Month: June 2015

  • Travel Update: My Experience Shooting Street Photography in Paris, Getting My Backpack Stolen, and Free Composition Ebook

    Travel Update: My Experience Shooting Street Photography in Paris, Getting My Backpack Stolen, and Free Composition Ebook

    I’m on a train to Aix en Provence, to the south of France and wanted to share my experiences shooting street photography in Paris.

    If you read on the internet, apparently there are more strict regulations about image copyright and street photography in France. To my understanding, you can take a photograph of anybody in public, but there are restrictions on publishing a photo of a stranger.

    I have a mantra in life: “It is better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.” So generally speaking, I don’t worry much about image copyrights and street photography.

    Shooting street photography has been an absolute pleasure in Paris. Despite the fact that a lot of people say that Parisians are mean and rude, I have found the opposite to be true. I know a tiny bit of French (Cindy is fluent), and whenever we went to restaurants and spoke French, they didn’t default to English (only at a few touristy food stalls near landmarks). People were friendly helping us find where to go, with food recommendations, and great service in general.

    When taking photos of strangers, it was totally fine too. After shooting when I smiled and said “merci beaucoup”, most people smiled back and said no problem. I also asked a lot of people to take their portrait while here, and 90%+ of people said yes.

    I had one experience when I was in a more “ghetto” part of Chatlet and took a photo of some rough looking kids after they asked me not to (my fault). The kid (around 16 years old) approached me and tried to take my camera for me and got a bit aggressive (he had his posse with him). He kept asking me in French to delete the shot, and I tried to explain I shot film. He didn’t understand and was quite angry and refused to let me leave.

    Fortunately there was an onlooker who told the kids to back off in French (once again the friendly French). The kids finally relented, and one of the kids gave me a light backhand to the face and walked off.

    Getting my backpack stolen

    R0132912

    Another fun story: the other day I got my backpack stolen in Republique during the gay pride parade. I finished a super fun day of the workshop and was with my students at a cafe having a beer. We were all laughing, having a good time, and I had my backpack literally right next to my seat. But suddenly I turned away and it was gone. I guess somehow a thief took it while all of us were distracted. None of us saw the thief. We only saw that one of the pins I had on my backpack (a silver airplane pin my friend Jonathan gave me) was on the ground (with a wing bent).

    What did I get stolen in my backpack? Fortunately I had my passport, film, and other valuable belongings back in my airbnb apartment. I lost my laptop (2012 macbook air 11 inch), 3 rolls of film I shot that day, my Leica sf20 flash, some batteries, and not much else.

    Thank God my students jumped to my rescue. Emmanuel, one of the workshop students (who speaks French), took care of me and Cindy by taking us to 3 police stations to file a report, and paid for our uber taxi rides. Unfortunately that day (because of the terrorist bombing in Lyon) we couldn’t file a report. But the next day we did successfully.

    Other good news? I have travel insurance (covered up to $10,000 with GEICO and only pay around $20 a month), and my stuff is covered.

    Honestly I am surprised it took me this long to get my stuff stolen considering how careless I am about my stuff, and how much I travel. I’m just happy I didn’t lose my passport, wallet, and smartphone (I’m typing this out on my phone in Evernote).

    What about my data in my laptop? 95% of my photos and video is backed up in dropbox (premium membership FTW), and 99% of my other data is backed up in the cloud (Gmail, Evernote). I lost some gopro pov films I shot in Paris, but the next day I was inspired to shot more footage (will upload soon). I also changed all my passwords and reset my laptop remotely via the apple “find my phone” application.

    I hope the guy who stole my laptop uses my laptop, maybe learns how to code, and is able to stop his life of crime.

    For a new laptop, I might buy the new MacBook 12” retina (90% of my laptop work is writing and blogging), and I don’t need much speed (I shoot mostly film). Also I think the gold color is pretty sexy haha. Plus the retina screen should be nice for photos. And the weight is super light (.5 pounds lighter than my 11 inch). So perhaps getting my laptop stolen was a blessing in disguise.

    Morale of the story? If you’re traveling, keep your bag or backpack wrapped around your leg or under the table. Always have your important documents back at your hotel or apartment, always backup your files (both to an external hard drive and to the cloud). Also have an extra photo or photo copy of your passport (if it gets stolen, this makes it easier to get a new copy). Also be careful of scammers, and when your intuition says someone seems or looks fishy, follow your gut.

