Insight from a Step Well (original photograph)

Architecturally stunning, step wells were meant to allow access to water regardless of the water level. Just stop and think for a moment how brilliant this design really is... imagine the alternative... a slippery sloped mud pit!

This step well is within the royal enclosure. An aqueduct system surrounds it and brought water from a nearby lake.
Also know as the Pushkarni Tank in Hampi was constructed during the 15 century (Vijayanagara Dynasty - Chalukya style).

Developing Your Style

When I photograph a new site, I take a moment to consider how I can present the image in a new and innovative way. Visiting this step well in full sunlight at midday was rather brutal from a photographic perspective. When you search for images of this step well in Hampi, you see plenty from every angle. By manipulating the values, I've created something more dramatic than a mundane snapshot just with the existing photographic data. So, in developing your own style, don't be afraid to experiment as we can all take a photographically 'perfect' photo in P mode. Consider this the follow: Why even bother making an image at all if it is only to emulate what someone else has already created?

Composition Thoughts

The foreground seems uninteresting at first, though you notice an inscription and start to see more details of the low contrast areas in the foreground causing you to match up the patterns though they are not readily discernible. My first thoughts are of cropping the foreground steps out, but then the image becomes to shallow or too easy to take in all of the information which is exactly what I do not want (making it less interesting).

be well, Conrad ( @timelapse )

(verification link on my site: http://conradolivier.com)

#photography #travel #india