Archive

Month: March 2021

Photo essay / Mar 31, 2021

Will it Help You Create More?

With cameras, equipment, lenses, gear or any other decisions of the type try to honestly ask yourself: “Will this decision or purchase help me create more”? If so, just go for it. If not, …

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Upside down selfie ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 31, 2021

Photo Fitness

Photographic fitness: to shoot a lot, frequently, and to always stay fit with your photography; your technique and sharpness in shooting, your photographic vision, and your photographic muscles!

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hand thumb photograph
Photo essay / Mar 31, 2021

Writing With Light is Photography

You are a special type of artist– one who paints with light. You write and paint with light; this is what photography is! Thus in photography, think about creative ways you can write with …

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red ERIC KIM ricoh gr iii flex
Photo essay / Mar 31, 2021

WHY I LOVE RICOH GR III

Why I love RICOH GR III, and why I think it is the best camera (better than any Leica camera, rangefinder, iPhone, etc): Ability to shoot with one hand (increases your photographic optionality) Best …

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seneca vertical photo chiaroscuro contrast
Photo essay / Mar 31, 2021

One-Handed Photography

A epiphany I had while shooting with the iPhone Mini (one handed, in my left hand while walking): The most flexible form and the best technique in photography is having the ability and privilege …

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iPhone mini ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 31, 2021

Delightful Technology and Design

How do you know what great design or technology is? The more you use it, the more you like it! Or, The more you use something, the more the design surprises and delights you …

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seneca eye macro eye lashes
Photo essay / Mar 30, 2021

Closer is Better

When I look at my most powerful photos, this is what I have noticed: My strongest photos are typically very close (I am close to the subject, both physically [macro mode] or emotionally). This …

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ERIC KIM eye red
Photo essay / Mar 30, 2021

You Cannot Fake Passion

Or in other words: Life is too short to pursue or do anything you are *NOT* passionate or enthusiastic towards. I still believe: If you pursue your passion(s) with the greatest zeal and might …

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seneca minimalism side ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 30, 2021

POWER PHOTOGRAPHY

The goal: To make more powerfully impactful images. Photos which elicit a strong and powerful emotional response within us. Stronger and more powerful aesthetics, stronger light, and stronger and more emotional subject-matter (for example, …

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selfie ERIC KIM muscle topless
Photo essay / Mar 30, 2021

SELF-OVERGOING

When do we have the greatest zeal and zest for life? When we strive to over-come and over-go ourselves. In other words: Striving to achieve more ‘PR’s (personal records) in life– whether it be …

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selfie black and white ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 30, 2021

DARKER IS BETTER.

A thought — In terms of aesthetics, story, drama, and happenings … darker is better. This is what I mean:

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hand red black macro ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 30, 2021

Dynamic Aesthetics

I’ve been pretty much wearing ‘all black everything’ (in terms of clothes) for around 4+ years straight. Today I looked at myself in the mirror and I thought to myself: I really don’t like …

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Selfie ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 29, 2021

Self-Photography

Every photo you make is a reflection of yourself (the saying that a photo is a mirror with a memory):

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selfie seneca and ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 29, 2021

What’s the Point of Having the Best?

For me, having the ‘best’ or the most ‘optimal’ tools and things in order to *NOT* second-guess or consider other options, which frees up mind space in order to focus on what is truly …

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Photo essay / Mar 29, 2021

The Best Things

I don’t need the best — I’m more about reviewing and testing? I don’t need to own the things. In fact, I prefer to own nothing — to he tied down by nothing. The …

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body flex ERIC KIM glitch
Photo essay / Mar 28, 2021

Love of the Body

Nowadays, to say anything about the body is seen with bad taste. For example: If you flex to much, it is seen as vain and sinful. Also: Due to our Christian-Judeo morals and ethics …

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Nissan z
Photo essay / Mar 28, 2021

Design vs Brand Prestige

Something I thought about when looking at the Puma x MAISON KITSUNE collaboration line (specifically these yellow and black sneakers): Wow, Puma makes some really cool shoes, even though Puma isn’t considered as prestigious …

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extreme gratitude
Photo essay / Mar 28, 2021

EXTREME GRATITUDE.

How does one feel extreme gratitude? Through extreme difficulty and through long periods of enduring difficulty. Thus in life, one cannot feel gratitude without difficulty. One cannot force oneself to feel gratitude. Furthermore, perhaps …

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Selfie ERIC KIM and Seneca
Photo essay / Mar 27, 2021

Philophoto

Philosophy means “love of wisdom, or sophia”. Taken further, we can also think about photography — our love of photography, the love of photos, and the love of making photos!

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Nissan z
Photo essay / Mar 27, 2021

Classic Proportions, Modern Design

The new tag line of the new Nissan Z Proto. I love the concept and execution. Why? I believe it is what I actually do believe in— the best design gives homage to the …

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laptop ERIC KIM KIM selfie
Photo essay / Mar 26, 2021

Laptops are the Future

My buddy Anthony Larson told me about the new MacBook Air, and how the new apple M-chip is quite epic. A related thought: After trying so much to try to improve my productivity with …

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Photo essay / Mar 26, 2021

PHOTO VISION.

What do we aspire to? Simple — augmenting, improving and raising our visual and artistic acuity to photography. But how does one do that? Some ideas:

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selfie baby
Photo essay / Mar 26, 2021

Lifestyle Design

I think I first heard the notion of ‘lifestyle design’ waaaaay back when talking about Tim Ferriss. The general gist: You craft and create your own ideal life and lifestyle for yourself. Lifestyle has …

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seneca intrepid side
Photo essay / Mar 26, 2021

CRAFT YOUR OWN IDEAL FUTURE.

