In this video, I talk about some practical tips when traveling in a minimalist style and shooting street photography, my love of the Ricoh GR II when on the road, as well as a (brief) review of the ThinkTank Perception 15, my new favorite travel bag for photography. Articles on traveling Why Travel? On Travel…
The “Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography” workshop is one of my personal favorites– it is a combination of street portraiture, candid shooting, and building your confidence. I’ve done the workshop many times– and it never gets old.
We all make photos because it makes us feel something. When we see something, there is something in our gut, or in our heart, that compels us to take a photograph.
Time— it is the ultimate resource that we all have in life. It is the most valuable thing that we own, yet we squander it like it costs nothing.
Dear friend, I wanted to write you a letter about the beauty in imperfection– that nothing in life will be 100% perfect; and that’s the charm.
Do you remember when you took multiple choice tests in school, and you weren’t 100% sure what the answer was? You might have had a gut feeling that one of the answers of the right. However you thought more “analytically” about the question, and instead of following your gut, you followed what your brain told…
When is the last time you sat on the subway or the bus, waited in line, and just listened?
Dear friend, The other day I was in a hotel lobby, reading some art books (found a fantastic book on Keith Haring, one of my favorite artists, as well as a book on American advertising from the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
One of the big things that inspires me in photography, life, and technology is the ability to “democratize”, to add “access”, and to make things “affordable” to the masses.
I grew up with hip-hop, R&B, and “street culture.” Most of me and my buddies were kids up to no good— constantly roaming the roads, riding our bikes, listening to hip hop, burning and remixing music, rolling around in my 1991 Sentra with 12’’ Subwoofers.
I’m a nosy person. Whenever I go to new places I love talking to the staff, locals, and to just look around.
I am not easily satisfied. I always want the “best”; “good enough” never satisfies me.
You are unique. You are special. Nobody sees the world the way you do.
I just had a fantastic time teaching my NYC Introduction to Composition Street Photography Workshop this past weekend with my lovely group of students.
Dear streettogs, I just finished teaching my “Introduction to Street Photography Composition” workshop here in NYC, and I put together a brand new set of slides from scratch: Street Photography Composition 101. Study composition after-the-fact “Any geometrical analysis…can be done only after the photograph has been taken, developed, and printed. Then it can be used…
The other day Instagram announced that they will change the way photos appear on the home stream: instead of showing most recent uploads, Instagram will use an algorithm which shows the “most relevant” photos on the tip (based on your history of what photos you liked in the past).
As photographers, I think we all want to make more interesting photos. We want to make photos that aren’t boring, aren’t cliche, and somehow show our unique viewpoint of the world.
I always make excuses for myself in my photography. I always think my equipment and camera is the limiting factor. I feel that I have a creative genius inside— wishing to come out. But I feel I cannot unlock that inner-genius without the agency of a “good enough” camera.
I like the idea of not being a slave to your past. Not to be a slave of your past history, and to burn the ashes of your past self— and to leave no trace behind.
Dear aspiring filmtogs, I want to share my newest creation with you: “Film Street Photography Manual.” Print it out on standard printer paper, fold it in half, and make it your new companion. Also you can download the translated version in Russian (thanks to Alexander Goroshilov!) You can carry this little manual with you everywhere you…
Words and Photos by Maarten Rots. Maarten: I thrive under restriction; I like it when things are closed off. By (temporarily) taking away many of the variables of everyday life I create room to focus and get a better understanding of what I do and why I do it. That’s why I have set up ‘Sitting’:…
Today Flickr just announced that they are taking away one of the key “free” functions today; the ability to auto upload photos from your computer directly to Flickr. Now you need to signup for a “pro” account for access to the same function.
I recently taught an Introduction to Shooting Street Photography on Film workshop in Dubai, and I know some friends who are getting into film (which inspired me to make this recording). I talk about some basics of shooting film, including the benefits of shooting film vs digital, some common technical settings, why “push” film, my…
Dear streettogs, I am excited to announce that I (finally) published my first paper-back book: “Street Photography: 50 Ways to Capture Better Shots of Ordinary Life” in collaboration with DEXT; my Swedish publisher.
Dear friend, I wanted to write you this letter on some of my thoughts on “humanistic photography” — how this might be a better definition and way to visualize and understand “street photography.”
Dear friend, I think one of the things that makes us miserable in photography is that we often compare ourselves with others— but rarely do we look behind ourselves, and look how far we’ve come.
Mark Alor Powell chats with Eric and talk about Mark’s book Open at Noon. They explore making meaning, photobook making, and going through that process of making a photobook. (Photos by Mark Alor Powell, Interview by Eric Kim)
no·tice: attention, observation, awareness, to know. Dear friend, I want to share some thoughts with you about the importance of “noticing” in today’s age of distraction, audio-visual stimulation, and the inability to sit in one place and to linger in your own company.
That quiet voice inside your head that says: “That might be interesting— why don’t you take a photo?” Then your rational mind goes: “No, that will be a boring cliche— don’t take a photograph.”
I had a thought the other day: what if smartphones had the same image quality as full-frame DSLR’s? How would this change photography, and how we shoot?
My homie Karl Edwards (runs StreetShootr.com) just put together this fun review of the Fujifilm X100T (considered the “poor man’s Leica” by many– but I think it is one of the best value cameras for street photography. You can watch the video review above, and read the full review on StreetShootr >>.
Dear friend, Do you ever have that feeling that you are stuck in your photography that you don’t know what direction your work is going, whether you should give up, or whether your work is meaningful or not?
Sometimes I feel a bit frustrated— I feel that all the great discoveries in photography have already been made; and there is no new roads to pave. But in reality, there is still so much “unpaved” roads in street photography, photography, and life we can discover.
Dear streettogs, I am very excited to announce my new free PDF e-book: “Street Photography Contact Sheets.” This book was born out of my desire to share my process of shooting street photography; in terms of how I shoot, how I select my best shots– all in the hope that this will be useful to…