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Cindy in Elevator with Lights / Hanoi, 2017

For me, we are drowning in a sea of irrelevant images. We are bombarded by the new.

The problem is that the new rarely lives on.

For example, any trendy pop song today will probably not be around 5 years from now. But you can bet your pants that Beethoven and Mozart, Metallica, Bob Dylan, and JAY Z, Dr. Dre and Eminem will live on.

Generally the test for a classic:

How long has it been around?

Generally that which has existed for a long time will continue to exist for a long time.

For example, blue jeans will never die. Leather shoes will never die. Generally leather anything lives on. Synthetic materials are quickly outdated.

Classic cameras

Silhouette of Man at Hoan Kiem Lake / Hanoi, 2017

For me, I love classic design in cameras. Leica has done a good job with evolution…making their new digital cameras go back to the past, to become more classic. Their Leica M10 (so far) is the best digital testament to the days of the classic film Leica cameras.

Even the Ricoh GR has been a classic. The old school film Ricoh GR cameras look more or less identical to the modern digital Ricoh GR cameras.

The rule:

Trendy designs will come and go, but the shape of the human hand and the body won’t change much.

Therefore my suggestion for camera designs: think of what will best ergonomically fit the human hand.

Even with phones– Steve Jobs got the original iPhone 4 design the best. It was small enough that you could use it 1-handed, and access all of the screen. Now whenever I see someone fumble around with their iPhone Plus, drinking a coffee in one hand, and trying to text with the other hand…I can’t help but laugh.

Classic Photos

Hands of a 92 year old woman. Hanoi, 2017

It is a better use of your time to study classic master photographers from the past, than any modern photographer on Instagram.

Why? The chance of that modern photographer on social media still being around for another 50 years is unlikely. But if I study a photographer from the 1920s like Andre Kertesz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, etc… their work will probably exist for another 100 years or so.

Life is finite. You are only given more or less 100 years of life on planet earth. Why would you waste any of your precious years looking at mediocre or sub-standard photos or art?

How to innovate with the past

Portrait of Cindy / Orange County, 2015

I still think it is dangerous to be too enamored with the classics and old school. If we never evolved, we would all still be listening to Baroque music and wearing top hats.

Therefore this is my suggestion:

Study the classics, but seek to transform and remix it into something new.

Innovation is creating new things. But innovation best happens when you draw inspiration from the past, and having respect for the past design and culture, and making something useful, beautiful, and aesthetically sublime for today’s world.

How to make classics

SUITS / London, 2014

Some tips for photography:

Study classical, simple, black and white photography composition. Some of the best black and white composition photographers include Josef Koudelka, Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rene Burri, Martine Franck, and Gordon Parks.
For color photos, some classic photographers to study include William Eggleston, Steven Shore, Saul Leiter (the best).
Study renaissance painting for really good classical compositions. Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael are my favorite.
For modern design, study Bauhaus.
For Eastern design, study ZEN Aesthetics like wabi-sabi, Ikebana, and kintsugi.