Image – Page 2 – Juridicious

The forgotten treasure!

In any other city but Agra, home to the famous Taj Mahal, this architectural beauty would be classed as one of the wondrous feat of art and architecture. A pity then, that this beautiful marble building often gets overlooked by visitors to the Taj and Agra fort. And a blessing for providing plenty of opportunities for quiet photography!

Itmad-ud-Daulah, Agra, India. Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr

The Itmad-Ud-Daulah was commissioned by Noor Jehan, wife of the mughal emperor Jehangir and built between 1621 and 1628. This building is considered to be the precursor of the Taj Mahal and utilises similar design element, albeit on a smaller scale. The relatives of Noor Jehan (including her father) are interred in this mausoleum. Like in the Taj Mahal, the buildings and grounds are built to exquisite symmetry, disrupted only by the positions of the cenotaphs of Noor Jehan’s parents (similarly followed in the Taj Mahal, built almost 30 years later). The building is made of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones.

The Taj Mahal – Recovered after 9 years!

I recently re-processed a picture of the Taj Mahal that I photographed in 2004. The original photograph was taken as dusk and fog and pollution added to the haziness of the photo. Re-processing the picture has brought out the details, what do you think?

Taj Mahal, Agra — After re-processing! Click on the photo for a larger version on Flickr.

The original photo (before processing) is below.

Taj in the Mist — Before reprocessing! The haze overwhelmed the Taj!

There is something to be said for the merits of going back and looking over old photos and trying to improve them using modern post-processing techniques.

Ice and flowers!

In January 2013, we were knee-deep in snow. Not this year!

_DSC1653-Edit — Click to see a larger version of this photograph on Flickr.

Boats, Pelicans and a Seal

Boats moored on the marina at Monterey Bay, California. Can you spot the seal?

The reality dysfunction

Spot the reality!! With due apologies to Peter F. Hamilton for his fantastic book of the same name as the title of this post..

_DSC3780_1_2 — Can you spot the difference between the real and the painted? Check out a larger picture on Flickr by clicking on the photograph. In Belgrade, Serbia

A prickly feeling….

Maybe it is post-christmas blues, or that we’ve all had to come back to work after a long break! The dried teasel below mirrors my feelings exactly!!

Photographed on 7th January, 2014 using an iPhone and processed in Adobe Lightroom with Photomatix Pro.

Bougainvillea – closer still

_DSC4017 — Bougainvillea. Click on photograph for a larger version.

Nikon D7000, with a 105mm/f.2.8 Sigma macro lens with extension tubes. 
ISO 100, f/18, 1.6 seconds
Processed in Adobe Lightroom

Red Poppy

A red poppy peeks out from between a lush green field of wheat.. At Hinxton in Cambridgeshire.

18004418_4e30e808d3_o — Red and Green… Click on the photograph for a larger version on Flickr.

The suffering of conflict..

A touching statue by Käthe Kollwitz’s of ‘Mother with her Dead Son’. This sculpture is situated in a stark bare room right under the open oculus, and so is exposed to the rain, snow and cold of the Berlin climate, symbolising the suffering of civilians during World War II. At the New Watchouse (Neue Wache). Unter der Linden, Berlin.

Mother and her dead son.. — Mother and her dead son.

In 2014, there are stories of conflict and suffering all around the world, and I can’t think of a better message to post on as the first blog post for this year!

Ely Cathedral

_DSC3990, a photo by Jawahar1 on Flickr.

The Ely Catherdral is a towering structure that can be seen for miles around the fens! Photographed in natural light at ISO 100, f/7.1, 54 second exposure with a Nikon 35mm lens on a D7000.