Taj Mahal Perfection, October 1982 by Ron Sterling

    Commentary

This digital image is the result of scanning the original 70 mm square Ektachrome (film) color transparency (slide) in 2010 at a very high resolution for printing in large size. This version for web display is a very reduced resolution version. The original film image in its original Kodak slide mount is being sold at my Etsy store. It is widely known that I have claimed this is the all-time best color film photograph of the Taj. So far, there has been no disagreement. Only very light photoshopping was used to touch up dust spots and mildly correct vertical perspective. There are no scratches of any kind on its surfaces.

I spent only two days from before sunrise to after sunset in October 1982 in and around the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort in Agra, India. I was extremely lucky to be there during perfect weather and during the Ramlilla celebrations. At the moment I clicked my camera's shutter for the above photograph, there was a pure ethereal stillness and delight as if a miracle had just occurred. Not a whisper of wind disturbed the surface of the pond. A few happy voices could be heard in the background. And, the color that local visitors brought to the scene was perfect. (No, those were not my models. This is 100% candid and non-manipulated.)

The camera was a Hasselblad 500 C/M, 80 mm Zeiss Planar lens. On tripod. 1/100, f11, cable shutter release. Scanned transparency with Epson Perfection 700 at 9600 dpi.