    If you’re traveling, just assume sooner or later you’re going to have your importance stuff stolen. So be prepared in advance what to do if it happens.

    If you shoot digital, buy lots of SD cards, an extra external hard drive, and keep your photos secure (you can always buy a new backpack, laptop, camera, but you can’t recover your photos).

    Thank God I didn’t get my Leica stolen.

    Places to shoot in Paris

    If you’ve never been to Paris, the best places to shoot aren’t in the city center, but around the edges.

    For my airbnb I stayed in both Place d’Italie and Bercy, both great places to shoot street photography (fewer tourists). In Bercy there is a cool Park (bercy Park with a skatepark inside), and the “bercy village.”)

    Near the Gare de lyon train station is good and also inside the station (lots of interesting characters).

    Favorite neighborhoods : the marrais (Jewish neighborhood with the best fallafel and trendy stores, go to las du fallafel), the canal saint martin (cute boutique and bookstores with a beautiful view of the canal, go to “chez prune” for food).

    A bit outside of Paris, highly recommend going to “la defense”, where there are mostly businesspeople and an epic cube arch. Great for architecture street photography.

    Also for architecture and composition, go to the French National Library (BNF).

    For a lot of people, go near the Lafayette gallery, Chatelet, or near Opera.

    My favorite photo gallery? The polka photo gallery (they have a Bruce Gilden exhibition going on, and a great bookstore).

    Favorite meals in Paris (not expensive): Auberge Saint Roch, “cafe constant”, chez Lili et Marcel.

    My shooting

    For this trip in Paris, I shot some for my “Suits” project near la defense, but most of my shooting was on my film Leica on tri x pushed to 1600 with a yellow filter (from my friend Karl Edwards from StreetShootr.com).

    I don’t know why, but suddenly this trip I was inspired to shoot more gopro pov videos, hope you enjoyed them. I plan on doing more of them.

    Most of the shots in black and white are just random photos of interesting things I saw for fun.

    I’ve also been shooting a lot on my smartphone (Galaxy s6), and processing them in color (Vsco a6 preset). Actually really love the colors that come out, they look like portra!

    Honestly, traveling with all this film is kind of a pain in the ass. When doing the gopro video with the Ricoh GR, I fell in love with that camera again. I thought how nice it would be if I did all my traveling with the Ricoh GR (and just leaving the Leica and film at home). Maybe next trip.

    Books I’ve been reading

    I’ve recently become a huge fan of Matthieu Ricard, French scientist turned into Buddhist monk. On my kindle, I’ve read his book “Happiness” (great book that taught me true happiness is serving others), and a new book “Altruism” (inspiring me to devote my life to help others as well).

    Krishnamurti’s “The first and last freedom” was recommended to me by a friend, and his philosophy on creativity and the mind is fascinating.

    Reading “the magic of thinking big” (for inspiration), and for health I read “brain maker” (learned the importance of a healthy stomach).

    My life purpose

    The biggest thing I’ve been meditating on this trip is how to live a meaningful life. My new favorite quote:

    “To live is to be useful to others.” -  Seneca.

    I am fortunate that now through my workshops I’m doing comfortably well financially. Of course I still stress out about money, my future family, security, etc, but I have faith that as long as I keep working hard, helping others, everything will be taken care of.

    I don’t want to die the richest man in the grave. I want to continue to contribute to society, and devote my life to “be useful to others.”

    “The Street Photography Compositional Manual”

    I’ve finished a new ebook on street photography and composition that I was tempted to charge money for. My problem is that 95% of my income is dependent on traveling and teaching workshops, and I wanted to create a new income stream that could allow me to spend more time at home with Cindy, my loved ones, and my future children.

    But then this goes against my philosophy of “open source”, and I need to practice what I preach.

    So upon much deliberation, the book is going to be open source. A suggestion that someone gave me: “Why not make it a ‘pay what you want’ model or accept donations?” I think this is much better.

    I personally feel information should be open, free, and used to empower people.

