Taj Mahal Full Moon

[Mirta Dozar]

Mywife and I will be visiting the Taj Mahal in July during the full moon. I am looking for any advise for night photography, I know I will not be able to use a tripod so will have to shoot hand held. I have a Nikon D200 and a Nikon 35 1.8 and plan to get either a Tamron or Sigma 17-50 2.8 lens(suggestions welcome). So with the limited low light ability of the D200 I am looking for some input and ideas to get best possible shots. Any help and advise is greatly appreciated.

Bean bag? Mini-tripod momentarily sat on railings / jammed against corners of buildings/ against your chest / etc.? Stand on a chord going from tripod screw to ground, and pull tight? Something that looks like a walking-stick, except that it has a QR plate on top for quick mounting of your camera? etc.

I suggest you try shooting wherever you live in light levels similar to what you expect to have at your destination. Get some practice. See the results you get with your current equipment. Add new stuff as needed, but IMHO learning good handholding technique is crucial for when you can't use a tripod (with remote, and, probably, even mirror lock-up).

Sorry to state the obvious, but I would certainly imagine you already have your ticket for the night visit? These are strictly limited in number, and travel agencies & hotels buy them all well in advance.

- Placing the camera on the ground (directly or on a bean bag) will not work - at least it did not work for me. No matter how carefully you try to compose, you will unavoidably end up with half of the photo being taken by out-of-focus pavement. OK, this can be removed in Photoshop, but even so...

- There are no building, banks or railings you could rest a mini-tripod on, apart perhaps from the sides on the inner court and the two buildings to the sides of the Taj. Ditto for a GorillaPod, unless you want to try and attach it to one of the small trees that lines the main water pond (which I assume it the best way to be immediately ejected).

- I eventually sort of solved the problem by resting the camera's lens on my wife's shoulder, while we were leaning against each other to form sort of a human quadripod. It worked reasonably well, particularly when we managed to both hold our breath while the shutter was wirring.

You may not bring any drinks apart from still water (I guess they are afraid of carbonated drinks and juices which would damage the marble), you may not bring anything that might be used as clubs, levers, scratchers (searches are sometimes lax, though that is chancy). I even had to leave my remote release as that was considered a wire.

The position from the other side of the Yamuna river is a bit chancy, too. The river bank is closed by fences and razor wire and a troop of soldiers lounging nearby. You don't necessarily have to enter the gardens of Mehtab Bagh. Continue along the street past the entrance and you will come to the river bank free of charge.

Alternatively, consider Gyarah Sidhi, which is an earlier turn-off from the road to Mehtab Bagh. You might be able to sneak onto the river bank there (the wire is still there, but easily crossed, still, the quards might notice if you go too far towards the Taj, needs a telephoto lens, though).

Go to the rooftop terraces of the guesthouses of Shanti Lodge or Saniya Palace. You can bring all the equipment you want, including your tripod. It's not a front-at-right-angles view, but still good. Also, the Kingfisher beer is cold and the food decent. :-)

Also, sometimes the guards will not invalidate your ticket. Upon leaving, insist on keeping your spent ticket "as a souvenir", or at least rip it before turning it in. Otherwise it will be sold again and the entire money will go to the guards.

If you have some time, walk the streets of the old city. Few western tourists bother and the people often respond in a friendly way to this attention (I was regularly literally swamped by children wanting their picture taken), which might bring you some nice images, too.

Just back from Agra today. First things first, as far as I know July is monsoon season. Are you sure there's going to be a full moon visible? They get an average of 8" of rain in Agra in July and its hot and humid.

As far as I know, they let a limited number of photographers in at a time for a half hour slot on a few nights at and around full moon. Unless you know the place pretty well you'll have little time to search around for locations and you'll probably just do the same "along the watercourse " shots that we all take in the time allowed. There are three separate locations for these, one from the platform just inside the main gateway, ther other two from successively closer. There are no walls pillars fences etc directly in line with the Taj structure at any of these. Placing the camera on the floor might well result in poor compositions. I think you're going to be reliant on the high ISO performance of your camera.

