I'm on the road still, having gone to India from Greece. Flew into Delhi early (very, very early) Wednesday morning, where I'm here to lead two days of digital workflow training for some members of the Associated Press photo staff in Asia. The rest of Wednesday was a free day, though, so I wanted to get out for some fresh air and see some of Delhi.

Back in 2001 I spent ten days in India leading a trek for American Photo. I remembered from then that two beautiful places we visited were the Jama Masjid mosque (largest in India) and the Red Fort. With the help of the AP office, I got a car and driver for the afternoon and headed off.

I've always enjoyed making pretty pictures, but those alone don't tell the story of a place. It’s the people and their lives that make the place what it is. That's especially true in a place that's foreign to you, where everything from the clothes to the cars to the buildings and transportation are different. And few places are as different to us Americans as India.

I'll admit , I got lucky. Forecast was for overcast sky and thunderstorms. Instead, there were light clouds and blue sky, with sun about half the time. This made a great background for the fabulous architecture of Delhi. And I got lucky with more than the weather. At one spot I was trying a high shot showing the crowds and market stalls on one of the busy streets. Then two women, one with a baby, stepped into the shot. I wasn't mad, though, because using a large aperture (f/4.0) and focusing on them made a nice silhouette against the busy street. Then the luck really kicked in, as a gust of wind blew and the mom's scarf flew up in the air. Bingo!

Then, while walking through the grounds of the mosque, a woman came up and asked me to take a photo of her son. Sure, why not. Then I showed them the photo and next thing I knew, I was swarmed by moms and kids wanting me to take and show photos. Second bingo.

Later, after walking through the the Red Fort, I was waiting to cross a busy street to get back to the car. Instead, I started to shoot photos of the crazy traffic, a using small aperture (f/22) and slow shutter speed (1/10 second) to get some colorful blur. That was working well, but since it's digital, I thought I'd take a chance and move to shoot straight into the sun. Bingo number three.

I love photography for the surprises it can present you with year after year, and I love digital for the freedom it gives me to experiment and take chances.