Hello friends.

Welcome to my site! I’m Swami. I’m an engineer, designer, and photographer, and co-founder of QTR.

A little bit about me: I grew up near the beach in Chennai, moved to Malawi (the warm heart of Africa) during my high school years, went to college at ASU, and currently live in sunny Pleasanton (California).

Somewhere along the way, I picked up an interest in photography. I think it was when my dad got me a video camera in the 90s. I took the camera to school and videotaped my classes, and those recordings have become my most precious memories of Africa. Here’s Mr. Studd getting annoyed with the camera while trying to explain ligands.

I'm currenty focusing on landscapes and portraits, especially business headshots (if you need one, let me know). I've shot Bollywood concerts and sports, mainly tennis tournaments. In 2018, I was an official photographer at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Last year, I started a podcast called the ShotStories Photography Podcast where I interviewed some of the world's best landscape photographers about how they succeeded as an artist. While I had to suspend the podcast due to a life change, I plan to start interviewing again early next year.

Being a full-time engineer with multiple interests and side hustles, I’ve had to learn the hard way how to manage time effectively. I share these lessons on Medium. These lessons have now become the foundation of a tool I've created called QTR. It's a simple, yet powerful tool that helps you manage your time well and achieve your goals faster.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you find something here that inspires you.

Swami Venkataramani
swami@swamiphoto.com