    You can download the pdf for free below on Dropbox (you don’t need a Dropbox account to download it, just click the download icon from the top bar):

    The Street Photography Composition Manual” (pdf direct download)

    So read it, take a look, and you can pay what you think it is worth here via PayPal:

    Donate via PayPal

    Or you can use this fun form below to help support me and the blog!


    Donations




    I wrote the book all from scratch, and distilled all of the lessons from composition I learned. I had a ton of fun writing it on the Apple iBooks author platform, and I hope to write more books with it.

    When you download the book, feel free to share it with anybody you think it will help. Also feel free to change it, remix it, translate it, or whatever you think will benefit others.

    Upcoming travels and workshops

    The week long workshop in Paris was awesome. I loved getting to know all the students personally, showing them to areas “off the beaten path”, all the good food, beer, wine and coffee, fun laughs, daily critique sessions, and their improvement! I like the more relaxed pace of a week long workshop, plan on doing more of them in the future.

    So I’m heading down to aix en Provence with Cindy (she’s going to study at the archives there), then off to Lisbon with my mom and Cindy’s mom. In aix I hope to do more writing (doing a new book on the masters of street photography). Lisbon is to have fun with family (I’m excited, it’s my first time!)

    Then off to Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna, Berlin, London, and Stockholm for more workshops!

    There are still a few spots open, don’t miss out! Spots are quickly selling out, and I won’t do workshops in Europe for probably another 2 years (next year is focused on America and Asia).

    You can see my upcoming street photography workshops.

    Thank you

    I’m forever grateful for your love, support, and continued dedication to this blog and the street photography community.

    What else would you like me to work on to help out? Share some ideas thoughts, feedback in the comments below!

  • Seattle Street Portrait Photography POV with the Samsung Galaxy S6

    Seattle Street Portrait Photography POV with the Samsung Galaxy S6

    If you’ve been enjoying these POV videos, I got more of them for you! This is of a recent street portrait session I did in Seattle with this beautiful woman we met in the streets during a workshop. I recorded a video of me directing her on my Samsung Galaxy S6, and also shot while recording. Post-processing done in VSCO with the “dramatic black and white” preset.

    Processed with VSCOcam with b5 preset
    Processed with VSCOcam with b5 preset
  • Video: Paris Street Photography GoPro POV with Ricoh GR #3

    Video: Paris Street Photography GoPro POV with Ricoh GR #3

    Hey streettogs, thanks for your feedback. Just recorded a new GoPro POV street photography here in Paris with my Ricoh GR (and edited in the shots as some of you asked).

    My recording setup
    My recording setup

    Here are some of my favorite photos from the video:

    R0132869 R0132912 R0132957

    Other Paris GoPro Street Photography POV Videos

    Both videos are shot with my GoPro and Film Leica MP:

    Paris GoPro Street Photography POV #2

    Paris GoPro Street Photography POV #1

    More Street Photography GoPro POV Videos:

    Stay tuned for more videos to come! :)

  • Video: Paris Street Photography GoPro POV #2

    Video: Paris Street Photography GoPro POV #2

    Hey streettogs, just put out another new Paris GoPro Street Photography Video (been having a lot of fun making these). You can see the previous video I shot in Paris here.

    More Street Photography GoPro POV Videos:

    Stay tuned for more videos to come! :)

  • Video: Paris Street Photography GoPro POV with Leica MP

    Video: Paris Street Photography GoPro POV with Leica MP

    Hey streettogs, I just put together a new street photography GoPro POV video here in Paris on my film Leica MP. Unfortunately can’t edit in shots (shooting film), but plan on doing more of these to show my working process, as well as the streets of Paris.

    More Street Photography GoPro POV Videos:

    Stay tuned for more videos to come! :)

    gopro setup eric kim paris

  • Streettogs Academy No. 12

    Streettogs Academy No. 12

    SA12 Announcement

    Almost 12 months ago, during Eric’s trip here in Manila, he pitched me an idea that he wants me to handle. He told me that I am good at looking at photographs and at the same time he needs a little help running this blog so he told me to start an assignment group. Here we are 12 months on, about to start our 12th Assignment!

    I can’t thank everyone enough for participating and responding positively to our efforts. All we hope is that everyone is picking up something new or is motivated to start shooting and getting out there again.

