Month: April 2019

Let us become “free shooters”— we only make photos which serve us, instead of striving to make photos to please others.

Elevate yourself, elevate you  Elevate yourself beyond the UV— discover new hues.  Beyond the blues and blacks, keep your creative attack strong.  Avoid the throng and herd— fly high//sharp-eyed bird.    What’s the word? …

A thought about art, music, ideas, music, technology, and other haptic feedback: Perhaps what we are seeking is audio-visual-movement to stimulate/motivate our own movement, excitement, and vigor in life! Anything which motivates me is …

More Ricoh GR II shots:

Do you desire to be more alike others– or to distinguish yourself more from others– to separate the gulf between you and others more?

Ain’t no such thing as good or bad photography — only genuine or ingenuine photography.

Never trap yourself in any genre, category, style, approach, or box. Escape all genres, and refuse to box yourself in anything.

Don’t plan ahead, flexible, iterate, create spontaneously, walk spontaneously, exercise spontaneously, speak and act spontaneously? A spontaneous life is a better life. Spontaneous as meaning — “of your own accord” (living according to your …

Shot on RICOH GR II:

Treat everyday like a mini-lifetime. Create today as if you will die tonight. To be eternally creative: Create things from morning to night. Perhaps fast until evening (no breakfast and lunch, only dinner) in …

All is transient in life — perhaps this is what motivates us to create great things? To try to conquer transience? Or perhaps we are forgetful— we forget the things we’ve made in the …

It seems in street photography, the best way to develop is to shoot more photos which you consider daring — daring compositionally, daring in terms of your personal fear, and daring in terms of …

Bring your ambition into fruition  Don’t dilute you, stay fully concentrated — no fillers, all killer  Live your life thriller and thriller than anyone else has done, smoke raising from your gun.  Pen new …

When in doubt, disconnect.

A thought: There is no such thing as a “fault”. All different character traits of ours can be used however so, and the interpretation of our actions or behaviors being “good” or “bad” is …

Conserve your energy— use your limited energy and maximize it! That means: Don’t do what you don’t want to do— only do what you want to do. Don’t engage in any social interactions or …

You can appreciate and love something without owning it! To me, ownership is overrated. Too much stuff to maintain, carry, organize, and keep track of. Best to appreciate things (art, cars, fashion, design, architecture, …

Your own life is a live stream. Thoughts: Never stop streaming Never stop sharing your art works Never stop experiencing new things Delight in change, flux, and “real time”. Don’t desire anything else but …

Why not just ignore others, and stay focused on yourself? It seems the only reason we critique others is to prop up our own ego and self-estimate of ourselves by disparaging others (lowering them, …

Whenever you have an option in life, always take the more dangerous and adventurous option!

A photo essay is an attempt (essay) to understand a place (and yourself) through the images you make.

Basic tips:

Perhaps we as photographers are like our traditional “hunter and gatherer” forefathers, and our desire to photograph and make images is rooted from the same compulsion inside our human DNA?

Never stop photographing yourself (selfie, showing your soul through the photos you shoot and make). There is no final “state” for you to become or achieve in photography or art. Eternally delight in change, …

Hanoi as a creative/digital entrepreneur and street photography paradise:

A personal photography book of HOME // Feb, 2019. Download: Dropbox Download > Direct Download >

Patina— wear and tear, and “improvement” of aesthetics through use, wear, tear, the effects of time as beautiful!

My prediction: the future of the internet, social media, and technology will become a brave new world/ bifurcation between the new digital elite/digital serfs.

Problem with modern society— we use numbers (metrics) to measure our self-worth and self-esteem. But what if we demetricated ourselves — no longer attaching our self-worth to a number, or any numbers?

It is 2019, and there are no more online communities for art. That is why we built ARS— to take back our art from big brother (aka Facebook/Instagram).

It seems that life is much better when we live light.

I met my buddy Wouter in Hanoi the other day, and we had some spirited talks on photography and life. An idea that I came up with him: Why is it so hard for …

As a liberal “elite” person, I’m not supposed to like capitalism. But upon deep reflection, I think I do!

