Month: May 2016

Dear friend,

I wanted to write you a letter on patience– how to be patient in our photography, our personal lives, and how we approach growth and self-compassion.

Dear friend,

One thought that struck me recently: we all have an impulse to document and photograph things in our world. But what is this impulse exactly? Can we explain it psychologically? Is it something that all humans have? Or is it something that is unique– which differentiates us photographers from other people?

Dear friend,

I wanted to write you a letter about the benefit of randomness, unpredictability, and chaos in our life.

The other day I did something really stupid. I accidentally deleted a ton of photos on my camera before uploading them to my laptop.

In this video I give some of my thoughts about life, travel, minimalism, blogging, and hopefully some tips that can empower you!

You can also read more about my future plans in-depth.

In Silicon Valley, one of the main obsessions a lot of entrepreneurs are having is to eliminate “friction” in user-experiences; whether that be apps, websites, or businesses.

If you want to learn from the top thinkers and influencers in the field of street photography, don’t miss out on The London Street Photography Symposium (August 20-21, 2016). Tickets are now available to purchase >>.

Read more to learn more, and see my interview with organizer Jason Reed:

I feel in today’s world in order to be successful, you need to be a “generalist” — someone who isn’t uber-specialized in one thing, but you can do many things very well.

Dear friend,

I just read a book on Japanese Aesthetics titled: “In Praise of Shadows.” It was a beautiful book that helped me reflect on the beauty of darkness and shadows (Japanese aesthetics) while we in the west love white, the brightness, and light.

Dear friend,

I wanted to write you this letter on gratitude— and thanking you for everything, and some life updates (moving out of Berkeley, moving to Vietnam for 2 years, and some other random ideas in my mind):

Dear friend,

I wanted to write you a letter (to hopefully empower you). My suggestion: realize that everything in your life is up to you; nobody else.

Is your photography your lifestyle? Or is your lifestyle photography?

If you don’t desire or “want” anything superfluous in life, you are truly wealthy. When you have all your needs (food, water, shelter, love); what else do you need in life?

Dear friend,

I wanted to write you this letter regarding your calling— the reason you were put on the earth.

Sergio Larrain is a figure in photographic history who isn’t well-known, and is a bit of a mystery. He barely shot for more than a decade, and then decided to pursue a more “mystical” path in life— focusing on yoga, meditation, and secluded himself from society.

We are all born into different situations in life. Some of us are born rich, some of us are born poor. Some of us are born with parents who taught us photography; others of us learn photography later in life.

I first met Kaushal Parikh around 6 years ago— when he first invited me to Mumbai, to teach some street photography workshops there. He was one of the first street photographers I got to know really intimately— and I was always inspired by his passion for black-and-white photography, seeing beauty in the everyday world, and his dedication to the photographic community.

“Fragments of a Spinning Rock” is his first self-published book. I recently got a copy of it in the mail (thanks KP) and wow— the book truly blew me away.

One of the things that plagues me as a photographer is that I think too much and don’t shoot enough. I think about what camera I should use, whether I should shoot film or digital, and what project I should work on. But all of this thinking leads to “paralysis by analysis”– I think so much that I end up getting nothing done.

Dear friend,

I only got two weeks left in Berkeley. Here are some reflections I have in life and my time here, before I head off to Vietnam for around 2 years.

If you haven’t heard about the SF StreetFoto International Street Photography Festival 2016, don’t miss out. June 6-12 will be jam-packed with exciting workshops, exhibitions, and pub-crawls. If you’ve wanted to meet other passionate street photographers from all around the globe, don’t miss your chance.

I teach a lot of street photography workshops for a living. I’m always wondering, “How can I best empower my students, help them build their confidence, and ultimately make better images?”

As photographers, we make photos to share them with others. I don’t trust any photographer who says that they only shoot for themselves.