Month: January 2021

First sent on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER > Dear friend, A thought: Photography is your passion … so why not prioritize it?

Whatever you use or do to make artwork … this is the end. Which means: Ultimately out of life … if you can direct all your energies, efforts and resources to make art … …

As photographers, perhaps the way we can gain maximal creative productivity is this: Spend much time both (concurrently) shooting new photos while also reviewing your old work!

Something which is hugely fun to me: Take your photos, choose a few you like, and import it into Procreate on iPad, and apply the “glitch” feature to see how you can remix your …

Also, the worst camera is the one which is collecting dust on your shelf or even worse, in your drawers.

Why is it that we don’t take ourselves and our artistic passions seriously? Simple: because we lack respect for ourselves and our artwork. Consider we take our (labor) work “seriously”. But isn’t our art(work) …

We all have different passions. But why is it that we don’t don’t allow ourselves to take our (non-money making passions) seriously? In fact I’d say it is better to start taking your work …

To motivate yourself to make new photos, or to find joy in photography — this is our goal. Simple ideas:

A thought while looking out of my front window and seeing an Amazon delivery truck: The reason why Amazon so successful is that it has made the movement of goods far more effective and …

Or why you don’t need to “force” yourself to do anything contrary to your nature. And also — Not all action is good. You also often exhibit your true beliefs and true preferences based …

What is the best car? The call which motivates and allows you for the maximal movement — to drive more, explore more and experience more. Preferably a small fuel efficient car (hybrid) or a …

A thought: When I watch videos (moving objects), and also see real people in real life moving around … it brings me great joy, and motivation. Why is this? Some thoughts:

Towards a “one rep max” attempt in life. Or thinking about “proof of concept” living — Using your life to experiment with things which interest you, and the joy of the scientist to have …

Simple ideas to spark some creative energy into your photos:

I find the most effective way to study the artwork of other artists is by studying their psychology, psycho analyzing them, but also tracing and drawing their art works which interest you.

Red and black vision:

PHOTOGRAPHYI love to make images, with you and me Photography helps me be me, to see the world more clearly with depthTo see more broad and visual depths into the wind swept scapes Photography …

Or in other words, never force yourself to pursue any desires you don’t have a strong inclination or passion for. All great desires require no “effort”. If you truly desire something, the motivation will …

Imagine a blockchain for photos and photographers. There is a verifiable history of when it was shot, what the original photo was (either RAW or JPEG), the history of post processing to it, and …

Greed: when you do something which is good for you, and not good for me. Or, when you do something which is contrary to my own personal morals and ethics, and I feel slighted …

As artists and creatives, what do we truly desire and want/need? Thought: Perhaps what we are hungry for is perpetual creativity. This means: From morning to the moment we sleep, we are always full …

A new photo workflow which has been awesome for me: Shooting JPEG on RICOH GR III (small size) then uploading it into Apple Photos (on desktop) and having the photos all neatly synced on …

Gym; a fun place to photograph, video. Some sort of visual kinesthesis between our muscles, movement, and photo?

Currently I’m using a cheap Motorola smartphone (bought it brand new for $150), and also using an older iPhone 7 Plus (given to me from my brother in law). An interesting thought: The iPhone …

To combat and challenge the cult of productivity, GTD “getting things done” religion, and Inbox Zero. Perhaps leaving things undone and having the courage to ignore the superfluous as more wise and aesthetic/elegant.

We talk much about physical health, mental health, and spiritual health. Why does nobody talk about artistic and creative health?

When it comes to art, why is it that we perceive that artwork (or details) created out of intention is superior to artwork created “unintentionally”? Why this bias that intentionality is superior than unintentionality?

Something bizarre I’ve figured out: Why is it that we feel we need to purchase x, y, z or upgrade x, y, z in order to become more artistic, or to be enabled to …

This is the goal. But the question: How does one flourish artistically? In other words: What are the optimal conditions to allow you (the artist) to flourish maximally?

What is our modern vice? The guilt associated with the times in which we are *NOT* productive. When we aren’t actively being productive, we feel guilt. This is indecent. Which makes me think: In …

Something interesting: In the Iliad and Ancient Greek mythology, even the gods sleep. Sleep is described with all these blessed words. Even the battle-weary soldiers have the blessing of sleep. So why is it …

A strong and simple primer to monochrome:

Blur is great in photography. Why blur? If you look at a blurry photo (especially in monochrome) the photograph feels more dynamic. You feel the movement. And if we believe in visual kinesthesia, then …

The best photos — personal, full of depth, include your own soul. Substance — your photos carry emotional and personal weight. Your photos reveal something deeper and more substantive of you. Content: What do …

Currently reading “Blockchain 2035” (co-written by Jared Tate, founder of Digibyte [DGB]– which I own). One of the concepts thrown around a lot is “decentralization”. Beyond just this anarchist-hippie libertarian utopist perspective, the general …

Creative entrepreneurship. Artistic risk taking. The realization and thought: To not allow yourself to be stuck, and to follow a pre-ordained path for your artistry. Also— Once you’ve become successful in your given domain …

Art photography — photography that doesn’t need to be “realistic”. In some ways, disdains “realism”. Also the childlike joy of making images for fun — for the sake of it!

