My First “Shot on iPhone” – Capturing the Majesty of Ellora's Kailasa Temple

Certain moments remain deeply imprinted in our minds because they affect our emotions as much as what we observe. My visit to Cave 16 and Kailasa Temple at the Ellora Caves became one of those exceptional experiences. My visit to a UNESCO World Heritage Site marked my first experience while I began my “Shot on iPhone” photography series using my iPhone for professional photography. The combination of historical significance and technological innovation created an experience that I will never forget.

The journey to Ellora brought excitement but my thoughts focused solely on Cave 16. The experience of standing at the cliff's edge to view the impossible structure left me unprepared despite all my prior research. The Kailasa Temple isn’t constructed. The temple exists as a single rock structure which was carved from top to bottom during the 1,200-year construction period.

I gripped my phone tightly before launching the camera app to compose the shot. The perfectly carved elephants and rising towers and symmetrical composition made everything feel like a movie while each sculpture revealed its own unique narrative. I pressed the screen while making a minor exposure adjustment before taking the picture. The first photo I captured with my iPhone left me completely amazed. The basalt rock textures and temple structure outlines and sun-created shadows appeared more vivid than I expected in the image.

I alternated between wide and portrait modes while exploring the temple deeper. The central courtyard with its massive pillars and shrines created an ideal depth for photography. The phone's contrast capture feature allowed me to show the stone carvings from centuries past while avoiding overexposure of the sculptures of Shiva and Nandi. The best part? I didn’t need a big DSLR camera. The compact nature of my phone allowed me to carry everything I needed so I could wander through the temple like a curious explorer instead of a traditional photographer.

The most memorable shot I took was a basic one. The frame contained only shadow, stone and story without any people or distractions. I stayed there for a while after taking the shot to understand that this was more than just a temple. The mountain became devoted because humans themselves transformed it into a place of worship.

Using modern technology to document one of the earliest human-made marvels seems somewhat contradictory. I departed from Kailasa Temple with dusty footwear while my vision remained filled with wonder and my smartphone contained numerous photographs from the experience. My mobile photography adventure started at that moment.