Calling the shots
Photographing India's iconic Taj Mahal requires patience, tolerance and a healthy disregard for what you are told. Words and pictures by Tim Pile
Nothing really prepares you for an Indian railway station. There aren't any evening classes on the subject - not that they'd be of much help.
New Delhi railway station marches to its own beat and once you get into the rhythm, it soon starts to make sense. What appears to an outsider as chaos is, in fact, order; Indian style.
Holy men chat to holy cows; buskers beg and beggars busk. Perspiring porters barge past with no time for niceties and the tempting scent of curry mingles with other, less pleasing odours. "Incredible India," as it says in the ad.
It's a three-hour ride to Agra and a second-class seat aboard the Andhra Pradesh Express is more than adequate. According to my fellow passengers, the "general seating" carriage is the place to avoid unless you're a contortionist. They're reluctant to go into details and I'm reluctant to go and investigate.
Photographing the Taj Mahal, Agra's main claim to fame, has much in common with Indian train travel. You wait around for ages, unsure if things are going to work out, and all of a sudden everything clicks. Literally.
Planning ahead is crucial, as any cameraman will tell you. My research has me consulting internet photography forums, maps and weather reports. (A deep blue sky to contrast with the white marble is essential.) I discover where the sun will rise and at what time (6.39am). Browsing online images of Agra by the appropriately named and highly talented Steve McCurry is inspiring but leaves me feeling inadequate.