Photography

Good Design

Learning & Change, ,

The Netflix docu-series Abstract: The Art Of Design has been quite something. One of my favourites there is the one that features the Greek photographer Platon.

Perhaps it is my fledgling interest in photography (that has resolutely stayed fledgling). But, I would like to think that it is more than that. I think, it is at the core, the philosophy of design that that I deeply resonate with.

At the end of it, I asked myself ‘what is good design?’

Here are some sponataneous thoughts that emerged.

Good design goes beyond aesthetics. It is a seamless weave of form and functionality. To get to get to awesome design, you sure need imagination and a certain courage to go beyond immediate feedback.

But at the very core, design to me, is about how much you care.

Design manifests in subtle and obvious ways, when deep empathy and listening beyond what is said is the norm. Good design is often mistaken to be an outcome. It actually is a way of thought. Sure, it looks pretty and feels good. But if you look deeper than that, you would find that the designer ‘cared’!

I liked a couple of lines from the episode with Platon.

“Before a shoot I am not thinking of how can I get a good picture, but what can I learn from this person.”

“Taking a picture is very technical, but 99.9% of it is the connection that allows me to reach someone.  And through that connection, there’s just a chance you’re going to feel something too.”

Great design is about connecting with other people. That is something that I am inspired by and try to practice. Every single client interaction and consequent solution design is about care and empathy. At least, that’s my endeavour.

There is another widely held belief that good design is a function of awesome tools that you have. Sure, tools help. Heres my opinion: design that is purely a function of the tools at hand is a lazy mind at work.

Good design brings out the human in the other. It evokes an emotion. That’s a function of connections. Be it a photograph, a costume, car or a workshop, good design is a function of how much you really care.

That’s why good design is rare.

What’s in Your Frame? A Lesson from Photography

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What do you keep in the background? What do you focus on?

These are the first lessons a photographer learns. But over time, they prove just as valuable in business—and in life.

Years ago, while fumbling with my first camera, I met someone for whom the camera was an extension of his arm. He shared a simple truth:

“A good photographer learns what to include in the frame. You get better by learning to keep out EVERYTHING that doesn’t add to the picture.”

That lesson stuck. In photography. In work. In life.

Because clarity isn’t just about what you see—it’s about what you remove.

(at Isle of Wight)

Perspective Changes Everything: A Reflection from the Hills of Vagamon

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It’s always about the frame. How you frame the problem changes the problem itself.

One moment, I was talking to people, standing beside them, sharing thoughts. Then came the trudge down the rolling hills—a pleasant, happy descent through Vagamon’s stunning landscape.

Thirty minutes later, I turned around.

The people I had just spoken to? Now tiny silhouettes on the horizon. The hill? A mere bump in the distance. The shifting light made them look like mannequins in a store—motionless, almost unreal.

Perspective changes everything. What looks overwhelming up close may seem insignificant from afar. What seems impossible now may, with distance, reveal new possibilities.

Try changing the frame—you might see things in a whole new way.

What Comes in the Way Can Make the End Better

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What comes in the way often feels like an interruption. A distraction. A flaw in the frame.

After much effort, I found the perfect angle to capture the building. Just as I was about to click, a thorny shrub found its way into the shot.

I let it be. And surprisingly, it added character.

Maybe that’s how life works too. The things that seem to block us can actually enhance our journey. What doesn’t break us adds depth, resilience, and perspective.

So, what do you think—obstacle or enhancement?

(at Bangkok, Thailand)

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The city is called Bruges. It is a photographers delight. Soothes a wandering soul so used to random concrete edifices masquerading as architecture by telling a story that there after all is a different way to live life.
It has everything that makes it complete.Canals. Churches. Buildings that reeks history and a surfeit of trees and horse drawn carriages!
It is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North. This is a must visit place.
To complement it all, in the evening as we were leaving the Sun emerged. Soaking the buildings up with a rich tapestry that is rare.
#Bruges #Belgium #Travel #traveldiaries #EU #Europe #photography #beauty #History #Horses #architecture #friends

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On the day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying, 
and I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded. 

Only now and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started up from my 
dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south wind. 

That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing and it seemed to 
me that is was the eager breath of the summer seeking for its completion. 

I knew not then that it was so near, that it was mine, and that this 
perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart. 

Rabindranath Tagore

Wah Taj !

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Many call emperor Shah Jahan a mad man. To have built such wonderous a monument like the Taj.  And I would agree.  Not only did he build such a monument of magnificence, for several years he has had families like mine, visiting this place in the dead heat of summer!

And still left shaking their heads with disbelief at the scale, splendour and the sheer magnificence of the place.  The fact that it is still standing after some 380 odd years ( and earrning money for the government and many others, is another aspect altogether). 

His love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal and her death (while bearing his 14th child) brought him to build this monument.  As far as I can recall, my history books didn’t talk of his post Mumtaz marriages. But apparently he did and was still a disappointed man. 

Bollywood, tollywood, kollywood and such other ‘woods’ have woven the mystique of love into countless songs . Poets have sighed over its splendour while crafting wily lines of love, longing and such else.  

Presidents of the world, some of them after signing arms deals with the government, have had photographs of themselves and their companions taken at the Taj. Striking poignant poses , sitting on whats come to be known as ‘Lady Di’s chair’ named after Princess Diana ( sitting alone) !


Our guide told us of Shah Jehans plans to build a replica of the Taj adjacent to the current one, in black marble. He told us as though the Mughal emperor had summoned him to his private chambers and whispered his desire in his ear.   


Going on to narrate a story of Aurangazebs cruelty and Shah Jehan’s forlorn lost last days.  It was happening in real time : melodrama spiking history big time in present continuous tense ! 

I digress. 

The Taj itself is a fantastic monument. We visited in blinding daylight. The moonlit Taj we were told was far more resplendent.  As an afterthought, it was mentioned, the fees for moonlit viewing were different. 

Obviously it’s a ‘must see’. It’s a place teeming with security and a global melting pot of people. All trudging in to see the’ monument of love’.  

Every visitor has lasting memories of this place. Every visit has left me with a memory or two. This one was when about half a dozen people at varying lengths in time, walked upto me, seeing the camera, the camera bag et al, and asked, ‘how much do you charge for a photograph’.

I seem to have arrived as a photographer. At the Taj ! 🙂