I recently gave a few talks here in Austin (one at UT and one at ACC) about photography, this technique, and various other meandering topics on the brain and perception that I hope did not bore the crowd! This is one of the photos that we worked on during the class, so I thought I would upload to share with everyone!

I also provided a link to my tutorial in the class… here it is for those of you that are interested!

Khamali sat there smiling at me every time I walked by. I would always smile back at her and nod in a generally friendly way. She didn’t ask me for money or anything, although she seemed to ask others, I noticed.

I passed her a fourth time because I was going back to the temple as the light was changing.

She bobbled her head in a pleasant manner. I stopped to give her some rupees and she quickly secured them in the folds of her saree. I made the international sign for “can I please take your picture”, and she shook excitedly as some nearby boys came over to watch.

This red-stoned temple had hundreds of tiny rooms scattered all over the grounds. The light streamed in from many angles to light up the walls and carved details. I only wish I was around 1000 years ago with my anachronistic digital camera… that would have been good, except for the no flickr part.

Here within the sprawling palace of Akbar, just outside of Agra, is another intricately designed tower. The redness of everything was even hotter in the Indian sun, and the deep textures bled through.

I was at a small temple between Agra and Delhi, and spent some time there, walking around and enjoying the sights and the people. Soon, some of these elders came along to make their daily offerings. I nodded to them with the camera, and I got a happy bobble back, so I followed them around a bit with the camera as they glided around the temple.

The Moghuls really knew how to bury their dead. They never seemed to build anything out of rubber or have nice cushy bean-bag chairs… it was all sharp angles and stone… it reminds me of all the sharp-cornered coffee tables where two-year-olds bump their heads until their parents figure out that it is better to have a round coffee table… okay that has nothing to do with anything in this photo any more…

This was shot inside a nearly empty palace in the far north of India. As you all know (and probably agree), it is rather annoying to have tourists in these shots… unless that is part of the look you are a-goin for… which I rarely am! Anyway, this place was great…

I was barefoot for about 3 hours as I moved my way through the palace with tripod in tow….

It was a very long day that I spent in Akbar’s Palace. Early in the day I parted ways with my guide to walk around the grounds by myself. The palace was relatively empty, being a bit out of the hustle and bustle of Agra. Most everyone else tended to go over to the Taj, but I found the most delicate and beautiful parts to be in these oft-neglected quarters.

I went up a narrow passageway to get up here to the roof. The stairway was clearly not meant for a tripod like mine… although I suppose I could have collapsed it before wrestling it the narrow twisting corridors. It reminded me of moving my friend’s stupid sleeper-sofa up a curved stairway in college.

This was found deep inside one of the recesses on the outer periphery of Humayun’s tomb in Delhi. The deep reds and stained walks gave the place an unearthly feeling.