OneLight Photography

Bada Imambara is a famous monument of Lucknow that has historical, cultural and heritage importance. Bada Imambara complex was commissioned by the then Nawab of Awadh, Asaf -ud-Daula in the year 1784. The complex also includes the large Asfi mosque, the Bhul-Bhulayah (the labyrinth) and a summer palace with running water.

The Bara Imambara is known for its incredible maze called Bhulbhulaiya. This is located in the upper floor of the monument. A stairway leads to this level. One can view a scenic panorama of the city from the top of this monument, which is absolutely breath-taking.

on the Left is the Asfi Mosque,in the middle is the Gateway and in the right is the Bawli & Bhulbhulaiya

Asfi Mosque

The Bara Imambara has a unique style of construction. The central hall of Bara Imambara is said to be the largest arched hall in the world. The hall measures 50 meters long and goes upto a height of 15 meters.

Central hall of Bara Imambara

What makes the construction unique is the fact that the blocks have been put together with interlocking system of bricks and there has been absolutely no use of girders and beams. The roof stands steady till date without any pillars to support it.

STOP:: Before you enter Bara Imambara you have to take off your shoes…

and don’t worrry about your shoes, you will find Hussain and haider there working as a show keeper in Bara Imambara for last 12 years.

The Bhulbhulaiya is a must see and the best way to find your way out without getting lost is by hiring a guide. It is said that great treasures are hidden in the secret tunnels of this maze. The monument remains open from morning 6am to evening 5pm.

for more photographs from Lucknow GOTO

Today a friend linked me to a post on Craigslist, where an “award-winning restaurant” is looking to get photography done to grow their business. However, they are not willing to pay the photographer for several hours of work more than a meal and a cocktail. On top of that, they expect the photographer to produce work at the level of Toby Glanville or Eric Wolfinger, some of the top food photographers who easily command thousands of dollars for such an assignment. Here is the ad from the restaurant:

A fellow photographer, John Jebbia, gave the right answer to this, just to show how ridiculous the request from the restaurant is:

Origional Post By  Svenler

It’s a $4 million question: What makes this photo so special?

“Does it come with several Ferraris?” offers an arts editor here. Well, that would make more sense, but no, not that we know of. “One can only assume the collector really likes stripes of green and gray,” jokes SeattlePI.com. Unfortunately, though, we don’t know who bought it.

Andreas Gursky’s Rhein II fetched $4,338,500 at a Christie’s auction last week, breaking the record for the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction.

Here’s what we do know: The photo comes at the mammoth proportion of about 6-by-11 feet, and that’s got to count for something. Plus (sorry all starving photographers), that price tag is nothing unusual for Gursky. Until the purchase of Cindy Sherman’s Untitled in May, Gursky’s 99 Cent II Diptychon had been the most expensive photo, which sold at Sotheby’s for $3.3 million in 2007. He has photos in major museums like the Museum of Modern Art and London’s Tate Modern and studied under the renowned Bernd and Hilla Becher in Germany.

And maybe his very German-ness contributes to the price, too. The Rhine is “one of the most symbolic motifs in German art,” says Francis Outred, head of Europe in post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s. It runs through Gursky’s hometown of Dusseldorf, as well as six European countries, and has inspired art for centuries.

But Outred contends that this photo is exceptional: “One of the most powerful and profound depictions ever to be created of the Rhine, the photo’s unique scale draws an ineffable link to the actual natural landscape, inviting the viewer to cross over into its vivid picture plane.”

Then there’s the technique: Gursky is famous for his large-scale productions, for his exacting printing methods and for pioneering a unique combination of film and digital processes.

That said, $4.3 million is still an unthinkable sum. “We’re living in a world of funny money,” said David Ross, former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, when we spoke about Cindy Sherman’s photo.

Funny money is right. Just think about how far that $4.3 million would go if spent elsewhere … and yet that’s kind of a hackneyed hypothetical. Who would really argue against support and proliferation of the arts? Certainly not Gursky.

source:     npr.org