Month: March 2019

Thinking about 10x:

It seems what I love in life (from an economic/innovation/technology/life perspective) is value.

A thought:

Life is too short to be prudent and to “plan” for the future. Perhaps to live a happier life we should live more recklessly, dangerously, and take more epic risks in things which interest us, or things which were curious about.

What I’m digging right now (Nike Labs, Panerai, Rolex, Honda, Y3, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton):

The Leica Q2 is epic:

A thought:

Perhaps to maximize our creativity, we should cycle.

Cycle between the cameras we use, cycle with our different focal lengths, cycle with our aesthetic (color or monochrome, or post-processing style) and cycle with the places we live.

Essentially — the idea is to never desire stasis, and to never desire staying the same/consistency/predictability/sameness.

Currently testing the new Leica Q2– and I think it is an ultimate camera. Let me share my thoughts:

A simple idea:

Perhaps instead of striving to become “better” photographers or making “better” photos, we should strive to simply make photography more fun!

It seems we are all obsessed with ‘photography projects’, or ‘art projects’. It seems the bias is that if we are ‘serious’ photographers or aspire to become more ‘serious’ in photography, we need to work on a concentrated/focused/’serious’ photography project.

But is this all nonsense? What is even the definition of a ‘project’? Let me try to essay some thoughts below:

Huge fan of the new Leica Q2. Some quick thoughts:

Thanks to my friend Anthony for letting me play with his new RICOH GR III— with the ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP and ERIC KIM CASE.

I think we photographers desire to always be inspired/motivated to make photos which give us deep joy. And in order to do that– we of course need a camera. But is there a perfect or ideal camera which will empower us to constantly be making new photos? A ‘perfect’ camera which maximizes our creative productivity? Also a camera which is affordable, a camera which is small, powerful, compact? If so — that is the RICOH GR II.

A fun idea:

What if you only shot with your camera or phone in JPEG (with a certain filter/preset in-camera), and you didn’t allow you to further post-process your photos afterwards?

A thought:

Simple photo project to pursue:

Shoot textures.

Some fun experiments of shooting flash and no flash:

To better understand images, composition, design — almost anything — deconstruct it (take it apart, dissect it, then figure out why you like it):

What Does it Feel Like Living Without a Phone?

I just tested the new iPhone XS (Max) camera for photography — and a huge fan. Here are my thoughts as compared to my prior iPhone XS (normal) review.

I’m no longer high off the social-media opium dream; I’m empowering myself and building my own self-esteem.

The iPad Pro (10.5 inch) is what I currently have, as well as the Touchbar MacBook Pro (13 inch) and I can say I enjoy looking at my own photos at least 5x more on my iPad Pro. And my basic idea:

The device on which you view your own photos is of tantamount importance.

My freshest batch of my YouTube Videos (from Mexico City and beyond):

Go super hard during the day, and super relax to recover as effectively as possible.

The flaneur — to walk aimlessly, elegantly, slowly, poised — and to photograph anything you find interesting.

ARS; the best (recent) innovation for photographers seeking true feedback/critique on their photographs:

Motivation literally means “to move”. We need to move and act to do anything; we need to move our fingers to type, we need to move our feet to shoot photos, we need to move our bodies to get from point A to point B, and we need to move heavy weights off from the ground to build our muscles and strength.

It seems the best place to get visual inspiration for me as of late is luxury goods:

Practice:

To grow as a photographer is to constantly shoot more, get more feedback on your photos (arsbeta.com), and to integrate the feedback of yourself and others into your future images.

I think one of the greatest notions which have entered our psyche is the notion of ‘streaming’.

Some recent thoughts on life:

Simple photography exercises to get you going!

A thought:

Focus on your physical and photographic (art) fitness in order to become a more productive photographer and visual artist.

For too long there has been a bias towards consistency. But I believe consistency is for suckers.

Practical thoughts on gear and how easily we adapt to it:

To get honest feedback and constructive critique on your photos is impossible on Facebook and Instagram. That is why we created arsbeta.com in order for you to receive and give meaningful feedback on photos:

Porsche as the best designed sports car (inspiration from my buddy Don).

Disregard your “weaknesses”; simply focus on maximizing your own potential strengths, maximizing your own power output, and unashamedly maximizing you.

I often like to photograph things because things look different photographed!

A recent realization:

Don’t worry about making “good” photos. Just focus on shooting a lot (every day, and process photos every day).

Perhaps this can help bring you more joy in photography and life?

Some practical photo tips off the dome (originally sent to my newsletter):

I am proud to announce that today we announce ARS Beta Version III with the brand-new and revolutionary ARS Coin feature.

Practical photo tips for you:

I’m very self-motivated. How did I become this way? Some thoughts:

What is your personal motivating force in life? Let this propel you forward!

New eyes for new photos.

Something exciting is brewing at ARSBETA.COM ; keep your eyes glued.

Changing, it rests.

Heraclitus

I think “burnout” is often boredom mixed with physical exhaustion mixed with working on things you don’t care about.

No need to travel or escape yourself. Simply photograph and document your own life.

What would an “ideal” photography culture look like? Some of my personal thoughts:

Once you have perfect, then what?

What motivates us to keep making photos?

My theory:

We are never visually satisfied.

This is a good thing!

I think you really love a place if you’re as happy coming as you are leaving.

The goal isn’t to be productive for the sake of being productive. The goal is to become MORE PRODUCTIVE on things which you really care about!

It rests by changing.

Heraclitus

I believe all change is good. And not only that, but it seems that change is where we find new sources of inspiration.

Paint with your camera. Find colorful textures and things which inspire you. Process your photos with additional contrast, tweak the colors, and paint photos which make you happy!

Practical and simple photography tips to get you motivated to shoot more!

After buying all the stuff I’ve wanted in my life I’ve discovered that the cost of ownership (maintenance, stress) outweighs the joy of actually owning something.

I’ve been making more photo galleries on this blog (via WordPress) and I feel like a new creative door has been opened to me.

A thought:

What if in life you enjoyed all elements of it– the good, the bad, the difficult, and the easy?

I’m having so much fun in my photography as of late, and I wanna share some tips with you (hopefully these can help you enjoy photography more!)

With abstract photography or art; I think the secret is looking for faces in things (eyes, heads, etc).

To find inspiration to make photos, don’t worry about whether the photo will be “good” or not. Simply photograph what makes you happy, what makes you smile; what you love and care about!

A realization:

Composition (and all design in general) is based on proportions.

Lots of new action on ERIC KIM YOUTUBE:

Aren’t you curious what your limit is? Aren’t you curious how far you can fly?

I’m happy, and I strive to maintain my personal happiness.

But why is happiness important? What functional purpose does it serve? And in what ways is happiness overrated, or underrated?

Some practical street photography tips:

Motivation literally means to move. Thus it seems quite simple:

To be more “motivated” in life, move more!