Month: July 2020

Whoever doesn’t think photography is art is deeply mistaken. As long as you created it, your photos are your art!

Photography is your art. Assert your passion for photography, art, and creative self expression and creative outpression and impression!

What duty or social moral obligation when it comes to public, public policy and public health vs private health? Private health as: I have the freedom to consume and NOT consume what I don’t…

To become hyper human; above human. Super human. Perfect morals and ethics, great physical strength and vigor; spartan strength.

Dylan Fan putting out the fire on his YouTube channel:

Facts:

I don’t love my laptop (13 inch MacBook Pro Touch Bar), nor do I love iPhone. The only Apple device I’ve ever truly loved is iPad (shout out to Steve Jobs). Why? Let me…

It ain’t about success or failure; it is about the attempt!

There will always be implicit bias on the internet; just follow the money!

Muscle up; uber-fun, challenging and interesting!

To shoot street photography — shot with an open heart:

Simple — be like a big ass kid. Find the biggest rock and just throw it around!

True friend: someone who legitimately wants what is best for YOU, not for them.

Create new things and share them with others.

Everyone has told us that capitalism and consumerism is evil. But truth be told, capitalism and consumerism and international trade/finance has probably led to more tolerance as well as more peace. As a pacifist…

Social media — low-key digital colonialism 2.0.

The ultimate “reverse flex”.

As long as China and America are still doing trade, there will be peace and mutual prosperity.

Nobody to be but you.

If you truly want to become uber-productive, ditch the phone and focus more on your laptop!

The only vice you can do on the internet is be boring. Boring is bad.

Contrary to popular wisdom, the more enigmatic (dark, obscure and hidden) you make yourself, the better.

My thought: The purpose of being financially independent (Diogenes) is to have freedom of speech. For example, as long as your financial livelihood is dependent on your job or external money, you will never…

I was one of the OG Reddit users back in the day in college. But around my senior year, I quit. Why? My experiences and thoughts:

What is the psychology of blaming others or society? My thoughts:

I say this out of deep respect for Leica, all the folks who have helped me (Christian, JJ, Ebhi, etc). Truth be told I can only speak good things about Leica, people who work…

Attitude is the same word as ‘aptitude’ in Latin (aptitudo). Thus rather than thinking that ‘having an attitude’ as a bad thing… perhaps we should think of our attitude as our aptitude (our ability)?

We are artists. What is the ultimate art work? Our body!

I am so productive because all of my work is ‘plork‘ (play work). I never force myself to work. I only do what I am interested in, and don’t do nothing I’m not interested…

Open source is the future. Why? Open, free, and flexible will always prevail.

“You see there’s leaders and there’s followers, but I’d rather be a dick than a swallower.” – Kanye West (YEEZUS album) In life, you have the choice: Be a leader, or a follower?

I very much despise Google Chrome (web browser). I believe Safari (made by Apple) is a quadrillion times better. Why? Let me explain:

To settle is for suckers. I say — Strive for the best. Strive to create and make the best, not just to buy the best. Also a step towards our elite asceticism: Either own…

Lower your drag, or your drag coefficient in life. Get rid of things and people who slow you down, drag you down, or weigh you down.

Perhaps this is the most ethical thing we can do. Be maximally transparent about how x, y, z benefits you. Perhaps Google can be improved (not by changing their algorithm), but just being more…

My theory: Human nature is 80%, societal nurture is 20%. Metaphor and analogy: Human nature as the engine and motor, nurture as the operating system.

With human affairs and with morals and ethics, the sword must cut both ways. Which means — dynamic symmetry in human ethics and how we talk and treat one another.

If you got a great body, share it!

Simple ideas to workout at the park:

Why workout? Because it is insanely fun! Working out improves my mood 10000x.

Many people seem to want to become independent. But the important question: *WHY* become independent? Once you get your independence, *then what*?

In practical and pragmatic matters in life, I don’t trust myself when it comes to: Putting myself into social situations in which I will talk a lot, and lose track of time. When I…

It ain’t about men or women; it is about societal thriving.

When it comes to asking others for advice, don’t just ask for ‘advice’. Just ask them what *THEY* do. Ask them what car they own, what stocks they are currently investing in, and how…

When in doubt, eat more meat. Meat as supreme nutrition:

Blogging — just post it. Why? At worst you can always edit or delete it later. And if we consider we are always in a stream of becoming then that means: No blog post…

The best lens to understand society. And if you plan on (continuing) to live in society, sociology is great.

Practical ideas:

Motivational photo ideas I hope will also inspire you — things which have worked for me: Don’t limit yourself to any type of subject matter. Shoot anything and everything. Get close; in praise of…

Behind-the-scenes:

Why do we think selfish means evil?

Why I hate competition:

Our ultimate goal as photographers: Never run out of inspiration and motivation to keep making new photos!

There is no such thing as making a ‘good’ photo. Perhaps better to make *EMOTIONAL* photos. The best photos: When you can encapsulate and immortalize your emotions and feelings in a photograph you make…

Certainly a harder mind is superior to a softer mind. A harder mind — this will help develop society. Why I am anti-soft society.

Why become more masculine? Shouldn’t a man become more “masculine”? Let me speak for men: If masculinity or manliness (virtue) is the art of a man becoming the apex version of himself, then shouldn’t…

The ultimate goal: Become wiser. Why wisdom? Wisdom is fun, interesting, challenging, and the wiser you are… the less you will become suckered by others. Wisdom as very practical and pragmatic in everyday life.…

“I’m a product guy!” – Kanye West A lot of people think of themselves as ‘product people’. A lot of people are “producers”, and even the etymology for the word product means “leader” (or…

How do make better photos and compositions? Simple — Photograph during the moment of the highest tension; visual kinesthesia. The goal: Your photos inspire others and yourself to move!

My friend Charlie Kirk said it well: If you shoot film, you’re a photographer. If you shoot digital, you’re an editor (image-selector). My vision behind ARSBETA.COM Create the most robust, useful, simple and beautiful-elegant…

Two things I believe in: Speed and simplicity. In any design, optimize for these two. For example on this blog, I am always striving towards the uber-simple and the uber-fast. I’ve been using old…

The future quadrillion-dollar economy: The economy of FOCUS.

Creativity: The propensity, desire and joy of creating … anything! Creativity not as “demi-god novelty inspiration from the gods”.

When we make photos, we are making commentary and a critique on society. Critique as a judgement.

Do you force yourself to breathe? Then why force yourself to make photos? Shouldn’t making photos just be a part of you; something you can do unforced, unconsciously?

Perhaps not but maybe I can try?

“Treat your first like it’s your last, treat your last like your first.” (JAY Z). 8,000+ blog posts over the last decade+, and I feel like I’m just barely getting started.

Blogging is my passion. Why? I love ideas, art, photos, videos and everything. I love to share, create and explore.

We got “climate deniers” and all these kind of deniers. A strange thing: Why deny human biology?