Heidi: “Just as today’s brands are built to shine on Instagram and TikTok, Googie structures were built to entice through a car window” – The New York Times noted people are looking out the window decades later you peer from an airplane seat. What are the creative parallels?
Ashok: I have been intrigued by LA’s love affair with the automobile and how it shaped the city’s built environment, tracing back to a time when cars themselves were objects of beauty. Those cars are no longer on the streets today but the buildings from that era (built in the ‘Googie’ architectural style) still remain. These buildings were like advertising billboards – symbols of consumerism that sent a universal messaging to the drivers and beckoned them to come inside. The Googie project recently published in NYT is a continuation of my personal photo series and book titled ‘Gas and Glamour’ and allowed me to connect with that lost design history and capture LA’s car-culture-inspired optimism and ambition reflected in polychromatic, star- Spangled coffee shops, gas stations, car washes, and others that once lured the gaze of passing motorists.

As luck might have it, I was recently assigned to photograph a similar story for the NYT, but this time in New York about the city’s disappearing neon signs.
This year marks the centennial anniversary year of the first neon sign in Times Square, yet it has been marked with a loss of one vintage neon sign after another, either because the business it hangs on is shuttered or its owners opt for LEDs. This photo series captures an urban landscape in transition, highlighting iconic New York City neon signs that are about to be turned off, and others that have already been dismantled or replaced by LEDs. Much like the last of the Googie establishments in LA, the story about neon signs highlights the typography, graphic design, and curbside appeal and neon’s importance in luring the gaze of passing pedestrians of New York City. Fittingly, it might be the beginning of a sequel to the west coast Googie project- ‘Glass and Glamour‘ This time, perhaps?

How did the visual experience of programming satellites for the US government inform your personal work?
Working on satellites is often a lonely and solitary affair (and I frankly hated it). However, it does give you a sense of humanity’s place in the universe and how we are just a tiny part of that giant extraterrestrial equation. The work is monotonous, but you do get to dream a bit and get lost in that world on a daily basis. Looking back at those years, I believe that that mindset of logical thinking, patience, problem-solving and daydreaming all contribute to the way I manifest my thoughts and ideas through my photography work today.

Exact Proportion asks the viewer to consider the sense of place and self—why are these considerations important to you?
Many years ago, when I visited the top of the Empire State Building one foggy night, my view of the world changed. I was consumed by the immense sky to which very few people have access in Manhattan. That led me to document a view of the world that put the scale of our communities in perspective. Living in a big city like New York, we often lose ourselves in the world surrounding us and fail to realize civilization is limiting, even at its best. Only when you start looking under the prism of a collective horizon can we evoke the constraints of our existence and better understand the delicate balance between us and the universe we all share. Through my photographs, I wanted to point out the environmental and cultural similarities between all of us, taking delight in the colorful differences, as well as infuse a hint of humor by positioning mankind as tiny in such a large universe.

Tell us about the self-made camera modification for your work “New York to LA.” What were the considerations around the seat assignments and weather conditions?
The entire body of work was shot through airplane windows and made over many years of personal trips between New York and Los Angeles. Minimizing reflections on the (plexiglass) airplane window was my main goal for creating an ad hoc attachment to the camera lens. Using black cine foil and gaffer’s tape, I devised a flexible “tent” to put the entire camera inside it and get the lens as close to the plexiglass as possible.

Seat assignments were crucial. You ideally want to be sitting forward of the wing, otherwise, the engine turbulence creates blurry areas in the image. I also studied airplane seat maps and flight paths to make sure I was sitting on the correct side of the airplane, what terrain the airplane would be flying over etc. Most importantly, I only shot when the flight was below cruising altitude, and only at those moments whne the airplane (window) is almost parallel to the ground below, which usually means a few minutes while the airplane is turning and pitching during takeoff and landing. . In order to maximize my chances of “usable” photography time, I often opted for multi-stop flights over nonstop ones.

What were some of the biggest lessons while creating this body of work since there are so many variables?
Weather was also a big factor and while I had no control over it, I used it as much as possible to work in my favor. For example, I have photographed the same landscape over different times of the year and have been delighted by the results.
While this project has definitely taught me the power of preparation and planning before any shoot, it has helped me in having an open mind and remaining flexible because the best pictures are often made that way.

Your architecture and interior work celebrate clean lines, structure, and beauty – how do your personal projects and initiatives contrast this work?
I have a curious mind that is constantly working overtime! As much as I enjoy and relish the minimalist simplicity in architecture and interiors, my personal projects are an outlet to explore other topics and subjects that I’m interested in. For example, my interest in human-driven stories has resulted in short documentaries (Forgotten Artisans of New York, Pigeon Kings of Brooklyn, Sticker City), while my affinity towards the natural world has led me to create several bodies of work that explore landscape. (Exacting Proportion, New York to LA) and finally, my curiosity about identity and self-expression has resulted in portrait projects (The Hindu Bagpipers of Secaucus in NYT and the Languages ​​of New York short video interview series.)