Month: June 2018

Dear friend,

I’m currently working on a print edition of my book, “SUITS“, and one of the main images in the book is a photo of a man in a suit with golden handcuffs. But what are golden handcuffs?

William Klein: the ultimate street sociologist, artist, painter, and lover of life:

So something interesting I learned, the word “focus” actually comes from an optical metaphor — like asking what is the focusing point of a lens; where the concept of “focal length” comes from.

Your life shouldn’t be tracked by numbers and percentage points; you should judge the progress of your own life, according to your own scale, your own ruler, your own barometer.

All of us have a soul. But what is a soul, and why does it even matter?

Anthony Bourdain, a guy I really loved, committed suicide recently. I was flabbergasted: he seemed like he had it all! Why did he do it?

Visual mood board of what inspired me from 2016-2018:

Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki has given me so much more joy, curiosity and amazement/optimism/hope in life:

Jetlag is to me, one of the most painful body states. How do we conquer it, or at least minimize it?

A philosophical musing on travel and photography:

If you’re traveling, and you experience interesting things, but you don’t take a photo of it — did it still happen?

Dear friend,

Why do you travel? What do you want philosophically from your travels? How do you desire to grow, develop, evolve, and challenge your own beliefs through traveling?

Dear friend, get out of the Instagram and Facebook ghetto, and instead, build your own platform, build your own kingdom (start your own website and blog). And to innovate, make PDF books (ebooks, art books, and more)!

To pre-order a copy of our upcoming and epic new book, ‘My First Photography Book’, email hapticindustries@gmail.com

Getting my Barbara Kruger on; this thought is this — many photographers get angry or upset that you don’t shoot and make photos like them!

Dear friend, as a photography entrepreneur, charge 25% more for your services than you think you should!

Some of my favorite pictures:

Barbara Kruger is a genius to me, a master aphorism poet, visual artist, and social critic/philosopher.

Push your photography, provide and receive constructive critique, and kickstart your photography with free STREET CLUB Summer School.

FILM NOTES MOBILE is your electric-red companion to learn film photography. Pick up yours in the HAPTIC SHOP.

I like both film and digital photography and welcome both. But, why is it that film aesthetically looks better than digital photos? My theory: it has to do with the randomness of the grain structure of film, the imperfect colors, and the random “beautiful mistakes” that happen when shooting film, as well as the organic nature of film.

I’ve been asking a lot of people about how they would define happiness. I figured I’d also answer it for myself:

From my experiences, this is a list of my favorite cities for travel and street photography:

This is my theory: to make better photos, study Geometry!

My favorite street photography blogs:

If I started shooting film street photography for the first time, this is advice I would give myself:

To make better photos and composition, study great cinema!

Why buy books, not gear?

La Habana en color is an unscripted story of the Cuban people’s relationship and their interaction with the physical space in which they live, work, and play.

My friend JTINSEOUL is my favorite photography blogger, and one of my best friends.

Less is better:

Don’t let history write you; write your own history my friend!

Dear friends, if you’re a photography entrepreneur (or if you just want more followers), I highly highly highly recommend you to not get so distracted with accruing more Instagram/social media followers. Instead, I recommend that you start your own email newsletter, via MailChimp.com:

Shoot your own life:

Practical street photography lessons I’ve learned from 2009-2018 (the last 11 years!)

Cars: essentially three dimensional sculpture, which us photographers can learn proportions, color combinations, and dynamic lines/curves:

Dear friend,

Some secrets about diet, exercise, working out, etc I’ve discovered over the last 10 years of self experimentation which I’ve discovered is totally unorthodox and counter intuitive, which has helped me put on muscle mass, lose body fat, and gain more focus and energy for my artistic pursuits.

Andy Warhol: the ultimate democratic and empowering artist for the masses.

I grew up pretty poor. I had a father who was a chronic gambler, a mom (who was pretty much a single mom) who worked menial jobs. I grew up not knowing whether my mom would be able to pay the rent at the end of the month, and if we’d be homeless.

Dear friend,

I hate algorithms when it comes to social media. Why? It subtly changes your behavior, generally for the worse, it lowers your self esteem, and is inimical to your creativity! Let me explain:

Hope is dope, when shit gets tough and your back is on the ropes. How do you stay optimistic and rope a dope, Jack Dempsey?

About a year ago I deleted my Instagram; and it has been the best thing for my focus, my creative power, and happiness!

Turbo creation: why you should buy the most powerful laptop possible:

FREE PDF files to empower you:

Shot on Lumix G9, Leica 12mm f/1.4 Lens, RAW processed with VSCO A6 Desktop preset:

To be a better photographer, we must see, notice, and appreciate the world around us more!

Selfies are probably one of the best types of photos we can make. Why? Because as photographers, we often take so many photos of others, but we rarely have any photos of ourselves!

Abstract art: I love it because it conveys mood, vigor, energy, and life — what I think the purpose of art is!

Many of us like books– but why? What use do books have, and why invest in photography books, instead of buying photography equipment and gear?

MONOCHROME: Volume I photos (2011-2016) // RICOH GR II + ERIC KIM MONOCHROME 1600 PRESET:

Dear friend, I was thinking about money in general, especially after feeling like I “missed out” on the whole bitcoin craze. But then I wondered, even if I 10x’d my savings, what would I do with the money, and for what?

What do you really desire to do, achieve, obtain, or create in life (while you’re still alive)?

You’re on a new level!
Bust through the walls, and rip out the bezels

If you wanna do more epic shit in life, it’s beneficial to have more self-confidence. But, is it possible to build your own self esteem? Of course it is! Let me share some empowering ideas:

Dear friend,

What’s your most valuable asset in life? One of them is your attention and focus.

Istanbul: one of the best places in the world to shoot street photography. Such a great diverse group of people, at the cross-roads of so many vast cultures.

Why are people afraid of change?

Jackson Pollock has taught me: art is a form of self discovery, a way of self expression, and the more we create with our own inner energy and force, the better!

Dear friend,

To announce the exciting news of our upcoming brand-new product: ERIC KIM CASE, I wanted to write and share some tips on how you can shoot more photos everyday!

Practical tips how to be more productive in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, and how to speed up your Adobe Lightroom workflow:

Dear friend,

As a word of encouragement: realize that your photos have the power to change the world, for the better!

Dear friend,

I wanna give you some practical life and productivity hacks that can help empower you!

ONLY IN AMERICA: My culmination of my visual street sociology from 2011-2016:

Dear friend,

A realization : I think what we’re trying to do as street photographers is visual sociology — using our camera as a research tool to better understand society as a whole!

Dear friend,

If you want to improve your photography, I recommend studying painting! Study their composition, their philosophy, and the emotion in their work! And of course, there’s no right or wrong way to interpret their work; it all depends on you!

Ambition
It’s your own personal volition
To do things great
To not placate
The masses
But to impress you

Charles and Ray Eames: the dynamic duo (husband and wife) whom have defined most of modern furniture and design!

Dear friend,

In the last essay I wrote that I thought if was good to be ambitious in life. Now I want to share — how to become more ambitious.

One of the individuals and philosophers who have had the strongest impact on me include Nassim Taleb.

A philosophical question I’ve been interested in: “Why is it that ambition is considered both good and bad at the same time?”

Willem de Kooning: epic paintings, with great colors, shapes, forms, energy, and vivacity!