Last Updated on 05/29/2025 by Nilofer Khan
Some photographs can stop viewers in their tracks, giving them the space to observe and mull over the finite layers of colors and content confined in a frame. Such shots are rare, as they allow the viewer to connect and find some respite from the throes of life. A notable example is Drip, an abstract series by Aashim Tyagi that captures the melodies of everyday scenes in its diverse shapes and forms. While to some, it may appear like pictures of an enchanting but muddled monsoon season in India, the reality is quite far from that.
All the images in the article are by Aashim Tyagi. Used with permission. To see more, visit his website or his Instagram handle @aashim.
The Rhythms and Blues of a Beginning
Aashim Tyagi’s photographic journey may have officially begun in 2010, but the truth is, he was making photographs way before that. “As a teenager, I couldn’t get enough of plugging in my headphones, hitting play, and roaming the city streets,” Tyagi tells The Phoblographer in an email interview. With every song, Tyagi states, the world felt like a part of his “own movie.” He adds, saying, “In a way, those daydreams were my first ‘photographs,’ captured not on camera but inside my head.”
A little later, things changed for the budding artist when he began to visit music stores. “The less esoteric answer is that I fell in love with photography in the jazz section of a CD shop,” he states. Tyagi, who has a BFA degree, was inspired by the Blue Note Jazz covers, whose “stunning photographs and bold graphic design” made a lasting impression on him. Although he pursued graphic design for several years, working with notable Ad agencies, he realised that the desk life was not for him. “I missed exploring the city on foot,” he tells us. Since then, Aashim Tyagi has continued to explore the world with music in his ears and a camera in his hands, providing us with soothing images in a world brimming with visual noise.
Drip wasn’t shot in the rain at all, but through the peeling window of a taxi.
Aashim Tyagi
Splash, Drip, and Click
Drip is one of the few series where Tyagi gives abstraction the chance to play with our perception. At first glance, anyone could have mistaken the images to be works of painter Philip Barlow, who is known to create blurry, full of bokeh paintings of the city. However, upon a closer inspection, these pictures make you perceive how people with short-sightedness would look at the world without their glasses. Either way, the images offer a fresh perspective in our hyper-realistic world, where every manufacturer is adamant on creating lenses that offer razor-sharpness, albeit sterile images.
So what draws Tyagi to abstract art? The answer lies in how people react to his work. “I love how abstraction encourages you to slow down, question the obvious, and still stay open to spontaneous moments,” Aashim Tyagi states. One of the reasons for this is that “obscurity invites participation,” as it allows the photographer and the viewer to “fill in the gaps, to make meaning together.”
The images do raise questions, especially about the environment in which they were created. To some, it may appear like a romantic depiction of monsoon in India, where thunderclaps veil the cacophony of urban landscapes. But, in truth, the pictures were actually created in the mild winter season of December 2017. “Drip wasn’t shot in the rain at all, but through the peeling window of a taxi,” Tyagi explains. “The glass on my side was cracked and coated in layers of worn film and sticky residue, which acted like a built-in filter, turning the outside world into something strange and compelling,” he adds.
To make these colorful photographs, Aashim Tyagi relied on his trusted Fujifilm X-Pro2 with Fujinon 35mm f1.4 and his fixed-lens camera, Fujifilm X100S with 23mm f2. “My approach was purely instinctual,” he says. “Using a Fujinon 35 mm f1.4, I shot wide open to melt the background into soft color fields, then focused on the window itself to emphasize its textures and patterns,” he adds. The reason Tyagi chose ‘Drip’ as the title is because to him, the “glass felt a bit like seeing the world through a waterfall.”
AI in the World of Street Photography
The discourse around AI, art, and content has been brewing since the inception of social media and AI. However, in more recent weeks, the debate on the subject has divided the industry. Weighing on the matter, Aashim Tyagi said, “That difference between content and art is clear. Content is focused on quick clicks and churning out material for the algorithm, while art happens when you slow down, trust your gut, and embrace the unexpected.”
Similarly, the role of AI in photography has disrupted the fabric of the medium. Yet, many AI-artists have been championing the method, despite the exploitation of photographers and their livelihoods. There is also the question of real vs fiction, and as Tyagi opines, AI-generated images miss the former. “AI might spark ideas or produce flawless replicas, but it cannot replace the joy of roaming the streets with headphones on and a camera in hand, ready for whatever shows up,” he explains. “To me, those little accidental moments of timing, unpredictability, and atmosphere are what keep photography truly human.”
Through Drip, Aashim Tyagi offers a window into a dreamscape where its faceless residents live in a utopian world. The pastel and vibrant shades flirt with the patterns, showcasing the endless possibilities life can bring. The images, in the end, invite viewers to explore their own imaginations and embrace the complexity of our existence.
AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT
The Phoblographer works with human photographers to verify that they’ve actually created their work through shoots. These are done by providing us with assets such as BTS captures, screenshots of post-production, extra photos from the shoot, etc. We do this to help our readers realize that this is authentically human work. Here’s what this photographer provided for us.
