Agra haze vs Photoshop - Taj Mahal

[Manfred M]

Visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra was supposed to be one of the highlights from our trip to India, so when we got there early in the morning (when the gates opened) we were quite disappointed in the view. A thick haze was all over the place and the view of the Taj Mahal was not very good at all.

Photoshop to the rescue with sharpening, adjustment layers, persepective correction and gradiants seem to be moving in the right direction. While the building is often shown as being white, it is not and the white marble really has quite a yellow / orange colour to it.

Here is the version I am working on:




And this is the original SOOC image that I started with:



I'm still not quite done and look forward to any comments and suggestions. This also demonstrates why I always say that SOOC may not be the best way to go...

The four outside minarets are built on an angle away from the tomb with the view that if they ever collapse, they will fall away from the main building and not damage it.

[Shadowman]

Funny, it was the same conditions when I visited. Did you go to the rooftop restaurant nearby, I forget the name of it but it had a carousel floor. I think it might be the Pushp Villa.

[Manfred M]

Funny, it was the same conditions when I visited. Did you go to the rooftop restaurant nearby, I forget the name of it but it had a carousel floor.

No, we did not, but some of our group headed there to see the Taj Mahal during sunset. The people that did go told us they did not think it was really worth it.

[dje]

Manfred that's a pretty impressive bit of recovery work in PS. The difference between the "original" and the processed image is remarkable. I hope you are able to share the details of your process with us when you have finished. My technique for removing haze is limited to a bit of LCE using the unsharp mask !

Dave

[Mike Buckley]

Relatively few photographers have the post-processing skill or patience to render the improved image.

Is it still possible to photograph the train and Taj Mahal in this Steve McCurry image? I saw it in a presentation he made. He projected it onto a large screen at National Geographic headquarters and it was nothing short of stupendous.

That web site indicates that it was taken in 1983 but another web site says 2010. I'm positive McCurry's presentation was long before 2010 and I seem to remember that he said the train tracks are no longer being used because residential development has encroached on the area.

[Manfred M]

Relatively few photographers have the post-processing skill or patience to render the improved image.

Is it still possible to photograph the train and Taj Mahal in this Steve McCurry image? I saw it in a presentation he made. He projected it onto a large screen at National Geographic headquarters and it was nothing short of stupendous.

That web site indicates that it was taken in 1983 but another web site says 2010. I'm positive McCurry's presentation was long before 2010 and I seem to remember that he said the train tracks are no longer being used because residential development has encroached on the area.

The whole area was quite built up and I certainly don't recall seeing any train tracks, but we were not necessarily along the eastern side of the complex, where these tracks seem to have been. I suspect that this image comes from the 1980's as steam trains were replaced by diesels some 20 years ago, according to the folks I spoke to in India. There are still a few engines used for special tourist trains; we looked at going on one, but our schedule did not let us work that in.