Month: May 2020

The more I think about it, street photography is truly all about courage. There seems to be no downside to exhibiting more courage in street photography.

We talk about photography and musical compositions… why not “body” composition?

Why not do both?

I don’t think so.

If so, why? If not, why not?

The answer to sexism, racism, classism, or any ism … entrepreneurship. Making, starting, and building your own business, company, or one man show.

Editing: to choose, select, cut, and add your photos from your portfolio.

And how you can too:

Dear friends,

Happy Sunday! Summer is just around the corner (I think it was the first day of summer in Providence the other day) and I wanted to use this breath of fresh air and sun to give you some great ideas on some practical and pragmatic ideas on street photography:

STREET NOTES: The ultimate practical guide to street photography.

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Some general tips and ideas:

The goal:

To make beautiful photos.

But how to do this?

Why argue who the GOAT is? Also— do you aspire or strive to become the GOAT in your own field?

Studying physics is good to think about motive or motivating force, which set things, bodies and stuff into motion. Similarly, we can consider the same in artistic composition.

Study your own compositions:

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You couldn’t repeat yourself even if you tried!

What is the Best Life?

Some thoughts on the best life:

Your life is the ultimate photography project:

The goal:

Extend your reach .. further.

I am very excited to share the newest documentary film by Cindy, titled: “Velcro Shoes”. The film is based on an essay she wrote “The Slow Undoing of Velcro Shoes“.

Why I consider her film so great:

What is the artist? The artist as someone who deems:

This and this is beautiful … and I shall create it.

The artist as a creator and former of beauty.

Do your photos promote life? Enliven life? Excite you about life?

This is my new criterion for my photos.

When in doubt, follow and shoot the light:

Is it our duty to do boring, tedious, and hateful work we don’t care for?

What *should* human work on when compared to machines or artificial intelligence? My thoughts:

You could spend the rest of your life studying yourself and never get bored:

If we just wanted the hands-down fastest and most powerful car, Tesla is obviously the answer. But if we want something more ‘sculpture’ and unique in design, perhaps we want something else?

Then begs the question:

What do we really want … more power, ore more sculpture/design/form/beauty?

How can you make the best of where you are right now?

The joy of rediscovering and remixing your old photos:

Thought:

You don’t got nothing to prove; just assert yourself!

To augment yourself to the maximum, you need both war *AND* peace.

Why I like the sun:

Thucydides, an Athenian, wrote the history of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, beginning at the moment that it broke out, and believing that it would be a great war, and more worthy of relation than any that had proceeded it.

Thucydides, the beginning of the History of the Peloponnesian War

Now is your chance.

What do we humans and biological life desire? More power.

Why curves are good:

That which threatens to destroy you only makes you stronger:

Regardless of what life gives you, touch it and transform it into gold.

Society tells us:

Thou with the biggest muscles and least amount of body fat is the most superior human being.

But we must wonder:

Is this true? Why even care for human physique?

My thoughts:

In life, the best thing:

Don’t worry too much about buying stuff … simply strive to build it!

One of my best friends Jeffrey Lam cooked up this guest blog post for us — his tagline is:

A non-creative trying to become “Creative” in 7 days

Very good insights and good read:

‘All you need is a little bit of luck and enough muscle to click the shutter.’ – David “Chim” Seymour

CHIM— along with Henri Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa— co founder of Magnum, and one of the original OG’s.

Some practical hacks:

1. USB C Charger for MacBook Pro (newer ones) is same for RICOH GR III USB Charging!
2. Apple Photos (default app on Mac) is far faster and simpler and more streamlined than Adobe Lightroom. I also really like using the favorite heart icon in the Touch Bar (top left), or the rotate function in Touch Bar. This actually is very good!

Why aren’t we allowed to be fans of ourself?

Follow and obey your own inner code of ethics. No other philosopher can determine this but you.

Society tells you there you’re not good enough, that you’re not worthy. You’re born a sinner, etc.

What if you’re fine just the way you are? What if to even change yourself is an impossibility, and not a desired thing. What if your greatest “weaknesses” were actually your greatest strengths?

In life, everything you pursue must be fun, interesting and enjoyable to you — even the painful ones!

If you’re hungry to take your street photography to the next level, I cordially invite you to my new Advanced Street Photography Composition Workshop (May 30th, 2020) from 12-2pm Eastern Time. This is your unique opportunity to elevate your composition to new heights!

Dear friend,

Today I am in unusually good health and mood, and feeling great about photography. Some turbo thoughts to get you shooting:

My life story:

“Take your play very seriously.”

Trees; a good model for us humans?

We have been taught for so long that the only legitimate memories and thoughts are the conscious ones. The logical ones. But what if subconscious thinking and thoughts and actions were as legitimate, if not MORE legitimate than ‘rational’ and “willed” thought?

What is the value of a memory or memories in general?

Beyond ‘self expression’. Instead, let us think self OUTPRESSION.

Are false memories or fake memories still legitimate memories?

I just re-watched Inception and had lots of interesting philosophical thoughts. One of them being:

If you mis-remember your memories, or if your memories are actually not real … are they still legitimate?

Not “good” or “bad” artist … “strong” or “weak” artist.

The wrong thought is that humans are naturally lazy and want to maximize our laziness. The truth is actually:

We desire more difficult challenges, newer sights, and new challenges to challenge us. Having an epic goal in life which we can aim at, and strive to overcome … this is the maximal joy in life!

On photographing the same thing over and over again 

1. Whatever you photograph, it is slowly decaying and dying
2. You are also slowly decaying and dying

One of my primary strength: making small talk with strangers.

A thought:

As photographers, are we striving towards capturing ‘objective’ reality, or are we striving to abstract reality?

Very simple idea:

Your bodily and physiological health is of supreme importance. Focus on this, and everything else will follow.

Strong external stimuli gets me going:

Stronger external stimuli:

1. Harder music
2. More sunlight
3. More walking
4. More experiences
5. More life!

We want to live a life without regrets. Why?

Dear friends, during COVID-19 things might be hard to stay motivated in your photography. Some simple ideas to get you going:

1. Photographic barbell: Spend time looking at your old photos and also shooting new photos. Looking at your old photos will re-spark your passion and motivation for photography!
2. Cross-pollinate: Cross-pollination in photography is this: Study old-school artists (Renaissance painters, etc) and figure out how you can ‘steal’ their techniques approaches, etc to re-spark your passion, and creative vision for photography.
3. Shoot with a new filter during covid-19. For example, I am enjoying cross-processing filter on my Ricoh gr III camera, which I know in the future will date my images in a creative way. I will look back at these old photos and remember: “Wow, I remember what it was like living through Covid-19! Filters are a good way to document your life journey.

SHOOT ON!

ERIC