Qutub Minar & Two Parrots Photo

Photographer’s Note

Qutub-Minar in red and buff standstone is the highest tower in India. It has a diameter of 14.32m at the base and about 2.75m on the top with a height of 72.5m. Qutb-u'd-Din Aibak laid the foundation of Qutab Minar in AD 1199 for the use of Mu'azzin (crier) to give calls for prayer and raised the first storey, to which were added three more storeys by his successor and son-in-law, Shamsu'd-Din IItutmish (AD 1211-36).

The word 'Qutab Minar' means 'axis minaret'. Today, this impressively ornate tower has a slight tilt, but otherwise has worn the centuries remarkably well. The staircase inside the tower to the balconies has been closed following an accident in early 1980's when a party of school girls panicked when the lights failed and a stampede led to a number of deaths.

I took this picture through the gate of Iltutmish's tomb, located to the west of the Minar. The framing possibility attracted me, but I took this picture more because of the parrots perched on the high walls of this tomb wall to the left.

gpsony, siolaw, indoka28, sarahnatalie, jmcl, paul_lombard, axiotea, ChrisJ, plimrn, rakeshgupta, ramesh_lalwani, sabyasachi1212, jlbrthnn, riclopes, partha, papagolf21, feather, vincz, josepmarin, anaines, pierrefonds, vinicio, Gerrit, emjleclercq, Budapestman, leo61, somkiat, pranab, john_c, sayan, sayat, bakes888, atus, Henryk_Bilor has marked this note useful

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siolaw (25838) 2007-03-09 22:45

Hi Angshu,
Good POV on the Qutab Minar, naturally framed by arch and wall, good light and warm colors, nice brick texture
Greetings from Goa
Laurent

indoka28 (5187) 2007-03-09 22:49

Hello Angshuman,

An unorthodox POV for capturing Qutub..!! very very well done..This is creativity..Very very good positioning and also cool colours and sharpness..!! This is s beauti..!!!

Thanks for sharing this wonderful photograph

Regards,

Indro

sarahnatalie (693) 2007-03-09 23:06

Great shot! I love the way the architecture is presented here- the pov is superb! The parrots really add to the photo as well. You have great light and a nice note, too. Good job.
Sarah

jmcl (14149) 2007-03-09 23:24

Hi Angshuman,

It is a really interesting effect framing that tower this way .. it feels captured .. a trophy from a different world ... entombed?

I like the birds .. I was contemplating desaturating the stone a bit and bringing up the birds to see if they would be more noticeable .. couldn't get it to work the way I would like so I gave up ..

wonderful image.

take care,

John

paul_lombard (373) 2007-03-09 23:44 [Comment]

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axiotea (16309) 2007-03-09 23:47

Bonjour Angshu,
Nice presentation of Qutub-Minar in between the half arch and the straight wall with light/shade contrasts. The Minaret stands out nicely against the blue sky and the little parakeet is a plus. Colors are well saturated and the framing is well done.
Cheers,
Marilyn

ChrisJ (70443) 2007-03-10 0:01

Hi Angshu

The green parrot is a good addition. I like the framing & pov, between the 2 sidewalls. Good graphism & colour contrast between the red brick tower & blue sky. Tfs!

ndb1958 (9249) 2007-03-10 1:40

Hi Angshu,
such a nice perspective on the beautiful tower. Great composition with the arch in the forground. A beautiful light and good natural colours ... and I like the two birds sitting there on the wall.
Have a nice weekend + best wishes,
Nino

everlasting (10942) 2007-03-10 1:45

I have fond memeories of asm afternoon spent at the Qutub Minar. You hvae a great POV here and framed it well, Angshu. The addition of the parrots is a plus. Do you know that I get the sme parrots here in my garden in the netherlands. In fact I can see them now in the trees outside my study.

rakeshgupta (2670) 2007-03-10 1:46

Hi Angshuman,
Clarity of the scene is very important here... everywhere crisp and sharp with perfect saturation. And you (and we all) to see two parakeets at the top.
Thanks for showing and sharing.
- Rakesh

pablominto (41458) 2007-03-10 2:03

Hello Angshu,
Unusual tight framing of the minaret!
Good colours and sharp fine details, interesting angle of light...
Surprising but pleasant composition!
Greetings,
Pablo -

ramesh_lalwani (3209) 2007-03-10 2:52

Hi Anshuman
Lovely framing which I think most of have done but you have put life with parrots.Good work.
ramesh

