₿LOG
Why I love blogging:
In life, the journey is never over. Never stop exploring, never stop thinking, and never stop doing!
What is our true goal on street photography? For me, it is to enter the zen-like state of “flow” (zen zone) of becoming one with your camera. Losing sense of time, self, and space. To shoot with zero hesitation. To be so closely attuned to the world around you with great sensitivity, and to have immaculate timing positioning and shooting ability.
There is no greater joy than acting; to act, to do, to engage in action!
A life with arbitrary goals and challenging makes life far more fun, interesting, and insanely enjoyable!
Something I’ve discovered about myself: my extreme joy in being different.
One thought on success:
If you desire to succeed, become as NON-TYPICAL (atypical) as possible!
Ultimately, it is all a matter of taste.
This pertains to our artistic tastes, our taste for food and drink, our taste for literature, our taste for music, our taste for aesthetics; of essentially everything.
The strange thing:
We somehow think that the brain/mind can exist independent of the body.
This is where these silly notions of ‘uploading your consciousness’ to the cloud makes no sense. A mind cannot exist without a body. Perhaps the mind IS the body?
OUTLINES: what makes an effective photography composition:
The Desire to Transcend Ourselves
Why do we feel the need to ‘improve’ our selves?
What does it even mean to ‘improve’ a human?
The basic notion:
Walk Beside and Alongside the Person while Photographing Them.
A thought if you want to become more productive:
Figure out what to SUBTRACT in order to FOCUS MORE, and to produce more.
Never stop augmenting your physical and mental strength:
Street photography as a road to live a more interesting life:
When do you feel maximal physical vigor… And when?
Dear streettogs,
Happy Monday! Every start of the week is a good one. Why?
Think about all the great photos you have YET made.
What seems most difficult for us photographers?
Discovering the motivation to make new photos.
A lot of people were once famous, but we no longer care for them.
Thus perhaps the goal isn’t to become “famous”, but to have others CARE for us, and CARE about us?
I don’t think there is an ultimate purpose in life, but life is certainly more fun and interesting as long as you keep moving: keep walking, keep exploring, keep traveling, keep shooting photos, keep writing, keep thinking, keep lifting, and keep risking more!
The goal:
Not to become a ‘good’ street photographer, but to become a FEARLESS street photographer.
Pratical ideas:
My life-long vision:
That every photographer and individual can thrive to their personal maximum, regardless of their socio-economic class.
Something I think about a lot:
When should we shoot vertical and when should we shoot horizontal? And what visual-psychological effects do either have?
To color or black and white street photography?
What holds us back in photography? Our obsession with trying to make “good” photos.
Instead, my suggestion:
It is better for you to shoot a lot of “bad” photos than to shoot no photos!
A new and change/evolution in my visual aesthetics:
I prefer photos that are more obscure than photos which are too clear.
I am convinced. One of the most important pillars to success is to build our own website. Let me explain:
We delight much in shapes and forms. In photography, we delight in forming our photographs; to form reality into photographs which we consider beautiful.
We also desire beautiful forms by purchasing it. We purchase beautiful formed cars, clothes, accessories, tools, devices, homes, etc in order to augment ourselves. But what if a better goal was to form ourselves; to form our mind (continually develop our mind), and also to constantly form our body (building muscle mass through resistance training, and reducing bodyfat through intermittent fasting and abstinence from sugars and starches).
The goal then is:
First form ourselves (our body and mind), then as an artist we use our will to form to create art-works which bring us delight!
ERIC
What is the point of photographing a thing, a place, or a project if someone has already done it before, and you perceive that you can never make a project as good as it?
My suggestion: do it regardless!
Always the tricky thing:
Should I shoot monochrome or color when I’m shooting travel street photography?
Practical thoughts after shooting Havana, Cuba for a week (having never been there before).
My favorite photos from my Havana week-long trip. Shot on RICOH GR III x ERIC KIM NECK STRAP:
For myself, it seems the primary benefit of traveling, living nomadically, or being abroad is this:
Fewer distractions from back home. More focus on myself, my thoughts, and my creative work and ideas.
Active nihilism: the notion that despite the fact that life has no ultimate meaning, you still are active! You still do things, you still think, you still make art, and you still create. Why? Because you have the power to self-direct your own life, and postulate your own personal aims in life — having no higher authority or judge than yourself.
To extract more joy, wonder, and adventure and excitement in life, see every opportunity of your life and day as a photo opportunity!
After a week in Cuba my thoughts on capitalism vs socialism:
Capitalism is superior to socialism/communism.
My thoughts:
Ever since we were children, we were taught that “reading is good”. Also, that there were “good books” and “bad books”.
But very rarely do we ask: “What’s the purpose of reading?”
My thoughts on the purpose of reading:
The principle problem of Americans: our inability to deal with “free time”. Our fear of free time, an open schedule, and a calendar without appointments.
A realization:
I think much better when I spend long periods of time offline.
My first trip in Cuba. Free PDF download here:
Currently here in Havana, Cuba. Some thoughts after being offline for about a week:
As photographer-artists, it all comes down to aesthetics (the philosophy of beauty):
The goal of our consumerism: to become more beautiful.
Living philosophy:
Life is more fun when you set arbitrary challenges and goals for yourself and you exert much strength and effort to achieve them!
What do you do once you hit the goals? Easy: set new and more difficult and fun-challenging ones!
A thought: perhaps for optimal health, motivation and inspiration, happiness and joy in life we need both hot AND cold. And perhaps the play between both is what gives birth to creative activity and inspiration-motivation?
“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.
Inspired by Nassim Taleb, a thought about travel:
Before traveling, don’t stress so much on what to bring, but focus and think deeply on what NOT to bring!
Also:
