Never Stop Subtracting

“The good is in the absence of the bad.” – St. Augustine

A thought in photography:

Perhaps it is more effective to ditch/delete/remove our “bad” photos, than worry too much about figuring out what our “good” photos are to keep.

Culling your photos

This is what I realized about photography in general:

It is all about subtraction.

For example:

Composition is all about figuring out what superfluous elements to subtract from your frame.
Making a photo-series or project is figuring out what superfluous photos to remove (photos you don’t like or care for).
Life is about figuring out what you HATE doing; and arranging your life in a way to avoid doing what you hate.

On digestion

A thought on digestion:

Perhaps to improve our digestion is figuring out what foods to SUBTRACT from our diet — foods which irritate us (like dairy for Asian people, etc).

For example:

Subtract dairy/cheese/milk/cream
Subtract gluten, carbs, sugars
Subtract high fructose corn syrup and simple starches
Subtract beer, wine (red and/or white), or other liquors

Via negativa health

And for general health:

Subtract cigarettes (obviously)
Subtract weed, cocaine, and other uppers/downers
For insomnia, subtract bright screens at night (turn off lights at night, make your house very dark).

Via negativa psychology

To feel less anxious or depressed, figure out the irritants or bullshit to subtract from your life:

Subtract negative people (get rid of the leeches).
Subtract ‘bullshit work’
Subtract news, media, or things which trigger your anxiety or heart rate.

The point ain’t to subtract for the sake of it

The ultimate goal:

Not to subtract to become a zero. Instead, subtracting all the superfluous bullshit from your life in order to focus and concentrate on what is truly meaningful to you!

ERIC