The Taj Mahal from an unusual perspective


In 1988 I wanted to travel and explore India. The largest subcontinent in Asia and the birthplace of the major religions in Buddhism and Hinduism. I felt it was the most beautiful and exciting place to travel and do some great photography.

During that time I was also looking for ways to find my own voice in photography after some first initial professional success in magazines and advertising work. India is a guaranteed explosion for your senses and a visual overload experience.

For me, it was about making art and taking my photography to the next level. Discover the world, discover new colors and cultures, and capture it in a multitude of amazing frames. For this expedition, I found a fully mechanical panoramic camera, the Widelux7 and I brought my small 35mm rangefinder, Leica style Minolta CLE.

Taking travel photography to the next level.

Colorful portrait of Indian man | Photography by Michael Klinkhamer

The day before departure my girlfriend discovered she was pregnant. With our first baby in her womb, we started our journey and we got blessed by Indian spiritual sadhus and shamans during the famous Kumbh Mela festival. The Kumbh Mela is the largest religious festival in the world and happens every other four years.

During these times all of us need to be able to look back at the wonderful times we had and experiences that made us who we are today. As some doors close, others will reopen, I am confident.

The Taj Mahal in India photo with an unsuals perspective by Michael Klinkhamer

This is an image of The Taj Mahal in India I once shot back in the days of film photography of the perhaps most photographed and iconic landmark buildings of the world.

The Taj Mahal in India was completed in 1643. This photo was made by me in 1988. Lucky then to be in the right place at the right time everything fell into place. Capturing the Taj Mahal from a more unusual perspective was the challenge.

Photographed with a special Widelux panorama camera, loaded with my favorite Kodak Gold negative 35mm film.

The other jewel I found in my archive I shot at the Taj Mahal is the picture below. Two Indian women in colorful traditional dress, leaving the white marble mausoleum.

This picture was shot on a Minolta CLE rangefinder camera that was the result of a collaboration with Leica. A very special small camera well sought after even today.

Indian woman photography by Michael Klinkhamer

To reload my images into 2020 with the help of a Canon 8800F flatbed scanner proved to be a rewarding experience. Yes, it’s also a very time-consuming effort and makes you realize the fast access to digital photography. On the other hand, this was shot on film negatives 32 years ago.

Digital storage can easily become obsolete unless you constantly update and refresh your backup files and drives before they become lost or technically outdated.

The combination of being able to scan my different film types together with various innovative ideas and the integration of current software technology has created SilverFast 8 which is regarded as the best scanner software to digitize my films and prints.

The Silverfast is the scanner software that actually delivers perfect scans right from the start as others like VueScan failed miserably in my test with them regarding accuracy in color representation. At least with my Canon 8800F scanner that I picked up from a yard sale for $20,-

The pinnacle of scanner hardware machines in my opinion is still the Flextight-Hasselblad Imacon scanner. They are second hand to be found for around for $1.600 to $2.000 This is a great option if you prefer to scan your work to the highest professional level and up to 4×5 inch film. For that kind of money, you can also outsource the scans before the hobby becomes a job.

Dentist on the street in India | Photography by Michael Klinkhamer

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