Bowing at Nahargarh Fort.
I've seen Nahargarh Fort from Amer Fort many times and from the road many times, but I've been up only once or twice. Once, my boss asked me to arrange dinner for visitors to the fort. We love to bend and bow whenever someone from global headquarters visits. I never liked it, but they always told me to bow whenever they visited. The bowing did not bring any benefit beyond stretching my hamstrings.
The second time was when I visited the fort with my friend several years back. We visited late in the afternoon, stayed until dusk, and extended our stay until the sky turned blue with the onset of nightfall. We left the fort’s premises only when we realized the guards were fed up with us and were about to lock us inside. That would mean no comfortable bed and no food. People can be unfair.
We didn't carry tripods because permission procedures are onerous. Also, to be honest, I dislike government offices and their musty odors. The tourism authorities have allowed film production companies to use the grounds for filmmaking. Money always makes the world go round.
A few tips on handheld photography.
Our night photographs were awful. Handheld photography is always tricky, especially in low-light conditions. Some photographers suggest a short rule: the shutter speed should be the inverse of your focal length. So, if your focal length is 50 mm, your shutter speed must not be below 1/50th of a second. Telephoto lenses are long and heavy. If you have a 250 mm lens, your shutter speed must not exceed 1/250th of a second.
Does this sound good? Remember, there is always a tradeoff. Once the light falls, it may be impossible to maintain this principle, even with your lens opened to the maximum aperture. In such conditions, the use of a tripod is mandatory. The tripod must be light and robust enough to bear the weight of your camera, or else you will struggle to keep your camera steady. Also, the tripod must be sturdy, or the wind may blow it away.
Tripods can be expensive, so keep these points in mind.
Haze. Or No Haze?
The warm afternoon sun lit the buildings and pathways, and the view from the hill was grand. The dust haze was a pity because it made the city and the Jantar Mantar look fuzzy. We often try to reduce haze in our photos, but you can also use the haze to create dreamlike images. Figure out which poison you wish to consume on any day!
I reduced the haze in the Jantar Mantar image.
Medieval and Modern Kings.
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh constructed the fort in 1734 as a retreat. I don't know if he intended it to be a summer retreat or a holiday home whenever his fancy took him. Succeeding kings expanded the fort and its buildings. You can criticize these kings for spending lots of money on themselves, but you will see the same behavior in corporate titans today.
Corporate titans have much more global influence than most ancient or medieval kings. Genghis Khan and Tamerlane were exceptions to the rule.
I knew about Nahargarh's principal purpose as a retreat, so when I wandered the grounds and pathways, enjoying the warm afternoon sun, I tried to visualize princes and princesses cavorting in the palaces, enjoying themselves. After I entered one room and photographed the city through the window frame, I imagined a princess sulking or composing poetry while pining for a long-lost lover.
Nahargarh. Let your imagination soar.
It's fun to let your imagination run wild. Senior management was always confused about the role and importance of imagination. Sometimes, they'd tell us to use our imagination; at others, they'd exhort us to stay within narrow confines. Powerful and wild imagination scares most corporate executives. You will walk the narrow path unless you adopt Steve Jobs' advice about pushing the buttons (watch the video by clicking this link).
I practice recording my voice these days, and the corporate monotone refuses to leave. The business world beat the monotone into me, and one of my big creative challenges now is to get some expression into my face and voice.
How did the old kings speak?
Did medieval and ancient kings speak with solid emotion, or did they adopt the sing-song speech form you often see in movies or television?
Let's do an exercise. Close your eyes and imagine a king chastising his errant son or daughter. In the first part of the exercise, give the royal family normal human voices. Give them a corporate speech in the second part of the task (imagine Barack Obama or David Cameron). In the third part, give them a sing-song voice (use examples from Indian television).
The exercise is dangerous. You may fall off your chair with laughter. Do it. Have fun. We often forget that ordinary people became royalty. They have flesh, a skeletal frame, blood, and brains (Inshah' Allah!). They were human microbiomes, just like the rest of us!
A Closing Note on Afternoon Light.
Allow me to conclude with a few comments on the afternoon light. Please pay attention to the color of the light. Afternoon light contains more infrared light than morning light. While it is longer, it is warmer. Afternoon light contains more warm wavelengths–yellow, orange, and red–than morning light. I made the correct decision when I visited in the afternoon: the warm light set the yellow stone of the buildings on fire. The setting sun was big, red, and powerful. I always love photographing silhouettes during dusk. If you allow it, someone seems to sprinkle magic dust in the air, transporting you to a bygone era.