You might want to run a search on Flickr for "Taj Mahal at night" or similar. You'll find a lot fewer uploads than you'd expect and the quality of these not very high- maybe a sign that the opportunity to photograph the Taj at night is maybe not as clear cut as it seems.

Alternatives- well you can get fairly close to the riverbank at the gardens on the other side of the Yamouna- accessed via the new bridge. A guide or taxi driver should be able to get you there and admission to the gardens is cheap. At monsoon time you might be a lot closer to the river than I was just a few days ago. However the flood plain is fenced and patrolled - far from the time ten years ago when I could walk freely to the riverbank opposite the Taj and photograph away. Also if, from outside the east gate (where most people enter the site) you instead take the road down to the river- a 5-7 minute walk-you might come across a boatman who for about 500R will take his leaky boat out into the river to the point that you can get reflections in fairly smooth water. You will not however be allowed to land in the security zone on the far bank- just gently float about on the river till the boatman decides that time's up. A lot of people will tell you that this no longer operates, but they are surmising, not getting down there to see for themselves. I took this boat two days ago.

Don't worry about the "socks" thing. They give you a pair of slip-on oversocks when you buy your ticket which you put over your shoes if you wish to mount the pedestal on which the Taj Mahal and mosque/guesthouse sit. Makes sense to minimise damage to the flooring. You do have to take off your shoes to enter the mosque and indeed all mosques afaik.

The Taj Mahal is considered one of the most romantic monuments in the world. Built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan after the death of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, this white marble mausoleum is considered a monument to eternal love.

Night Viewing Timing: 20:00 hrs. to 23:59 hrs. in 8 batches of max. 50 people each. Time duration for each batch is half an hour (30 minutes). Tourists have to report half an hour before the viewing time mentioned on their ticket at Shilpgram for security checks. Please note every one has to have ones i.d. during visit.

Note- During the year 2020-21 Taj Mahal Night viewing will be open two days before and two days after of the above noted full moon date (Except Friday). The Tickets of the night viewing can be purchased one day before the night view date from the counter at ASI office, 22 Mall Road, Agra from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00p.pm.

Note: Tourists are advised to contact their travelagent/hotel/tourist offices/Archiological Surver of India/visit - Tourists must reach at Shilpgram (near Eastern gate of Taj Mahal) half an hour before the scheduled time mentioned on their tickets for security checks.

The moods of the Taj vary from dawn to dusk. It looks milky white in the soft light that characterizes early morning, while the afternoon sun makes it glisten bright and dazzling in the overhead sunlight, almost looking like a jewel against the opaque blue of the skyline and then comes a moonlit Taj breaking into the night sky, majestic and simply beautiful in a sense that cannot be put into words. The sensuous appeal can never be more heightened as on a Full Moon Night when it shines like a pearl making the visitor stand agape at the spectacle. The romanticism and sheer majesty of the structure is unbelievably true! No wonder if millions of people chose it amongst the World's top wonders.

The Taj Mahal attracts from 7 to 8 million visitors annually, with more than 0.8 million from overseas. Most tourists visit in the cooler months of October, November and February. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourists must either walk from parking lots or catch an electric bus.

Night viewing of Taj Mahal has been allowed from 28th November, 2004 for five nights in a month including the Full Moon night and two days before and two days after except Fridays and month of Ramzan as per the order of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. The night viewing of Taj Mahal is opened from 8-30 p.m. to 12-30 in eight batches of 50 persons for half an hour duration. The visitors of the night viewing of Taj Mahal have to report at Shilpagram complex half an hour in advance of the viewing time. The entry is allowed from the Eastern Gate of the Taj Mahal only after security check near the Eastern gate. The visitors have to keep their luggage at the counter fee of cost. No video camera is allowed in side the monument during the night viewing.

With limited access, the Taj is now open for five nights each month for nighttime viewing around the full moon nights. The total number of visitors is restricted to 400 each night. Only 50 visitors in five batches are allowed at a time for 30 minutes each between 2030 hrs to 0030 hrs.

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