Human artist blog / Street photography / Philosophy
If you like to make photos, videos, poetry or words, you’re a content creator. Here are some tips I wish I could have given myself if I started content creation all over again:
Dear friend, Greetings from Kyoto! I wanted to give you a life update, and to share some brand-new and very cool stuff, and also life lessons I’ve learned while I’ve been here!
The world is a beautiful place. The greatest blessing is the blessing of being alive!
Dear friend, To advertise my new online course, “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship“, I wanted to share why we should all be photography entrepreneurs, and also why you’re probably (already) a photography entrepreneur …
Dear friend, A small epiphany: Make photos that affirm life; not negate life!
Dear friend, One thing I believe in is ‘calculated’ risk-taking. What does that mean, and how can we harness this principle to succeed/thrive more in life? Let’s talk more:
Dear friend, a practical tip: if you see a good street scene, don’t just take 1-2 photos then run away. Instead, keep ‘working the scene’ by continuing to shoot the scene, for you to …
Dear friend, I love life a lot. Personally, I want to live life to the fullest, and share that joy with you.
Dear friend, A practical idea for you: don’t invest in stocks, bitcoin, property, houses, and finances: invest in yourself!
Dear friend, I want to share with you some personal musings on ‘happiness’ — what exactly is happiness, how to feel “happier”, and how to live a more fulfilling life with more achievement.
Dear friend, I want to share some personal ideas on moonshot thinking — why we must always shoot for the moon, and attempt the “impossible” and the crazy/foolish ideas we have!
Don’t let the fear of trolls/haters prevent you from doing cool/epic shit in life. Here are some of my thoughts and philosophies on the psychology of trolls:
Dear friend, An essay for you: Why we should all be photography entrepreneurs; and why you might already be a photography entrepreneur without even knowing it!
Is photography your passion? Do you want to make ripples in the world of photography? Do you desire to share your life experiences as a photographer to empower others? Do you want to learn …
“I’ve been speeding through life with no safety belt.” – JAY-Z Dear friend, if you have a certain dream in life– remember, you got nothing to lose in the face of death.
Dear friend, a key to success in entrepreneurship and life: Don’t wait for permission before you take risks and try something epic in life!
If you want to create more dynamic street photos, shoot layers in street photography, and also integrate the ‘bookend technique’ in your photos.
Dear friend, A fun epiphany I had in photography: SHOOT MORE COLOR to thrive more in your photography!
As humans, we have a bias for the new. We love NEW! But why do we love the new, and is it even a good thing to like the new? How do we balance …
Dear friend, Realize, photography is essential for your thriving in life. Don’t just treat photography as a superfluous luxury. Photography is good for your soul.
Dear friend, Another key to success in photography, business, entrepreneurship and life: focus on being a producer, not a consumer!
Dear friend, as a word of encouragement and truth: if you’re a photographer you are an artist!
My GoPro Hero 3 was getting too old, so I went to the GoPro website and saw this new camera called the “Fusion”. At first I thought it was gimmicky (I didn’t really believe …
Dear friends, if you’re passionate about street photography and want to meet some other phenomenal and passionate street photographers, don’t miss out on StreetFoto San Francisco 2018!
Dear friend, I made you (yes, another) epic GOPRO POV STREET PHOTOGRAPHY VIDEO in the streets of Kyoto. This time, I show you how to get close, fill the frame, and use the golden …
New fun street photography techniques you can apply when shooting on the streets: The 3D Scan/360 Degree Technique (Shooting Head-on) and Holding Your Camera High in the Air and Point Downwards (and Use Your …
Dear friend, I want to share a new street photography technique with you: This technique is called “The Walking Alongside Someone and Shooting Until They Notice You” Street Photography Technique. Yeah a mouthful, but …
Dear friend, I am SUPER EXCITED to share with you my brand-new street photography POV video on YouTube! I think it is the most innovative video so far!
Dear friend, If you want to unlock your artistic potential in photography, I am excited to offer you two brand-new courses I am now teaching on Udemy: Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Photography Ultimate …
Another fun GOPRO POV portrait/street photography video in Kyoto, for your viewing/education/learning pleasure.
Dear friend, If you’ve ever dreamed of living on the road and making a living from your passion, this essay and guide is for you.
Dear friend, I am very excited to share the news of my first online course, “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Mastering Photography†on Udemy. First of all, I wanted to share why I made the …
Dear friend, An epiphany I had: the best way to stay motivated in your photography is this: make photos that you like looking at!
I am shocked, amazed, impressed, and awe-struck at the same time. SmugMug has acquired Flickr. What does that mean? It means that as photographers, we should NEVER trust the platform of another company/social media …
Dear friend, Straight fresh out of the (digital) presses: A new GoPro POV street photography video of me photographing a ‘street portrait’ on the streets of Kyoto, with a very friendly older lady.