    Our current assignment is also appropriate because this is the reason why I do the things I do. So let’s keep this going!

    (more…)

  • Interview with bigheadtaco on Instagram, Street Photography, and Life

    Interview with bigheadtaco on Instagram, Street Photography, and Life

    Inspired by Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” I interviewed bigheadtaco, a local Vancouver-based street photographer driving around. Take (his real name) gives great practical advice on Instagram, branding, street photography, life, and following your own voice and vision.

    Enjoy this interview, and make sure to follow him on his channels below:

    Follow bigheadtaco:

  • Review of the Leica Q for Street Photography

    Review of the Leica Q for Street Photography

    leica q

    Leica has just released one of their most ambitious cameras yet, the new Leica Q. Long story short: full-frame sensor, 28mm f/1.7 uninterchangeable lens, macro functionality, compact body (slightly smaller than Leica M), electronic viewfinder, and 35mm and 50mm crop modes, and $4,250.

    Personally I think the camera is an engineering marvel. Solid, well-built, thoughtfully constructed (from a photographer’s standpoint). Also it would be ideal for street photography, as it has a focusing tab (ideal for zone-focusing), and blazing-fast autofocus (as fast if not faster than the Fujifilm x100T). Furthermore if you’ve ever wanted a digital Leica, it is more affordable than a Leica M (as the Leica Q comes with a lens as well).

    The size is actually not as “compact” as you think it is. I only found it slightly smaller than the size of my Leica MP. The weight is also pretty solid– I liked how it isn’t as heavy as a Leica M, but it still feels solid and substantial in the hand.

    In terms of handling, there is a new indentation (similar to a “thumbs-up”) which makes it very easy to handle. I think the camera is awesome in all regards– the only thing that will deter buyers is the price.

    In short, the Leica Q is almost like the “rich man’s” Fujifilm x100T. I think if you have disposable income and really find the features of the Leica Q to be helpful, I’d say go for it. Otherwise, I would personally pick up a Ricoh GR and save the rest of the money to travel, buy photography books, and invest in education.

    If you’re interested in the camera, check out the two videos I’ve done with the Leica Q:

    First impressions of the Leica Q

    Review of the Leica Q with bigheadtaco

    So what are your thoughts about the Leica Q for street photography? Worth the money, or overpriced? Would you get one? Leave a comment below! 

  • Before/After: Seattle Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography Workshop 2015

    Before/After: Seattle Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography Workshop 2015

    Surviving baby-3
    Student photo by Chris Dowling

    I am very proud of my students at my recent Seattle Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography Workshop. They all pushed themselves out of their comfort zone, approached strangers, got rejected, but also got accepted. They all did an amazing job building their confidence, learned how to better interact with strangers, and the coffee and experiences we had in Seattle were amazing!

    I’m also quite proud of their before/after photos, see them all below!

    Achim Soelter

    Before:

    Achim 2 Achim 3 Achim 4

    After:

    Achim-1

    Bob Munoz

    Before:

    Eric_Kim_Workshop-1 Eric_Kim_Workshop-2 Eric_Kim_Workshop-3

    After:

    Bob Munoz-1

    Chris Dowling

    Before:

    Harajuku Car fire on I5 Pavilion

    After:

    Surviving baby-3

    Damon Saylor

    Before:

    unnamed-1 unnamed-2 unnamed

    After:

    damon saylor-2

    Daniel Petrzelka

    Before:

    L1003426_Petrzelka L1003438_Petrzelka L1003475_Petrzelka

    After:

    L1004261_Petrzelka

    Darren Curtis

    Before:

    _1DC1707 _DSC1006 DSC00186

    After:

    DSC02641

    Diane Civic

    Before:

    Soda fountain Standing around in Nicaragua Miitary guys doing something wierd

    After:

    Diane Civic-3

    Frank Hahnel

    Before:

    Hahnel 01 Hahnel 02 Hahnel 03

    After:

    Hahnel-3

    Jason Evans

    Before:

    unnamed-1 unnamed-2 unnamed

    After:

    Geronimo

    Marcia Latta

    Before:

    MLatta-2 MLatta-3

    After:

    Marcia Latta-2

    Marcus Phung

    Before:

    Aunties Jetty SkatePark

    After:

