Tushar Rao Photography

Goa. My acquaintance with this sea side heaven is relatively recent. I visited Goa for the first time a couple of years ago and fell in love with it's lush rain drenched fields, the winding roads, quaint villages, beautiful houses and the gentle folks who live here. I remember one balmy afternoon on that trip, mellow after a few chilled drinks, I had sighed and wondered aloud, what it would be like to live here? That was then, and today, I am penning down this post, sitting on the terrace of my little studio, cooled by the Goan sea breeze, listening to the constant sound of waves in the background, and well, warding off all sort of insect life which is making itself comfortable on my brightly lit laptop screen! 

This move to Goa has been possible because of the help and support I got from friends and serendipitous connections. Tushar Rao, a resident of Goa, was one one such connection. And what an interesting friend he has turned out to be! A photographer, who has traveled the length and breadth of Goa, capturing vignettes from daily life and shooting many beautiful homes, boutique stores, hotels, Tushar's work portfolio is a treasure trove for any Goa-phile! And as we chatted, I kept exclaiming since I realized that I have been familiar with his work from way back in time, when as a bright eyed young design enthusiast, I would pore over the one interior design magazine [Inside Outside] that used to be published in India. He is the one who had shot some of my favorite features from that time! It's but obvious that I demanded that he hand over his portfolio to me, since such loveliness must be shared with my folks over at An Indian Summer!

Tushar started experimenting with the camera when very young, and after 8 years as an amateur photographer, he has been a professional since the last 20 years. His work has been published in various magazines like Elle, Inside Outside, Better Interiors, Society Interiors, India Today, Design Today and Verve. He has shot extensively for books on Goa and also had the opportunity to assist the well known French photographer, Robert Polidori. 

Here are some of my favorite picks from the homes Tushar has shot. Dive right in!

You can see more of Tushar's work right here!

[All Images: Tushar Rao. Storyboarding: An Indian Summer]

Through the lens of

Thiru S

One of the best things about writing a blog is that you get to know and meet exceptionally creative and interesting people. Thiru and I connected late last year and he shared his impressive portfolio with me. I was thrilled to see many of my favorite images from various residences and boutique design resorts in his portfolio - Thiru has been photographing for some of the top design and travel magazines for years now. His photography portfolio not only covers interiors but a wide array of editorial, travel, food, street and personal photography. Apart from photography, Thiru also runs the creative design agency, White Light Design, that he co-founded in 2004.

 

In Thiru's own words: 

There are certain places and moments in life, which transcend beauty, as we know it. Most of my photos are grounded in these instances. I look for the unguarded moment, the inner beauty. My genre of photography intends to show different spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, and at other times microscopic. I’m excited about life, travel and photography. I have been taking pictures for the past 12 years. In all these years there were times when I thought I had something extraordinary. Sometimes I was fooled that what I thought was great turned out to be not so great and there were other times when the not so great pleasantly surprised me.

Photography has taught me to be patient but more importantly to apply myself. The more I applied myself and interacted with the world around me, the better I got. It has taught me to let go of the preconceptions of what I was expecting to get, or want to get, and just react to the natural world. In other words to let those things that are on the inside come out. To me photography draws upon who we are and the life views that we hold. It’s an interpretation of our sensibilities and our relationship with the world. It is a mirror to what we love and fear, and it provides opportunities to explore subjects one might be too timid to explore without the excuse of a camera.

 

View more of Thiru's beautiful images right here. Also, take a look at the brilliant, The Deconstruction Project, a spatial experiment using photo art installations, designed and curated by Thiru and Vikrant Sharma.

Thanks Thiru, for sharing your work with us! 

[All Images Copyright: Thiru S, Elle Decor India, Styling by Sonia Dutt]

~

Coming up later this week and next, showcase posts featuring new designers and stores, and a bunch of lovely giveaways!  

Keep reading An Indian Summer! 

 

Fresh off the press

I'll let you in on a little secret. I adore receiving packages via courier/shipping! The excitement of seeing a box delivered to my home, and then opening it up and ooh aahing - even though most times I know what is inside since I ordered it! And, if that box contains books, then I am the happiest girl on the block! And very happy I was, when I received two lovely coffee table books from the fabulous Meghan of The Vendome Press for review. Today, I sat down with a warm cup of jasmine tea, and spent a leisurely hour going through both books. As expected, lot of ooh aahing ensued, and once done, I couldn't wait to show you some of my favorite images from the books.

The Vendome Press sent across their two of their August new releases: Mighty Maharajas [Forts and Palaces of India], and At Home In Italy [Under the Summer Sun].

The Mighty Maharaja, by Amita Baig, with opulent photographs by Joginder Singh, covers select forts and palaces across the length and breadth of the country, along with their fascinating history. The sumptuous book also offers an interesting glimpse into the lifestyle of the royalty.

The second book, At Home in Italy, by editor of AD Italia, Nicoletta del Buono, has brilliant photographs of some of Italy's most beautiful homes, taken by Massimo Listri. Covering about thirty homes across various regions in rural Italy, the book is almost like a personal walk through the sun drenched patios, the inviting cool living rooms, and a visual feast of Italian rural design and decor tradition. 

Ah! The pleasure of fabulous new coffee table books! :)

You can grab your copy of the books here and here.

[All images for the post clicked by me, owned by The Vendome Press]

This room..

...is one of my favorite rooms of all time!

It's from the oh-so-beautiful home of Roman Alonso, the creative director at Commune, and photographed by the very talented Amy Neunsinger. I love the warmth in the room, the many art frames, the fabulous colors on the rugs and furnishings, the linen blinds...it is just about perfect as a cozy living room. Amy's rest of the portfolio is also a sheer visual delight, sure to make peeps like us very happy! Take a look at some of my favorites from her site...

 

 

 

[All images: Amy Neunsinger; Link Reference and fifth pic from here]