Dear friend, to promote my new and exciting course: “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Photography“, I want to share with you– why should we take it back to basics in our photography, and why …
Dear friend, A fun technique in street photography to use is to use the ‘fishing technique‘ (pre-frame your photograph composition, and wait for the right person to enter your frame), combined with leading-lines. You …
Dear friend, if you want to learn how to shoot layers in street photography, I made this new YouTube video demonstrating me shooting layers with a GoPro POV video in the streets of Kyoto.
Dear friend, A thought: Street Photography is like fishing. Fishing isn’t about catching fish, it is about enjoying the process of preparing your bait and tackle (equipment), relaxing/zenning out by the water, and the …
Dear friend, Ever since my RICOH GR II died (28mm lens), I’ve been shooting with Cindy’s Lumix LX 100 with the 24mm on the streets of Kyoto and been having a ton of fun. …
Dear friend, As a word of encouragement: it doesn’t matter what camera you shoot with. Why? No matter how “good†or “bad†your camera is, you will get used to it (what psychologists call …
Dear friend, Do you remember the initial passion, enthusiasm, and excitement you had when you started photography? I do, and have been trying really hard to tap back into that mindset; the uninhibited genius …
I recently stumbled upon an extremely thought-provoking talk by Jaron Lanier, describing social media as a ‘Behavior Modification Empire‘. This is precisely why it is a good idea for you to #DeleteInstagram — in …
Dear friend, A recent thought I had: in order to empower others, you must (first) be selfish.
In my last article on the Cutoff Technique in Street Photography, I described this process of shooting head-on with a wide angle lens (like a 28mm or 35mm lens), while walking directly in front …
Dear friend, In a world with so many nay-sayers, negative people and pessimistic people, we should GO OPPOSITE and be the change we wish to see in the world and become YAY SAYERS!
A physics and philosophical principle which can help empower us is this concept of “first principlesâ€â€”a concept leveraged by Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and other visionaries.
Currently super-inspired by Claude Monet, with his use of colors, his compositions, depictions of everyday life, people, nature, and how he was able to show his love of life through his paintings.
Simple photos and living in Kyoto. Shot with 24mm on Lumix LX100:
Dear friend, A philosophical question: why take “better” photos?
Dear friend, I want to share with you the story of how I became a “location independent” “digital nomad”, why I prefer this lifestyle, and share some practical thoughts with you on how you …
Dear friend, If you want to live a more epic life, my simple suggestion: don’t ask for permission, JUST DO IT! knowing that you might piss off some people or upset other people. To …
Dear friend, A technique I learned from my good friend Charlie Kirk in street photography: what he calls the ‘cutoff technique’.
Dear friend, An epiphany I had: NEVER STOP EVOLVING! Life is about evolution, constant experimenting, constantly learning, constant iteration. There is no point where you wish or desire to achieve ‘perfection’. Rather, treat life …
To me, there is no better joy in life than walking.
If you’re curious more about how to “work the scene” in street photography, download my full-resolution contact sheets for your own self-education and learning with the links below:
Dear friend, Why do we feel nervous shooting street photography?
Dear friend, A secret of entrepreneurial and personal thriving in life: seek to first please yourself, and whenever possible, spurn (scorn/reject) pleasing others.
Dear friend, A thought: The productive photographer (the photographer who shoots and publishes a lot) is the happiest photographer!
Just arrived in Kyoto from Osaka, got a new apartment, and loving simple everyday living:
My RICOH GR II died a few days ago, and I’ve been shooting with the Lumix LX100 for the last few days, and actually found out that I quite like it for street photography!
Dear friend, A philosophical idea: what if you lived life like a video game? Would life be more fun, exciting, challenging, and interesting?
GRIT AND GRAIN: photos shot in 2015 on Leica MP, Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron ASPH, Yellow B+W Filter, Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600, some photos shot on Leica SF 24D flash:
Lumix LX100 + GoPro Street Photography POV in Osaka:
Dear friend, How do you live a fulfilling life? Easy: make the best of today– make today count!
My simple luxuries in life, which aren’t expensive yet bring me a lot of joy. Feel free to experiment with any of these simple luxuries, which might brighten your mood, and add more simple …
Dear friend, A recent thought: let us seek to make photography a stimulus in our lives. Let us become “hyper photographers” — to urge and impel ourselves higher in life.
To promote our new book, 30 DAYS TO JUMPSTART YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY Mobile Edition, here are some practical tips to break through your photographers block:
Shot on Lumix LX100, with GoPro POV on top: