, and I know first hand how difficult the journey can be to get to this point.

Just beyond one of the official entrances to the Taj is the interior of a huge gatehouse, that was teaming with people trying to get a closer look. I held the camera high in the air after trying to position myself as centered as possible to try to capture a sense of the huddled masses.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, Nikon D2XS, Travel

I found this daunting chap while trekking to northern India. We stopped to rest on the long road to Agra at a fairly imposing little structure on the side of the road. I was curious to see if I could find a drink or maybe a bit of food.

As I approached, this guy stood out front. I was pretty sure he didn’t speak English. We regarded one another for a bit. I tried to survey the authenticity of his weapon and the his circumspect agility. He examined at my anachronistic garb and camera for a bit. Then I gave him the international symbol for, "Can I take a photo?" He stiffened proudly in a pose. I took a quick shot, nodded, then passed by to see what he was guarding within.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, New Delhi, Nikon D2XS, Travel

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 Tutorial.

Filed under the categories: Agra, India, LucisArt, Nikon D2XS, Travel

The road between Delhi and Agra is really somthin’ else. If you are not swerving around giant potholes, it could easily be a dead cow, a live cow, or something in between. It’s never good to make fun of the cows with your driver, so that is right out.

I’m adventurous on these things… probably too adventurous. I always like to try new foods, and I’ll eat about anything from street vendors. Usually if it looks thoroughly cooked, it generally won’t get me sick…I’ve developed a tough stomach, although I did end up getting a bit sick in Mumbai… but I think that is because I was dumb and let some mysterious ice melt in my cup.

It was a long drive to Agra, and in little towns, the traffic would slow. I occasionally jumped out of the car to get some little snack (and take photos, of course!). Here is one of an interesting chap that had some food I could not pronounce.

Filed under the categories: Agra, Delhi, India, LucisArt, New Delhi, Nikon D2XS, Travel