Gloria Grandolini
February 2025 - Taj Mahal Close Up
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About the Image(s)
I just went to India in November. Everyone takes pictures of the Taj Mahal - which is indeed magnificent.
But what really blew me away were the details of the precious stone inlays, which can only be appreciated with time and a macro focus… This work consists of floral or calligraphic stone inlays made by highly skilled artisans in the 1630s.
The stones are set into the white marble using the pietra dura technique which originated in Florence. I believe this detail is made of agate and carnelian stones. I was mesmerized by this work and waited until most people left
to get close enough to use the macro feature of the iPhone 15 pro max.
Unfortunately I was not carrying the canon macro lens. I will let you judge whether I caught enough of the detail and texture of this petal. I attach as background the area of this detail. It is part of the floral composition in the far right panel. I tried get close enough to achieve 1:1 magnification.
9 comments posted
I do think you have captured a lot of detail which is what makes this photo so interesting. As usual, a smartphone does a great job, and it often makes me wonder how they manage it. There's good detail, sharpness and colour there.
I don't know how easy you find it to hold the phone - it's always my bugbear when taking pictures with my Pixel phone. But there's an amazing holder for iphones that I've seen - the Fjorden grip. It nearly made me choose an iphone over the Pixel. If they bring one out for my phone I'll be buying one.
In terms of improvement, I can suggest nothing apart from perhaps a little more space on the right and top to make the flower less central.
Posted: 02/08/2025 13:34:44