Existential Photography

My buddy Jeffrey Lam is currently working on this notion of ‘existential health’, which is basically this:

Wondering the philosophical underpinnings of health.

For example when a doctor sees a patient, the doctor will ask the patient about their existential life goals, not just to “lose fat”.

I often do this at my workshops: I will ask my students:

Why do you make photos?

To piggyback off my friend Jeff, I want to start exploring more of this notion of ‘existential photography’:

You exist, now what?

It is a fact that you exist and are alive. Now what?

Why share your photos?

Another thought:

If you are a photographer on a spaceship (without the internet), or if you’re on Mars, who (and how) can you share your photos?

Obviously thinking about a future of photography without Instagram.

To share is human

Why share photos? I think there is something intuitively human about wanting to share.

For example, it would have been insanely dumb if Homer didn’t share The Iliad with us. Or if Picasso didn’t share his paintings with us. Thus the notion of the artist in the cave who only makes art for themself and doesn’t share is absolute nonsense.

Conclusion

To wrap things up (for now) some takeaways:

Pursue photography in a manner in which you desire your photos (and name) to remain 300 years from now.
Don’t worry too much about hype of new cameras. They will (like the new iPhone) get outdated quickly.
Think about what kind of legacy you want to leave behind as a photographer/visual-artist.
Print your photos, print books. Publish your photos as free PDF e-books. Also share ‘open source‘ photos as JPEG’s. The more open and free your photos, the more likely your photos, work, ideas, and aesthetics will continue to exist.

THINK LONGER!

ERIC

Photolosophy

Discover more personal meaning in your photographic life with PHOTOLOSOPHY >

ERIC KIM WORKSHOPS

Conquer your fears and meet new peers:

HAPTIC MAGAZINE

HAPTIC makes creative tools to empower visual artists. From educational tools, art platforms, to camera equipment, HAPTIC is driven by a spirit of experimentation and creative collaboration. We are a majority women led, family operated industry, and have great pride in everything we make.

HAPTIC INDUSTRIES

HAPTIC MISSION: We believe in disrupting the production market for photography, art, and creative tools. We are transparent about the labor practices behind HAPTIC because we are proud and love everything we make. We support honest and beautiful work with respectful wages to our artists, artisans, and collaborators.

We are not anonymous. Our products are a story. HAPTIC products are printed, prepared, shipped from California with creative collaborators from Saigon.