The evolution of a favorite image from Delhi, India

In the later part of the second day here in Delhi, India, we took the our group to the Qutub Mintar ruins. We had beautiful light coming from the late afternoon sun. We spent more than an hour walking around and photographing the famous ruins and minaret.

Since it was Republic Day here in India (a National Holiday), it was pretty crowded. As we walked around, we looked for nice compositions while trying to avoid lots of people in our shots.

I reminded people to look for nice natural frames to get photos that are different from the standard "minaret only shot" that everyone else was taking.

We also spotted these parrots who inhabited the area. I liked having them amongst the delicately carved walls

I explained to everyone that my goal is to always shoot a scene like this in a unique way. I searched for something different and eventually came across these small trees. I thought about shooting a photo with one of the trees in focus and the minaret diffused. And then I saw movement from one of the branches and saw this chipmunk feeding. I quickly focused on chipmunk and made him my subject with the minaret as the supporting subject.

I also found this guy with reflective glasses and thought that this would be a cool way to show the minaret.

(Canon 5D Mark IV, 24-105mm lens, ISO 640, f/18, 1/50 sec)

We were nearing the end of the sunlight when I saw this woman looking out of this archway. It was at this split second that I had an idea for a shot.

I quickly switched the aperture of my Canon 5D Mark IV to f/18 and moved so that the sun was just barely visible at the edge of the archway. I knew that the small aperture would give me a starburst, and just hoped that this Indian woman would stay in that spot for another couple of seconds, with the sun rim lighting for face and upper torso. I was able to get a couple of photos as I was instructing the other guests how to get this shot. Everyone took turns capturing this great scene.

It was only moments later that this woman turned and faced us. She had a large purse in her hands and the moment was lost. It just goes to show that we need to act fast to get the epic shots we want.

Normally I take photos with people facing me, but having this woman turned and looking through the arch at the setting sun, really created the mood for this shot. I did very little retouching for this shot, removing a couple of people from the background and slightly adjusting the shadows and highlights. A relatively simple shot, but definitely a favorite from this trip so far.

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