Taj Mahal by Hermann Mock

All the pictures of the incredible Taj Mahal monument in Agra, India, show the mausoleum in all its splendour and beauty; but however much I love India, these photos bear no resemblance to the reality of India – India is noisy and filthy, and everyone (and I mean everyone) is constantly trying to rip you off.If, as a European, you know India (and I’ve been there very often since 1979), you make your way through the noisy, constantly harassing crowds and, even in the year 2026, you’ll still see this incredible exoticism. If you know your way around, a complete sense of inner peace sets in – quieter and more peaceful than in our world.When I travel, I take a small, inconspicuous viewfinder camera with me and take panoramic shots of the places that fascinate me. I don’t use the camera’s panorama function; instead, I take 10 vertical shots and merge them together on my computer at home, which means that moving people and anything else in motion in the photos can appear out of focus or only as a detail.I really like it when moving parts of the image blend into one another. I never know whether the photos are any good or not. On my last trip to India, the camera’s display broke right at the start, so I had absolutely no control over the photos I’d taken – it was almost like travelling the old-fashioned analogue way.The Taj Mahal in the photo looks majestic despite the people around it and the distance; nothing can detract from its appearance. The editing of the photos is guided by the atmosphere of each location; here, the grime, the noise and the movement – in short, India – should be depicted exactly as it is.