Something which is very elusive for us artists and visual artists: The desire to capture or create the visual sublime in our images and art work!

To think about photography composition — studying musical theory is useful. The repetition in a song, and the visual repetition in an image — this makes for an interesting photograph.

Something which I contemplate on much: What is the psychology of the photographer-artist? In other words: Why do we photograph? Why do we get so much joy from photography? What makes our psyche as …

A random thought: Assuming that meeting our basic human needs is easy, then perhaps the best way to harness our human metabolism is towards artistic and creative ends?

I recently saw this photograph by my friend Jun Goodhouse Kim, and felt it greatly stirring. It reminded me much of how I photographed my own grandfather’s funeral. Jun then told me that his …

If the purpose of life is to create, then the question: How does one create *MORE*?

To photograph simply for the sake of it; this is sufficient!

Creativity — the desire, propensity, and guts to create, innovate, experiment, and try new things. To attempt new uncharted paths, territories, and to use all the creative tools in your creative toolkit to make …

To concern ourselves with only artistic and photographic matters … isn’t this the most beautiful, joyful and creatively flourishing life?

Something I think about a lot: What are the ideal conditions for us artists to thrive?

Prologue As I contemplate my future and past, I think and reflect much on street photography. How much street photography has given and afforded me, how many new opportunities street photography opened up for …

As our best friend Steve Jobs once said: To make something simple is insanely complex. For example, why is Apple so great? Their products are simple. Everything is beaten to the rawest form and …

BE BRAVEno need for you to behaveYou gotta stay strong with yourself right nowNow not never, wherever the weather. Be braveYou’ve stayed and paved your own path in life, beyond the plight and blights …

Many of us bemoan the fact of COVID-19. But my thought: Right now is your uber-unique opportunity to document history in the making! We might not have had the opportunity to shoot World War …

I’ve shot with all the cameras for street photography and I can confidently say that RICOH GR is the best camera for street photography. Why? Simple reasons:

In street photography — best to shoot in such a manner in which you’re *not* hiding behind a bush, or not pretending to *not* be shooting photos. In some sense, to make it obvious …

What makes an “artistic” street photograph, and how can we make more artistic street photographs? Some thoughts:

Get free inspiration on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER > Dear friend, With the new year is a new artistic and creative new you. Here are some very practical and pragmatic ideas I got for you:

A series I started while in Vietnam, inspired by my ‘Learn from the masters of photography‘ is this — the ‘traditional’ masters of art (mostly painters). But still … hugely useful to study!

What is artistic virtue-signaling? Simple: When (pretentious) and petty (insecure artists) name-drop other famous artists of the past (hoping you don’t know who they are talking about), use obscure art terms, or other strange …

On top of photography and visual arts, calligraphy is one of my huge interests and passions.

To invest means to clothe yourself in financial security for the future. Or investing is the embodied hope for a more prosperous and beautiful future. Many people invest for the future, but why doesn’t …

A thought while doing some calligraphy and studying some great calligraphy (Eulogy for Burying a Crane and the Art of Chinese Calligraphy) With calligraphy, what makes a great calligraphy is emotion, dynamism, energy, force, and …

How does one become a more interesting and intrepid photographer? Simple — just take it photo by photo. Every new photo you shoot, keep, ditch, edit, upload, process, marinate, witness, remix, etc helps you …

Just when I thought I got all of photography figured out, it still continues to surprise me.

What keeps me going in photography? Simple — how joyful and beautifully simple photography can be, and the beautiful sublime images photography can produce!

As a visual artist, what am I hungry for? The visual sublime. To discover new art works which turn me on, excite me and fascinate me, and also for me to take my hand …

Beyond philosophy, all I care for is art. Arts creation, artistic thinking, and anything to do with art.

Why is it in modern times, to have “fun” is seen as bad and indecent? Perhaps it is a result of industrialization, the Protestant work ethic, and the thought: Whenever you are *not* working …

What is one of my personal ambitions and life-goals? To become the uber-photographer — the greatest embodiment of the photographer. Greatly prolific in my shooting, photography philosophy, approach, thinking, insight, innovation, entrepreneurship, and more…

My friend Jeffrey Lam said it best: ERIC, it seems that in life you optimize for “mindspace”, and you’re willing to trade money, convenience and other things to maximize your mindspace. I agree. For …

Culture as anti-individual. Culture says you *should* do x, y, z and actively *discourages* you from self-experimentation, self-discovery, and trying to learn things empirically (based on your own life experiences).