Tripe's visit to Hullabede in December 1854 marked the first time he used photography to document the architectural riches of south India. Trained as a military surveyor, he aimed to present information as comprehensively and unambiguously as possible. He made six photographs of this minor shrine west of the main twelfth-century temple complex dedicated to Shiva. He circled the building, taking photographs from each compass point before moving closer to record intimate details.