Swami Photography

Is your camera always on Auto? Knowing how to use your camera manually unlocks more creative possibilities for you. Cameras have light sensors that detect how much light there is in your scene and do a pretty good job at “averaging” the light and getting you a sharp, well-lit photo. But that’s the problem. All your photos will be just average :)

It was 2004, in Tucson, Arizona. I was sitting in my office room staring at the computer screen—it was my first job out of college, at a company called Mentor Graphics, and yes, I had my own room—it’s been downhill since, with cubicles and shared tables nowadays.

Here’s another story. This one relates to me. It’s personal, but it’s a story that must be told. In the late 80s, dad launched a startup, invested his savings in it, and like most startups, it failed.

My mom isn’t the CEO of a company. But she could have been. She has the qualities of a good leader, but like many women in her category, she sacrificed a life of career and success to be a full-time housewife and mother.

My Patti was more like a friend to me than a grandma. My fondest memories are listening to her bedtime stories every night. There was one particular story that I would ask her to repeat over and over again, and each time she would narrate it with the same enthusiasm.

25 years ago I took a camera to school and videotaped all my classes—I was in Form 5, and it was a few weeks before my GCSE exams. Many of my classmates would leave after the exams…and what better way to preserve the precious memories than filming a typical day in school!.

I was surprised to discover some unethical tactics used on DoorDash to attract vegetarians. Recently, I looked up a vegan place on DoorDash, and a new vegan Mediterranean restaurant showed up. I was excited...

To a photographer, nothing is more fulfilling than to see your work in print. My work was recently published in a book created by Escaype, a precious photography community in the Bay Area.

Dr. Panch has been in the news lately. President Trump picked him to lead the National Science Foundation. A lot has been written about his successful roles in academia, research, innovation, and leadership. But who is he on the inside?

We think so hard before helping someoneLast year, I visited my guru’s ashram in Puttaparthi (India). A young girl came begging for food just as I was going into a restaurant for lunch.

Maternity shoots are a lot of fun, but it’s also way more intense than regular portrait shoots—in a regular portrait shoot, if you mess up, you can try again. For maternity shoots, you get one chance to get it right.

The best book I’ve read this year is Creative Calling, by Chase Jarvis (photographer, and founder of Creative Live). I’ve been following Chase for about nine years now.