    Texan

    Mita Reischrdt

    Before:

    961374_10206279502407868_364255481_n April15 048 Kopie march15 332 Kopie

    After:

    Mita Reischrdt1

    Nicole Ramirez

    Before:

    Ramirez_2010_SanFrancisco Ramirez_2011_Philippines_02 Ramirez_2014_Detroit_01

    After:

    Nicole Ramirez-1

    Richard Reed

    After:

    Richard Reed-3

    Ryan Mower

    Before:

    1 2 3

    After:

    Ryan Mower-1

    Ryan Pham

    Before:

    Processed with VSCOcam with s2 preset

    Processed with VSCOcam with b5 preset

    Processed with VSCOcam
    Processed with VSCOcam

    After:

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

    Conquer Your Fears in Street Photography

    If you want to conquer your fears and meet new peers in 2015, invest in an experience you will never forget! Check out my full list of upcoming street photography workshops below:

    April 10-12th

    New York CityIntroduction to Street Photography WorkshopSOLD OUT!

    May 9th

    San FranciscoSpecial 1-day Essential Street Portrait Crash CourseSOLD OUT!

    June 5-7th

    SeattleIntroduction to Street Photography WorkshopSOLD OUT (contact neil.ta@erickimphotography.com for the waiting list)!

    June 24-28th

    ParisWeek-Long Intensive Travel Street Photography WorkshopOPEN! (Early-Bird Deadline: May 24th)

    July 10-12th

    AmsterdamIntermediate/Advanced Street Photography WorkshopSOLD OUT (contact neil.ta@erickimphotography.com for the waiting list)!

    July 15-19th

    PragueWeek-Long Intensive Travel Street Photography WorkshopOPEN! (Early-Bird Deadline: June 15th)

    July 31st-August 2nd

    ViennaIntroduction to Street Photography WorkshopOPEN! (Early-Bird Deadline: June 30th)

    August 7-9th

    BerlinIntroduction to Street Photography WorkshopOPEN! (Early-Bird Deadline: July 7th)

    August 14-16th

    LondonIntroduction to Street Photography WorkshopSOLD OUT (contact neil.ta@erickimphotography.com for the waiting list)!

    August 21-23rd

    LondonIntermediate/Advanced Street Photography WorkshopOPEN! (NEW!)

    August 28-30th

    StockholmIntroduction to Street Photography WorkshopOPEN!

    October 1-3rd

    SF – Conquer Your Fears of Shooting Street Photography – Register IntentNEW!

    October 8-10th

    SF – Discover Your Unique Voice in Street Photography – Register IntentNEW!

    October 14-18th

    New OrleansWeek-Long Travel Street Photography WorkshopOPEN!

    October 23-25th

    Austin – Conquer Your Fears of Shooting Street Photography – Register IntentNEW!

    November 12-14th

    Los Angeles – Conquer Your Fears of Shooting Street Photography – Register IntentNEW!

    November 19-21st

    Los Angeles -Discover Your Unique Voice in Street Photography – Register IntentNEW!

    You can also learn more about my street photography workshops here.

  • Streettogs Academy No. 11 “Complementary Colors” Results and Analysis

    Streettogs Academy No. 11 “Complementary Colors” Results and Analysis

    Bruno CunhaSA11COVER

    (Cover Photo by Bruno Cunha)

    Complementary Colors is a tricky thing to pull off since you need to have that mental color wheel in your head and at the same time, making sure you have a strong point of interest in your composition. Weather also needs to be in your side to pull off those nice contrasty colors that will make your Complementary Color stand out. Despite those challenges, I think this group of images pulled it off!

    Here’s the latest results and Analysis for Complementary Colors!

    (more…)

  • Free E-Book: Zen in the Art of Street Photography

    Free E-Book: Zen in the Art of Street Photography

    zen in street photography cover-SMALL

    Dear streettogs,

    I hope you enjoy a new free ebook: “Zen in the Art of Street Photography.” This is a compilation of all of my favorite articles on Zen, Taoism, Buddhism, gratitude, and other random philosophical musings.

    There isn’t a “correct” order to read this book. You can skip around the chapters, and read the book out of order.

