ERIC KIM

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Archives for May 2011

What Makes a Great Composition? Adam Marelli Analyzes Famous Street Photographs by Alfred Eisenstaedt

Great Compositions by Alfred EisenstaedtGreat Compositions by Alfred Eisenstaedt

Adam Marelli, who recently did a wonderful guest blog post on his experiences on shooting with a Leica M9, has recently written a great article on dissecting and analyzing famous street photographs by WWII photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt. In the article, he is able to skillfully dissect images from a geometric standpoint, something that great artists and painters have been using for centuries. The post is a bit technical, but definitely worth the read if you want to understand more about composition and street photography.

Check out the article here.

So what do you think? Do you think that understanding a good composition is artistic talent, or something that can be taught and analyzed? Leave your two cents by writing a comment below!

“Beauty in the Mundane” Street Photography Exhibition by Eric Kim this Saturday at 5:00PM in Tustin, CA

RSVP on Facebook
Click here to RSVP on Facebook

I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting a street photography exhibition this Saturday, June 4th, 2011 from 5:00-7:00pm at the Long Hai Restaurant in Tustin, CA. Join me as I share some of my finest black and white street photography from all around the world including Paris, Seoul, London, as well as Los Angeles  Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

Admission is free, and complimentary drinks and appetizers from Long Hai Restaurant will be served.

Also, I will be raffling off all of of my images to help fund-raise for the Sukhee Chung Photography foundation. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Phoenix High photography class I am teaching to underprivileged high school students in Los Angeles. Tickets are $5 a piece, and there is no limit how many you can buy. You can watch a video I did about the class here.

I would love it if you could make it (if you are in the Los Angeles region!)

How to Shoot Street Photography With a Flash

"Lace" - Santa Monica
"Lace" - Santa Monica. Shot with my Ricoh GRIII and flash.

When it comes to street photography, I am always open to new ideas and styles. One technique I have been particularly interested in is shooting street photography with a flash. I have been very inspired by the work of Bruce Gilden and Charlie Kirk. Although this style is quite controversial, I think that shooting with a flash does add an extra dimension to an image, and isn’t quite as unethical as most people claim it to be. After all, it was Bruce Gilden who said, “…the people I shoot in the streets are my friends” and Charlie Kirk who says he shoots “…openly and honestly.” Therefore the last three or so weeks I have been shooting street photography with a flash, and with great success. I will discuss my technique of shooting street photography in the streets with a flash, with special emphasis on mindset as well as technical settings. Read more if you are curious.

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How Would You Change the Fujifilm FinePix X100?

The Fujifilm FinePix X100 has definitely got to be one of the most hyped-up cameras for street photography? What could we complain on? It has an optical viewfinder, has the looks of a retro rangefinder, and is pretty solid on price. From recent reviews there has been disappointments in terms of the auto-focusing speed, the manual focusing, as well as some small quirks here and there.

If you guys were able to design the second version, how would you change the Fujifilm FinePix X100? Leave a comment below and tell us what you would do!

Also below are some of our Fujifilm FinePix X100 Reviews:

1923 Leica 0-series Sells For a Mind-Boggling $1.89 Million at Auction

If you thought a Leica M9 was expensive, wait until you put your eyes on this baby. It is an 1923 Leica 0-series which just sold for €1,320,000, or about $1.89 million in US dollars at an auction in Vienna. This old-school gem was sold to a private collector from Asia who wishes to be anonymous to the public. The camera was one of 25 prototypes manufactured in 1923, before Leica started producing these cameras commercially. You can see the winning bid and auction at this video below.

So do you think the guy who purchased this Leica is crazy or just has too much money to spend? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

via Engadget and Leica Rumors.

Need Some Inspiration? Try Early Morning Street Photography

Kai and the guys over at DigitalRevTV put together a great video about shooting street photography when the streets aren’t so hectic– at 4:00AM in the morning. In the video Kai wakes him (and his camera crew up) at a ungodly time and hits the streets of  Hong Kong. Although I do not advise on doing street photography with a tripod, I love the message behind the video: getting out of your comfort zone and trying something new. There is truly a beauty about shooting at different times of the day, as you see different characters, scenes, as well as light.

So what time do you typically like to shoot street photography? Leave a comment below and tell us about your experiences about shooting at different times during the day.

-Thanks to Reacher Rau for emailing me this over!

Eric Kim Talks about Street Photography Tips with Jacob Patterson

Recently I had the great pleasure of meeting up with Samsung and Jacob Patterson, an internationally renowned street artist living in Downtown Los Angeles. He has done some amazing We hit the streets with their new Samsung SH100 point and shoot, and got some pretty cool street shots. Jacob sat me down in their studio, and spent a few minutes interviewing me about street photography. Check out all the footage above!