Graal (58828) 2007-03-10 2:59

Hi Angshuman,
great composition, unusual tower of minaret, fine vertical frame, interesting note and beautiful colours. Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

sabyasachi1212 (19546) 2007-03-10 3:26

Dear Angshuman,
Good to see that you took time out from your busy schedule. Exellent POV and framing. I rememeber the parrots from this place but you have them perfectly positioned as well. Architecture is your forte and you once again show us exactly why:)
Best Wishes
Sabyasachi

plimrn (19754) 2007-03-10 3:35

Hi Angshu,
The detail of the tower is beautiful. It's amazing that at f4 you got such good detail in both the parrots and the more distant tower. I see this photo has been added to a theme with very illustrious company!!HLj, Pat

riclopes (33135) 2007-03-10 3:43

Olá Angshu, spectacular framing, with the parrot being a nice bonus. Love the textures of the stones and details on the highest tower of India. The colors are great as well, making the image very appealing. I really like this one, my friend.
I hope that everything is ok with you in this big and chaotic city,
Have a nice weekend,
Ricardo

partha (13667) 2007-03-10 3:46

Hi Angshuman ,
Definately a nice steal/ Perfectly composed. An ideal frame within a frame composition.The light and shadow effect is so wonderfully handle.
Hei, I discovered the bird there, thats just great.
Into my favs.
Very good shot.
Regards.
:) later
Partha

jlbrthnn (39083) 2007-03-10 3:50

Hello Angshuman,
I think you did a great composition, a very amazing shot. This building is impressive by his size. Your photo is perfectly composed with beautiful natural colours and fine details from the ideal place between the half arch.
Bravo
Cordially
Joël

papagolf21 (56811) 2007-03-10 3:51

Bonjour, mon ami Angshu,
Le cadrage a été très bien réalisé pour faire ressortir cet édifice qui se glisse avec bonheur entre une voûte et un mur. Le ciel bleu profond est là pour valoriser ce merveilleux spectacle.
Très intéressante réalisation (sujet, réalisation, tout est très bon, mon ami).
Philippe

pastadog (12821) 2007-03-10 3:53

Creative compo, Angshu, to frame this attractive tower, the parrots are an excellent bonus. In my monitor there's a thin white halo line on the arch, all the way from top to bottom, and also on the left side of the tower, I tried to apply gaussian blur there, to eliminate it, see WS. Regards, Daniel

[workshop] [compare]

feather (50230) 2007-03-10 4:32

You will know I love this. The natural framing with architectural features and the bonus of the parrots. The light on the tower is excellent and you have captured the beautiful details very well. A well chosen focal point has ensured the sharpness with quite a narrow DOF.
Kath

bhorerpakhi (559) 2007-03-10 4:39

Khub bhalo chobi Angshu Da, this was my favored haunt during my JNU days. The best thing here is the framing very well chosen. Okhanta to tiya pakhir adda. Thanks.
Poulomi

josepmarin (34131) 2007-03-10 6:34

Hi, my friend Angshuman,
This one is a clever fit, you have used with very good aesthetic criterion the arch in the shade and the wall illuminated by the Sun to create a beautiful frame to this magnificent minaret, and with a blue bottom of the sky that works as a natural and very clean backdrop. Great lighting and beautiful colors in the picture, too.
The parrots are a nice touch and are caught in a very opportune moment, which gives yet more interest to the composition.
Good shot.
Best regards,
Josep

anaines (801) 2007-03-10 7:46

Extremelly beautiful composition. Very insteresting note. The parrots give it a funny and green touch! The ligth is excellent. Congratulations.
TFS

pierrefonds (26691) 2007-03-10 7:49

Hi Angshuman,

A good POV of the Qutub-Minar and of the two parrots in the foreground under a beautiful blue sky, the photo has a good composition, perspective and nice colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

vinicio (22428) 2007-03-10 9:21

A true good composition Angshu, compliments, using the arch as frame you have accentuated the beauty of the tower putting it in a beautiful context, well done.
Ciao
Vinicio

batalay (21223) 2007-03-10 10:37

Hello Angshu,

Thanks for posting this impressive image of Qutub-Minar, along with the highly informative note. The the deeply fluted minaret is highly evocative of some of the earlier mosques in Turkey, dating to the same period, the Selçuk Dynasty (before the Ottomans). I've seen them in Antalya, Konya and Erzurum. You've framed the minaret nicely in the doorway of the adjacent Tomb, but I saw the parrots only after reading the note. It's remarkable that in the climate you live in, these birds appear to fly freely (here we see them only in pet shops).

When I was a university student, over four decades ago, I had a good friend, Anil Nehru, son of the Ambassador from New Delhi to Washington, and the great nephew of Jahawarlal Nehru. After having lost track of Anil for decades, I recently received an email from him. The Trekearth link helped us to re-connect.