    I personally have faced a lot of discontentment in my photography and life, and writing these articles have been a form of self-therapy. I also hope these articles helps shine some light and insight into your life and photography too.

    Love,
    Eric Kim
    June 9, 2015
    Compiled @ Vivace Cafe in Seattle

    All of the content in this book is “open source”— meaning you can edit, translate, remix, or distribute it openly and freely however you would like.

    Direct Download:

    Table of Contents

    • Chapter 1: How to Become Indifferent to Criticism
    • Chapter 2: How to Free Yourself from External Validation
    • Chapter 3: Nobody gives a shit about your photos
    • Chapter 4: How Many “Favorites” or “Likes” is Enough?
    • Chapter 5: My Top 10 Sources of Discontentment in Street Photography
    • Chapter 6: How to Be Grateful For What You Have
    • Chapter 7: On Jealousy and Street Photography
    • Chapter 8: On Failure and Street Photography
    • Chapter 9: In Praise of Slowness in Street Photography
    • Chapter 10: How to Be Mindful in Street Photography
    • Chapter 11: Zen in the Art of Street Photography
    • Chapter 12: Lessons Taoism Has Taught Me About Street Photography
    • Chapter 13: Lessons Life Has Taught Me About Street Photography
    • Chapter 14: How to Prevent Regrets in Life
    • Chapter 15: Shoot Every Day As If It Were Your Last
    • Chapter 16: On Legacy and Street Photography

    To learn more, see all free books >

  • Don’t Miss Out: Signed Magnum 6×6 Prints for only $100!

    Don’t Miss Out: Signed Magnum 6×6 Prints for only $100!

    magnum instagram

    Hey streettogs, pretty cool stuff: Magnum is selling signed 6×6” prints for only $100 at the Magnum Store! You can browse all of the photos here.

    Over 50 Magnum photographers have submitted images that fits the theme: “An Image That Changed Everything.” Not only that, but they shared their personal stories related to the images.

    The sale is only going on until Friday, June 12th at 8pm. Once the sale is up, they will no longer sell them. So get them while they’re hot!

    Why squares? Instagram inspired, of course.

    Prints I would love to have:

    Martin Parr

    "In 1982 I bought the newly released Makina Plaubel 55mm fixed-lens camera. With this shift from 35mm to 6 x 7, I also changed from black and white to colour. Later that year, I started my project on New Brighton called The Last Resort. However, the first project I shot in colour was composed of urban scenes from Liverpool. This image was on the second roll of film. It’s the first good photo I made in this new chapter of my work.”

    “In 1982 I bought the newly released Makina Plaubel 55mm fixed-lens camera. With this shift from 35mm to 6 x 7, I also changed from black and white to colour. Later that year, I started my project on New Brighton called The Last Resort. However, the first project I shot in colour was composed of urban scenes from Liverpool. This image was on the second roll of film. It’s the first good photo I made in this new chapter of my work.”

    David Alan Harvey

    "This photo, which was the cover of my book (based on a true story), changed the way I worked forever. After this successful book in 2012, I totally changed my methodology. From that point forward, I focused only on my self-published books. I dropped doing assignments, and simply worked on personal projects and artworks. I never plan a change. Things just happen. I think recognizing when something revolutionary is going on in your creative life is the key. One needs to realize when a turning point is right before your eyes. It's just like photography itself. Fleeting. Carpe diem. Miss it, and you've missed it forever.”

    “This photo, which was the cover of my book (based on a true story), changed the way I worked forever. After this successful book in 2012, I totally changed my methodology. From that point forward, I focused only on my self-published books. I dropped doing assignments, and simply worked on personal projects and artworks. I never plan a change. Things just happen. I think recognizing when something revolutionary is going on in your creative life is the key. One needs to realize when a turning point is right before your eyes. It’s just like photography itself. Fleeting. Carpe diem. Miss it, and you’ve missed it forever.”

