Month: June 2019

You got the power to publish yourself in your own hands. Fuck the gatekeepers— you got your own key, to publish yourself oh so freely!

To curate your photos means to create a series of photos that you care about. Also, the word “curious” is also derived from the word care. Which means, when you’re curious about something it means you care enough/interested enough about it that you’re willing to explore it more, and perhaps take a small risk in…

Human body — beautiful shapes, forms, arabesque:

Spontaneous — of your own accord.

The artist as somebody with overabundant energy, and has the strength to put forth their vital energies through their artworks. To express their inner strength and power into visual, audio, or any other external forms. The artist builds an external representation of their own inner reality.

A thought I’ve been thinking about: Perhaps we can judge things into two categories: things which get BETTER over time, and things which get WORSE over time.

How do we become more prolific? Some thoughts:

The more prolific (creatively productive I am), the happier I am.

You were born to photograph.

Composition is about gesture.

I think it is good to have heroes and people you look up to. However ultimately– shouldn’t we strive to become MORE like ourselves…instead of becoming more like others?

Simple ideas:

HUJI CAM: one of the most interesting innovations for photography.

HYPE IT UP DOPE YOU UP Don’t consume what’s lit, make yourself the hit. Hype is trite Inner-hype is excite Keep motivated like a bike No likes, only greats Keep running forward, don’t stay in place. No 1-base hit, swing for the fences Channel that inner tension into something explosive Shoot for the moon, shoot…

We are slaves to fear, and for the most part (unfortunately in modern times), most of our actions and how we live is based on fear.

A point and shoot camera — Don’t worry about perfection— the importance of just shooting and capturing moments which resonate with you. Point and shoot cameras as a more “direct” way of shooting photos — with less conscious effort. Shooting more unconsciously as a superior form of photography.

Life is a stream. As artists, we stream artwork, knowledge, and information.

A philosophy: In life, decide as late as possible. This notion comes from principles of ‘lean software development‘, generally originating from the Toyota Production System (‘just-in-time manufacturing‘ philosophy).

A thought when at the gym today: What is our goal with physical fitness and life?

The ultimate stage is for you to make your own art — for you to never stop creating, innovating, and pushing yourself further— to higher heights, and more sublime beauty in your artwork!

A simple process of photography: Shoot photos Select the photos you like Share the photos you consider personally-meaningful Could we do this into infinity?

Eternal life… in order to do what?

Never placate others to avoid them from hating you Placate yourself, please yourself, and do it with help from yourself and your own soul’s wealth. We’ve all been dealt different hands, but we have the power to make our own plans We got skill, insight, intuition and strength, We got the power to do anything…

People make the sucker mistake thinking that money is the ultimate wealth. What is the real purpose of wealth? We don’t own money for the sake of owning money. If you were starving in a cell, and had a trillion dollars sitting next to you, and you couldn’t trade the money for food– obviously you’re…

It seems in modern times with social media, Netflix, YouTube, video games, phones, etc– we are distracting ourselves to death. We are so afraid of being with ourselves, and striving towards an Uber-epic goal or aim in life that we endlessly distract ourselves. Also the other ill: Modern life is constructed in a way to…

What environment do you best thrive in?

You are your own authority Write your own verses, the lyrics to your own story Never bow down or cower to another, You’re the superior– cheerier, stronger — never getting wearier. Never look to another; only look at you, through and through Look into your own depths, and see yourself reflected clear as day.

I believe I am an optimistic nihilist. A nihilist in the sense that I don’t believe that there is an ultimate ‘truth’ in the world, and that there is no ultimate ‘purpose’ of being alive. However I am optimistic– optimistic of human potential, optimistic of the future, and optimistic of what we can become!

Simple photographic philosophies to get you going:

Not good or bad …will it make you stronger or weaker?

To be more productive and creative, REMOVE and SUBTRACT the superfluous your life !  Rather than thinking what new devices and things you can add to your life to “improve” your productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, or whatever — experiment for a month to constantly subtract (don’t use a phone, don’t use your tablet, don’t use your…

Aesthetics AND Composition are Essential for Photography

Never look back; anti-nostalgia. We must forget in order to dream new, attempt new, and strive for new.

It is our goal to strive for our own personal truth. To discover a deeper level/degree of “truthiness” to our own lives. Deeper and more profound knowledge in ourselves, the optimal conditions for us to thrive (lifestyle, diet, exercise, climate).

I am anti-social media. I believe there are a lot of positive boons (pluses) to social media, but overall for society and the individual– I see social media as a ‘net negative’. Many of us suffer from not having enough inspiration to shoot photography. An idea: experiment NOT sharing or uploading photos to social media…

The genius of Steve Jobs, Apple, and other great products: Creating something which is simple, intuitive, and fun to use! To create things which are a JOY to use, and tools which EMPOWER us!

Better to Set Epic Goals and Fail, than to Accomplish Mediocre Goals A life philosophy: Our lives are short — why waste it being normal, average, or mediocre?

Volition is my mission to exercise To guide me through the path of my life— to fight with all the beautiful strife. To thrive, to fly higher, to take the hits and punches like Ryu from street fighter To get lit, lighter — wings spread high, golden glue— they won’t rip or tear, on these…

The photos you decide to shoot and not shoot reflect your own personal aesthetic and philosophical preferences — what you deem as beautiful (and not beautiful). The subject-matter you photograph reflects your social circle, where you live, and the things which you experience. Takeaway: The more subjective your photos to your own personal life, the…

We all have gut instincts for our own personal and creative needs , desires, and wants (self-preservative instincts). We must have the courage to obey our own gut instincts. This means: Never do anything which is contrary to your gut instincts.

My thought: We should strive as photographer-artists to make pictures which are beautiful! We optimize our camera, equipment, processing style, composition and form to reflect this.

What is happiness? Is happiness important?

Perhaps the best way to live our lives is to strive to max out everyday.

Why is it that children are so artistically creative, innovative, and productive? Their “tabula rasa” approach to life and artistic creation. Because they don’t have any prior knowledge of the history of art, they can create without constraint, self-judgement, or insecurity!

Matisse as one of the masters of composition and color:

To Be More Creative, Spend More Time in Coffee Shops. Besides the caffeine, it seems the biggest benefit of doing creative work at a coffee shop is that it makes you more creatively productive! While at the coffee shop, I feel more stimulated and alert, I’m motivated, and have the energy and drive to actually…

My thought: Image quality is overrated. We should optimize our cameras and tools to make more beautiful aesthetic images! For example: Beautiful grit and grain in images (digital cameras that have film filter/grain presets) Ability to turn on random light effects in our cameras (like HUJI cam and Calla Cam). The joy of light leaks,…

Strive to fulfill your own true needs. A true need as a need that YOU have deemed is right for yourself, and worthy of yourself.

Let us make this our own personal imperative in life: To obey ourselves, our own inclinations, to follow our own instincts, and when our gut says something is bad for us — to listen to our gut! To become more self-focused. To obey our own selfish needs and desires (not to see “selfishness” as a…

Zen not as a meek mentality — zen as simple, strong, concentrated, powerful— without superfluous distractions, superfluous weight.