Warm regards and enjoy what is left of the weekend. It must be almost 9 pm Saturday in Delhi, here it is shortly before 11 am.

Bulent

Gerrit (36325) 2007-03-10 13:21

Hi Angshu,
weel found POV to place the tower so in between. The parots form a great addition.
Regards, Gerrit

capthaddock (28640) 2007-03-10 15:13

Hi Angshu - you found a good way to frame the tower, fine exposure overall in highlights and shadows, I have a similar one where I used the same arch for framing.

emjleclercq (14538) 2007-03-10 16:47

Still a temple, but a great change compared to the previous one. You have an excellent framing here, very nice colors and, in myopinion, a much better sharpness than in some of your previous postings.

All the best,

Emmanuel

Budapestman (42930) 2007-03-10 18:44

Dear Angshu,
Wow! Beautiful architecture photo! I like the historical atmosphere and the refined composition. Details are interesting and decorative. Very good work. Have a nice weekend!
George

jonathan_hart (22675) 2007-03-10 21:30

hello
unusual POV, as the others said, colors and light are excellent and the parrots presence on the top may explain the reason of that POV, good photo
best regards
jo

leo61 (43830) 2007-03-11 3:13

Hi Angshu!
Good composition.I like how the minaret is framed by the arch and the wall.Good sharpness and great contrast with the sky.
The little bird makes the composition perfect.
Regards.leo

vincz (19045) 2007-03-11 3:31

Superb vertical compostion making great use of light and shadows. i like very much the reddish colours on the tower and .... the very nic tooch with the green parrots. Great job!

doctabrez (332) 2007-03-11 5:50 [Comment]

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prumod (8264) 2007-03-11 8:28

hi anghu....
this experiment is very nice... poitioning qutub minar in this way is very good... nice color cotrast too...
take care
pramod

somkiat (1096) 2007-03-11 11:36

hallo angshuman,
very nice pov.the picture was separated by the different brightness.that's the very good contrast.and the color is so obvious.the parrots are the charm.good moment,i think
very nicely done
somkiat

pranab (5354) 2007-03-12 3:38

angshu,
excellent pov with great color and detail. good eye to catch those birds against the minar. well done. excellent framing.

sayan (2609) 2007-03-12 4:39

Hello Angshuman da,

Really wonderful pov. Great sharpness and framing. The colour is also wonderful. Overall a class image.
Regards

Sayan

john_c (24635) 2007-03-12 11:37

Hi Angshu,
The perspective is incredibly effective, with the tower majestic and well seen through the portal. The parrots really enhance and provide an amazing secondary scene. Good clarity and sharpness throughout. Thanks for the interesting note. This is first rate work.
John

sayat (2944) 2007-03-12 12:50

Your unusual framing in this shot is very beautiful Dear Angshu. I like the vivid colors and your twin watchers are a nice add-on to the overall composition. Great shot.
Sayat

Stepan (27175) 2007-03-13 15:26

Good pov and crop to appreciate the Minar, in a beautiful soft light. Details and sharpness are OK too. Well done.
Stéphane

bakes888 (18353) 2007-03-14 2:21

Hi Angshuman. Great photo. I love the framing and wonderful colours but mostly I think the textures and patterns really make this photo. The parrots are really the cherry on top though. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers, Paul.

atus (15476) 2007-03-14 16:34

Hello Angshu,
what a great shot here! Perfectly and cleverly framed and composed in a well chosen vertical format. The pov is absolutely great and the two parrots are a fantastic bonus of the picture.
Excellent work! Tfs and best wishes.
Attila

gpsony (478) 2007-03-15 3:56

Hi Angshuman,

What a shot! Simple! But wonderfully excecuted. Lovely colours and contrast! Very refreshing POV!

Cheers,
Guru

MIG13 (0) 2007-03-16 13:00

Artistic and original composition, Angshuman, in nice colours and very sharp! Great framing! A well done work, my friend! TFS! Greetings from Rio! Miguel.

Henryk_Bilor (20371) 2007-03-19 6:58

Hi Angshuman
Very interesting capture of this tower. Good light. I like the bird on the wall also :).
Regards

sidstakes (770) 2007-06-21 0:52

Hello Angshuman,
I just saw this photograph. It is very good. Composition is very unique and fresh given the many other photographs I have seen of this monument. Good one this!
Regards,
Siddhartha

ayansadhu (1499) 2008-02-26 19:47

it is not the parrots/(s) for which this image looks good, but, for the nice POV...
nice composition with the vertical canvas usage makes it interesting
also the light falling on the wall & the exposure is worth a word of praise or more :)