Also check out some more footage on this video Samsung put together (I’m about 30 seconds in) here. Also make sure to follow Jacob on Twitter.

Do you guys like videos like this? Tell me what other types of videos you would like to see me host on my site!

Henri Cartier-Bresson Talks About “The Decisive Moment”

Recently I was cruising around Petapixel and found this wonderful gem of a video– Henri Cartier-Bresson himself talking about street photography and “The Decisive Moment”. It is a bit of a long video (20 minutes) but worth every minute hearing the grandfather of street photography discuss his thoughts and share some of his most iconic images.

Who else has been inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson? Let us know what you think of the video and his work by leaving a comment below!

5 Things I Learned After Teaching My UK and Switzerland Street Photography Workshop

"Purple" - Shot in Brighton, UK with my Olympus EP-2
"Purple" - Shot in Brighton, UK with my Olympus EP-2

I am pleased to say after 4 jam-packed days of traveling and teaching a street photography workshop in Brighton, UK and Zurich, Switzerland I am back in Los Angeles. I had the trip of a lifetime and met some amazing people, ate some delicious food, and got some great street photographs as well. I also learned a great deal after doing this workshop and about Brighton and Zurich. Read more to see what I learned after teaching my UK and Switzerland street photography workshop!

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Frank Oscar Larson from NYC – Another Street Photography Master Discovered

Frank Oscar Larson Street Photography NYC
Frank Oscar Larson

I was recently on PetaPixel and they did a great story featuring another undiscovered master street photographer named Frank Oscar Larson. In the 1950’s he worked as an auditor in Queens and had a great knack of capturing beautiful moments in everyday life with his Rolleiflex camera. In 1964 he died of a stroke at the age of 68 and his images laid dormant for 45 years before being discovered by his son’s widow in 2009.

His images are incredibly inspiring, and show a candid look into life in NYC nearly half a century ago. It seems recently there has been a handful of unknown master street photographers popping up recently, especially the likes of Vivian Maier. Read more to see his inspirational images.

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Leica Rangefinder for Street Photography – Good Things Come In Small Packages

"Morning Ashram" - Adam Mareli (Leica M9, 75mm Summicron)

Eric’s Note: For this guest blog post, I am honored to have Adam Marelli talk about his experiences shooting with a Leica M9/M6 for street photography. This blog post will be especially helpful for those of you who currently shoot with a DSLR or are currently thinking about making the jump to a rangefinder. Make sure to read more to see his inspirational images and great thoughts on the pros of using a Leica rangefinder for street photography.

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How to Become an Invisible Street Photographer

"Contemplation" - show with my Ricoh GRIII

A while back on my Facebook page and Twitter I asked you guys “if you had any street photography superpower, what would it be?” The vast majority of you answered: invisibility.

As a street photographer, being invisible and blending in with your environment is key in getting an amazing street photograph. However, easier said than done right? In this post I will try to outline my thoughts on how to best be invisible when shooting on the streets, and what has helped me stay low-key when I am out shooting.

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11 Inspirational Examples of Shadow Street Photography

Street Photography Shadows
Vincent Tandijo Saputro

Last week on my Facebook fan page I announced the street photography assignment of the week which was “shadows“. I got all of your wonderful submissions on my Facebook fan page, and chose the best here to feature. I hope you enjoy all the images below and stay tuned to Facebook page where I will announce this week’s street photography assignment.

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The Camera of the Future: The WVIL (Wireless Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens) Concept

I was surfing the web, and I came across this gorgeous camera-concept which was made by the design team over at Artefact. I am always curious what the future will hold for cameras, and this concept just may be pretty similar to what we will start seeing.

Imagine having a street photography camera which allows you to remove your lens from your camera itself (which will allow you to even be more stealthy). Although I don’t know how useful it would be, it definitely makes you wonder about how technology is changing photography as we know it.

So what do you think? Do you love or hate it? Share your opinions about this camera-concept by leaving a comment below!

How to Shoot Street Portraits With Permission by Danny Santos

Danny Santos shooting Stranger #85 & Stranger #86 , taken by Paulo Legaspi

Eric’s Note: I am truly excited to have this guest post by Danny Santos, who is truly passionate about shooting portraits in the streets. I was fascinated and captivated by his work, and I asked him to write a guest post about how he shoots street portraits. Enjoy!


Danny: Shooting street portraits of strangers is a very daunting task. Often when you see a stranger you want to photograph, you find yourself between a rock and a hard place:  you can’t seem to ask them for their photo, yet you know you just have to.  Here are a few tips that may help you get over that hill. It won’t make it easy, but it may give you the push to start creating your own set of portraits of strangers.