You are the craftsperson of your own life. I say: Adjust the different settings of your life — continually tweak the knobs and levers, to build your own ideal life. Nobody will hand you …

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iPhone zen
Photo essay / Mar 24, 2021

iPhone Thoughts

Just got a new iPhone mini and was checking out all the new iPhones. Some thoughts:

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Photo essay / Mar 23, 2021

One Day of Sublime Joy!!!

If all of existence built up to one day of insanely sublime joy, it was all worth it!!! UBER-LIME: The opposite and other half of ‘sub-lime’ (ABOVE and OVER the line). The deepest and …

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mom umma light epic
Photo essay / Mar 23, 2021

Our Desire to Make Beautiful Photographs

What do we desire as photographers? To make beautiful photos. What is our desire for cameras, lenses and equipment? To have a certain image quality or aesthetic to the camera, sensor, or image-processing which …

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selfie shadow ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 23, 2021

A Life of Forever Change and Novelty

A thought while looking outside my window, and seeing a new electricity pole: Wow, even seeing this slightly different version of my view is very delightful! The electricity pole is brand-new– taller, with a …

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hand ERIC KIM selfie
Photo essay / Mar 23, 2021

AMAP (As Much as Possible) or None.

A simple heuristic and approach to life: When it comes to decision making, either do it ‘as much as possible’ or not at all. For example, when it comes to food (intermittent fasting), either …

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Selfie ERIC KIM red
Photo essay / Mar 22, 2021

FORM YOURSELF.

Your task and duty: To create, shape, and form yourself — whether philosophically, artistically, entrepreneurially, physical (muscular, body composition). You are the end product!

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Hand son selfie ERIC KIM arm
Photo essay / Mar 22, 2021

The Significant Moment

Beyond the “decisive moment” in photography. What we are actually searching for are *significant* moments in photography — moments which are personally meaningful and significant to us! For example, the smile and laugh of …

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Photo essay / Mar 22, 2021

The Best Design

The best design is the design you don’t need to think about, or the design you no longer notice.

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Photo essay / Mar 22, 2021

Why or How Does it Matter?

We certainly know we care about certain things x, y, z, but we never ask ourselves how it matters — how this decision or taste of ours will actually practically manifest and affect our everyday lives …

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Photo essay / Mar 21, 2021

Visual Delight

What is the meaning of our predilection towards the visual arts, whether photography, film, cinema, sculpture, fashion, art design etc? Visual delight! Delight in the contrasting shapes and forms, movements, colors, hues, textures, patterns …

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Selfie ERIC KIM and Seneca
Photo essay / Mar 21, 2021

When to Shoot Photos

We talk much on how to shoot photos, and I’ve also covered a lot of thoughts on *why* shoot photos. But something we haven’t explored as much: When should we make photos?

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Photo essay / Mar 21, 2021

HYPER PHOTOS

Hyper photos and hyper photography — Going beyond just basic notions of photography — making the photos go *above* and *beyond* basic photography:

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Time
Photo essay / Mar 19, 2021

The Philosophy of Time and Events

Not everything happens for a reason. But what do we have control over? Having the guts and courage to think … perhaps 10 years from now looking back, I will learn to realize how …

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resentment
Photo essay / Mar 19, 2021

How *Not* to Resent

I see resentment as one of our worst evils. Similarly speaking, I’ve heard resentment is the #1 cause of divorces in marriages and pain in relationships. Certainly we cannot control whether others resent us …

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crimson red ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 19, 2021

Personal Entrepreneurship

We are all so obsessed with building billion+ businesses, building unicorns, etc but instead — Why not just focus on our entrepreneurial aims and ends to ourselves? What if *we* are the unicorns? What …

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selfie ERIC KIM and seneca
Photo essay / Mar 19, 2021

Reflexive Photography

The thought behind reflexive photography: The photos you shoot are a reflex (reflexive) of you. The photos you shoot are a reflection of you and in some ways, *are* you!

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selfie black and white ERIC KIM
Photo essay / Mar 19, 2021

Impelled or Spurred?

Question: When it comes to your work or life … do you have an inner impellation which drives you, or an external social expectation spur which drives you?

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Photo essay / Mar 19, 2021

Thinking Stimulus

What types of media, music, films, books, literature are good? Those which aid you in thinking — which act as a stimulus for your thoughts! Thus as a simple suggestion: When it comes to …

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Photo essay / Mar 18, 2021

Selfish ‘Sacrifices’

It seems that the bias is that all sacrifices are good sacrifices; that sacrifices you do for the sake of others is good. But when are “sacrifices” selfish in disguise? Thinking about self-interested “sacrifice” …

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Selfie ERIC KIM black and white
Photo essay / Mar 17, 2021

Healthy vs Happy

When optimizing for decisions in life, don’t try to get suckered into thinking what will make you “happier”(tends to be consumerist luxury items and things). Instead, optimize for your health— the more direct way …

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Photo essay / Mar 17, 2021

Photo Motivation

The root of photographic motivation: a fervent love of life! To get more motivation for photography, position yourself to love life more!

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Information
Photo essay / Mar 17, 2021

All Information is Information

Information as not “good”or “bad”— it is all information. This means: It is how you harness and use the information which makes it good or bad. For example let’s talk about your “mistakes”in life …

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Photo essay / Mar 16, 2021

Self Blindness

Too much knowledge of one self as bad — it will paralyze your from acting or doing. Some self blindness and ignorance as a good thing.

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Photo essay / Mar 16, 2021

Actual vs Aspirational

An important step towards our self wisdom: Will these things actually improve my life or (in theory) aspirationally improve my life?

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