Initial impressions being back in Hanoi (compared to living here 2 years ago):

Chu Viet Ha: one of my best buddies here in Hanoi, and a photographer whose work I really admire.

Perhaps there is something in our DNA in which we desire to discharge our creative force and power. Perhaps there is a compulsion we have to make artwork; similar to when we have an …

Just arrived in Hanoi, and wanted to reflect a bit on why I love Hanoi– and my experiences here.

To think different means:

Satoki Nagata is a photographer-artist I deeply admire. When I heard he was in a deep depression with his photography, I was shocked. Fortunately he is currently re-gaining his photographic wings– and producing new …

A fun idea and thought from my buddy Nietzsche: Don’t worry about concerning yourself as an “individual”. Instead, consider yourself as a creative activity!

In the past a lot of photographers would look down on point and shoot cameras and on photographers who used more “newbie” cameras. But why this snobbery? My theory is that insecure photographers are …

Just landed in Hanoi (after a long flight from LAX -> Taipei, to Hanoi), and surprisingly, I’m feeling pretty good! It seems a combination of intermittent fasting, lots of strong black coffee, and a …

An anti-romanticism, anti-past/anti-nostalgia view of thinking about life:

A lot of us in life feel disempowered, shitty, and lack the vigor to live. My simple answer: Art is the reason to live! Specifically: YOUR ability/faculty/opportunity to create art.

How often should I upgrade my camera or devices, or cars, homes, clothes, etc?

In traveling, life, etc; it seems that instead of thinking about what to buy, “optimize”, or add to your life, it seems more effective to determine what to shed, what to NOT bring (travel), …

Flash street photography is fun because it makes interesting images, dynamic compositions, is challenging

Color is one of my favorite visual stimuluses:

Dear streettogs, Wanted to give you a life update (and also share the news about my upcoming workshopsin Honolulu (June 29-30), Los Angeles (July 13-14), Berlin (September 14-15) Register Intent here, NYC (October 5-6), and Boston (March 21-22, 2020) …

Dear friend, If you’re hungry to take your street photography to the next level, I cordially invite you to my Discover Your Unique Voice in Street Photography in New York City, October 5-6 2019.

There is only one of you in the universe, and your thoughts, ideas, philosophies, and artworks are valuable. Why strive to become someone else, to emulate the virtues of others, and why negate your …

A way I love to approach life: Always in beta testing/prototype quickly, and keep iterating!

When in doubt, optimize your life for uberlight.

The final installation for the cinematography of John Wick 1. See v4, v3, v2, v1.

Continuing our John Wick 1 cinema series. See part 3, part 2, and part 1.

Life is short; why discourage anyone else?

Hey streettogs, don’t miss your opportunity to join STREET FOTO (SF) this year, June 3-9, 2019th. The lowdown is that there will be epic contests, portfolio reviews, workshops, lectures, photowalks, and exhibitions. See the …

Should we adapt ourselves to our environment, or adapt our environment to ourselves?

I’m amazed — the effect of shooting with a flash during the day (in bright sunlight) improves your photos so much!

Part 3 for John Wick 1 (the original). See part 1, and part 2.

Part 2 of the first John Wick (see part 1 here). 

In life it seems the best strategy is to never stop advancing, moving forward, against any adversaries or difficulties.

No more complaining for me.

John Wick: one of my favorite films of all-time (both the first and second). Also great cinematography!

Smaller is better. For phones, smaller phones are better: Less thumb pain for texting a lot, lighter weight (less strain on hands), generally cheaper than larger devices (iPhone as cheaper than iPhone Max), easier …

When Nothing Compelling Exists, Don’t Buy New Things for the Sake of It!

If you’re interested in what you’re working on, most likely others will be too!

In my never-ending quest to simplify my photographic workflow (and also my life workflow) — I’ve discovered that Apple Photos is actually a very strong alternative to Adobe Lightroom (or perhaps– even superior?)

What is the purpose of making timeless art if you’re not going to be around to reap the benefits of your own efforts?