    Alex Webb

    "The sad, vibrant, tragic, beguiling country of Haiti has been key to my photography. After reading Graham Greene’s The Comedians — a novel set in Haiti that both fascinated and scared me — I made my first trip in 1975. But, photographing in black and white, I soon realized that something was missing: I wasn’t capturing a sense of the searing light and the heat — physical and, perhaps, metaphysical — of this country, so different than the grey-brown reticence of New England, where I grew up. I wasn’t dealing with the emotional intensity of my experience of this vivid and troubled land. So, when I returned to Haiti four years later, I decided to work in color. As I wandered through the porticos of downtown Port au Prince in 1979, I remember spotting this man with a bouquet of bulrushes — strikingly outlined against a vibrant red wall — just as a second man, in shadow, rushed by. I took the photograph and slowly began to realize it was time to leave black and white behind.”

    “The sad, vibrant, tragic, beguiling country of Haiti has been key to my photography. After reading Graham Greene’s The Comedians — a novel set in Haiti that both fascinated and scared me — I made my first trip in 1975. But, photographing in black and white, I soon realized that something was missing: I wasn’t capturing a sense of the searing light and the heat — physical and, perhaps, metaphysical — of this country, so different than the grey-brown reticence of New England, where I grew up. I wasn’t dealing with the emotional intensity of my experience of this vivid and troubled land. So, when I returned to Haiti four years later, I decided to work in color. As I wandered through the porticos of downtown Port au Prince in 1979, I remember spotting this man with a bouquet of bulrushes — strikingly outlined against a vibrant red wall — just as a second man, in shadow, rushed by. I took the photograph and slowly began to realize it was time to leave black and white behind.”

    Follow Magnum

  • The Theory of Composition in Street Photography: 7 Lessons from Henri Cartier-Bresson

    The Theory of Composition in Street Photography: 7 Lessons from Henri Cartier-Bresson

    I am excited to share this new presentation I just put together on the theory of composition in street photography, drawing from the wisdom of Henri Cartier-Bresson. You can see the entire presentation below:

    Learn more about composition >

  • Eric Kim Street Photography Newsletter #5: What I’m Packing For My Trip, Recommended Books, New Workshops!

    Eric Kim Street Photography Newsletter #5: What I’m Packing For My Trip, Recommended Books, New Workshops!

    film

    Dear streettogs,

    I am excited to share that I just touched down here in Seattle! Absolutely beautiful weather (all of the other times I’ve visited were in January), and have already had some amazing espresso— and feeling pretty pumped up (the coffee here is seriously the best in the world).

    (more…)

  • FREE EBOOK: Street Portrait Manual

    FREE EBOOK: Street Portrait Manual

    the street portrait manual cover- small

    Dear streettogs, I am excited to announce my new free book: “The Street Portrait Manual.” If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to build your confidence approaching strangers, how to direct your subjects, and not make photos that look “posed” — I think you will enjoy this one!

    Download:

    You can download this book for free below in the following formats:

    PDF:

    This version has all the pictures and examples:

    • PDF (direct download, 24MB)
    • PDF (small size, 7.5MB)

    Text:

    This version has only text, no images. Use these files if you want to read the book on a Kindle, e-reader, or if you want to edit, change, translate, or modify the text (as this book is “open source“).

    Read more if you want to read the full text online (or save it to a service like Pocket or Instapaper):

    (more…)

  • “Be True to Yourself; Great Things Will Come”: Interview with Daniel Arnold

    “Be True to Yourself; Great Things Will Come”: Interview with Daniel Arnold

    I’m very excited to share this recent interview I did with Daniel Arnold. You might have heard about Daniel and his work through the controversy of him getting kicked off Instagram for showing nudity on Gawker, his Forbes feature on how he made $15,000 in one day selling 4×6 prints for $150, or his profile on Wired (titled: “On the Prowl with Instagram’s Ultimate Street Photographer”).

    Upon reading all these headlines, I knew that there was more to Daniel, both as a photographer and as a human being. I checked out more of his work on his website (where he now posts mostly film shots), and was blown away by the humanity, humor, but also the complex emotional images he captures in NYC.

    In this hour and a half interview we delve deep. We talk about the process of shooting film (versus shooting digitally on an iPhone), his favorite photography books, how he overcame his fear of shooting street photography, thinking about life and death, and what ultimately brings him happiness in life (clue: it isn’t about the followers).

    You can watch the video interview above, or listen to the podcast below (you can see all the episodes on my iTunes podcast channel):

    Podcast links

    Read more to see all the show notes, links, book recommendations, and quotes from the interview.

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