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Breathtaking Street Photography by Stanley Kubrick in 1949

Stanley Kubrick Street Photography

Long before Stanley Kubrick started filming amazing movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange, he was a passionate street photographer. Check out some of these images he took in 1949 in Chicago title: “Chicago City of Contrasts.” All of the images tell incredible stories, and you can see where he got his inspiration for story-telling. Read more to see the rest of his inspirational images.

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The Sexiest Bag for Street Photography: The Think Tank Retrospective 30 Review

Think Tank Retrospective 30 Camera Bag Modeling Photos
The Think Tank Retrospective 30 for Street Photography (like my shoes?)

As a street photographer who is always trying to capture fleeting moments, its important to always have your camera by your side. With the craziness of everyday life this can often be extremely difficult. That’s why I highly recommend everybody to get a messenger bag for their street photography, as it is a casual way to always have your camera by your side (without sticking out like a sore thumb). The kind folks over at Think Tank photo were generous enough to send me over the Think Tank Retrospective 30, their specialized camera bag for street photographers. Having used it for about two weeks now, I can say flat-out that I am in love. Read more on this review to get the gritty on this essential piece of equipment. Warning–there is a ton of photos below (and also a video!). [Read more…] about The Sexiest Bag for Street Photography: The Think Tank Retrospective 30 Review

How to Become a Fearless Street Photographer

Photo by Charlie Kirk
Photo by Charlie Kirk

I believe that getting a good street photograph is 80% balls and 20% skill. If you look at the work of such street photographers as Bruce Gilden and Charlie Kirk, you will see that they have incredibly memorable images. Why is that? It is because they get close to their subjects—uncomfortably close by most people’s standards.

One of the most popular questions I am asked by the community is how to build courage when it comes to street photography. I have learned a ton over the last several years about building the guts to get extremely close to people and take their photograph without their permission. In this blog post I will go in-depth about how you can become a fearless street photographer.

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A Great Present for a Street Photographer: USB Film Roll

Too damn sweet.

There is nobody harder to shop for than a street photographer. The only things they would probably want is a Leica M9 or an old-school Rolleiflex. If you ever want to please the street photographer in your life, lighten up your wallet and check out these unique USB Film rolls from Photojojo at $20 a pop. They even got some cool ideas what you can do with your old film canisters here. Anybody thinking about picking up some of these or trying to hack their own version at home? More photos included below. Oh yeah if anybody has some extra cash, I could definitely use one ;).

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Announcing New Street Photography Shirts in our Store!

Recently on my Facebook fan page I asked you guys what kinds of shirts you wanted to see. I heard a lot of input that you wanted shirts that had less focus on the cameras and gear, and more of the love of street photography itself. Therefore I designed these shirts for you to to show your street photography pride–wherever you go. You can see all of the designs in the store.

I am also excited to announce that 10% of all proceeds will go to the Sukhee Chung Photography Foundationwhich strives to spread the love of photography to under-privileged youth in Los Angeles. This way by purchasing a shirt, you will help support other aspiring photographers as well. Everybody is a winner.

Tell us what other designs you would like to see by leaving a comment below!

Interview with Chris Porsz: Soulful Black and White Images of Peterborough from the 80’s

"Gladstone St Early 80s" - Chris Porsz
"Gladstone St Early 80s" - Chris Porsz

For this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing street photographer Chris Porsz from Petersborough, England. His work has spanned over several decades, and his images are iconic and classic. When I first saw his soulful black and white images, I knew that I had to feature him on my blog. I hope you enjoy his images and words as much as I did.

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Ask the Community: What is Your Street Photography Story?

escape
"Escape" by Eric Kim (one of my earlier works)

We all found out about street photography in different ways. Some of us may have been inspired after looking at the images of Henri Cartier-Bresson photo book while some of us may have learned about it by chance.

How did you learn about street photography? Leave a comment below and share your story! I will select the best stories out there in one of my next blog posts!

5 Tips How to Shoot Street Photography With a Full-Time Job

"Lost in Thought"
"Lost in Thought" - Shot near my workplace.

Recently Neal Bingham, one of the moderators and admins for the Aspiring Street Photographers Flickr group I started asked me to write an article about how I shoot street photography  with a full-time job. I thought it would be a great topic to discuss, as many of us street photographers have full-time jobs while pursuing our passion and hobby on the side. Although life can often be incredibly busy, I will discuss some tips how you can always find time so how I make time to shoot street photography (even with a full-time job).

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New #streettogs T-Shirt Design! (Red Dot)

When asking you guys what kind of shirts you wanted, reader Mark Parry suggested a classic look, with a big red dot. After fiddling around in Photoshop, this is the design that I came with below. If you are interested in purchasing this shirt, check it out in our store! (Shirts are also available for ladies!)

Click to enter the store.

Popular Designs:

Are there any other designs you would like to see? Leave a comment below and tell us what kinds of designs (or additional colors) you want!