Month: July 2021

The best way to not judge others — just don’t express any interest in others or ask about them.

Steel spine
Feel the rhymes and untwist the twine
No need to cast pearls before swine
Or compare mine with thine
Your goal is to just shine and be great
No need to state your mission statement in life
This life is rife for the taking
Just keep on making, baking and caking

ERIC KIM

Advice I would give myself if I started all over again:

I’ve always believed that ‘hope is dope‘ and we have always been indoctrinated in our society that hope is good.

But why is it that all the ancients saw hope as a vice?

MAD MAX FURY ROAD (Black and Chrome edition, buy the iTunes version and the Black and Chrome edition is viewable as an ‘Extra’) as a true masterpiece of film-making, story telling, and cinematography:

What is the main principle of life?

Movement.

All great things come to us through movement.

Something I’ve been thinking a lot about:

Zero waste.

Truth be told, waste is just bad to me in terms of an aesthetic rather than environmental thing. I think the earth is powerful enough to withstand waste, but still — every time I have an unnecessary can or unnecessary packaging for things, it feels dumb, and aesthetically wasteful/ugly.

Also whenever I fill up the gas in the car I am driving, it feels dumb and silly. It is 2021 … and we are still putting fossil fuels into our cars, in an age where we recharge our smartphones on the daily? Imagine having an iPhone which ran on a gasoline generator.

Whatever you pursue in life, it must be sufficiently difficult and interesting to you. If anything, difficult things are more fun and interesting!

Something I also realized about working out:

The workouts we do must be sufficiently difficult to us, then it will become ‘interesting’, because we are forced to focus.

For example, 105 pound (48kg) kettlebell swings (one armed). Two armed seems a bit boring, as it is easier and doesn’t require as much focus.

To better innovate, rather than figure out what to add, figure out what to subtract.

In praise of sleeper aesthetics, that is low-key aesthetics.

Advice I wish I could have given myself if I started street photography all over again:

1. When in doubt, shoot 25% more photos than you think you should
2. If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough – Robert Capa
3. The Dutch angle (tilting your camera and forcing a diagonal composition of a scene) is an easy way to elevate the dynamism of your compositions
4. The best way to share your photos are on your own blog.
5. Instagram is bad for your creativity
6. The best camera for street photography is the newest digital RICOH GR camera
7. Rangefinders are overrated for street photography. When we want a Leica M camera, we just want to become Henri Cartier-Bresson
8. Monochrome will open up more street photography opportunities for you.
9. Your first million street photos are your worst
10. The best street photographers are Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka, then Richard Avedon
11. 28 MM is the ideal focal length for street photography if you use a camera with an LCD screen. If you use a viewfinder that you bring up the camera to your eye, then 35mm is ideal.
12. The best perspective in street photography are either super low or super high up. Avoid shooting street photos at eye level.
13. The most educational street photography book is Magnum Contact Sheets, then 100 Lessons from the Masters of Street Photography
14. Capturing strong emotions in street photography is more important than capturing strong compositions and in street photography.
15. Rather than asking yourself whether it is a good street photo or not, ask yourself whether you care for the photo or not.
16. If you shoot it outside of your house, then it is a street photograph.
17. The best way to improve your street photography is to practice, buy books not gear, and travel. Experiences are the best bang for the buck for improving your photography.
18.  The best shoes for street photography are the most minimal with the least amount of cushioning. This is either water shoes, minimalist shoes, Vibram five fingers, or Nike free shoes.
19. To increase your photographic productivity, shoot in small JPEG with in camera filters and presets. For example high contrast Monchrome black and white photos in Ricoh G3, or color filters for Fujifilm digital cameras like the classic chrome filter.
20. Apple photos is better than Adobe Lightroom to quickly select, favorite, and sync your photos to iCloud.
21. The best cities in the world for street photography include Mexico City, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Saigon, Hanoi, downtown Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco (no particular order) 
22. To become a more productive street photographer, best not to own a car. This will force you to take more public transportation and walk, which will open up more street photography opportunities to you.
23. You don’t have to have humans in your street photos, but you should have a sense of humanity in your photos.
24.  The best diet for street photographers is a ketogenic diet mixed with intermittent fasting.
25. The best workout for street photographers are heavy kettle bell swings.
26. The best Youtubers to follow on street photography are Kaiman Wong, and Samuel street life.
27. The best bang for the buck film camera for film street photography is a Leica M6, and the best bang for the buck lens for street photography film is the Voightlander 35 mm F 2.5 color skopar. Follow Japan Camera Hunter Bellamy Hunt for anything film related.
28. The most innovative modern street photographer is Dirty Harrry from Greece.
29. If you’re curious about flash street photography just try it out. It will open up a great deal of extremely interesting street photo opportunities.
30. To make stronger compositions in street photography, better to subtract from the frame than to add to the frame.
31. The best color street photographer is Alex Webb. The Suffering of Light is the best color street photography book.
32. The best black and white street photography book is Exiles by Joseph Koudelka. 
33. Color street photography is more difficult and challenging than black and white street photography.
34. Street photography is good for the soul. Treat it like walking meditation and walking therapy, and your artistic and creative outlet.
35. Better to ask for permission in street photography and get rejected then to never ask at all. Also, asking for permission in street photography is more difficult and challenging than shooting without permission and candidly.
36. The triangle composition in street photography as the most simple yet effective street photography compositions.
37. Street photography is more of an approach and ethos than a strict definition and genre.
38. Best to define street photography for yourself, and allow your definition of street photography to evolve over time.
39. The more difficult it is to shoot a certain street photograph, the more likely it will be unique and more difficult to replicate.
40. Imagine whether 300 years from now whether your street photos will still ring an emotional bell with your future viewers.
41. To capture more depth in your street photos, focus on what is furthest away from the scene.
42. The best technical settings in street photography are autofocus, Program (P) mode and auto ISO. “Just set it and forget it”.
43. When reviewing and editing your photos (image selection) remember the adage: “When in doubt, ditch.”
44. The most important thing to know in your photography: “Why do I make photos?”
45. Street photography is like driving: it is not a matter of if you will ever get into an accident, but when. In other words, always be ready for a confrontation in street photography and take it as a mark of pride.
46. Longevity is the best marker of ‘success’ as a photographer.
47. The best street photographers are not on social media. And don’t forget– street photography is not a contest, but a personal pursuit and creative endeavor.
48. COVID-19 has changed the game for street photography– now is your chance. Strike the iron while it is hot.
49. Start your own street photography blog, and share your experiences and personal wisdom.
50. Every photo you shoot is a stream of becoming.

Full force.

Some Nietzsche (will to power) vibes:

Perhaps we as entrepreneurs and innovators and creators have a lust to expand.

Work — our ability to do, create, move and reconfigure things to our liking.

The reason why I’m such a huge fan of baby carriers, like the baby Bjorn or the ergo baby is that I can live more in parallel with my son Seneca.

Monochrome for us in photography is to be conquered:

What do we lack in today’s world? Solo thinking, which means– to think by yourself, alone, without outside stimuli.

I was very humbled when Oliver Krumes wrote on why I am the best street photography teacher, and then I thought:

Ultimately for myself, I think that to become a ‘great educator’ and a ‘great teacher’ is one of the apex forms of success.

It seems the trend now is towards ‘zero’ — zero waste. Thinking about Peter Thiel’s “Zero to One” book as well on entrepreneurship.

Then I thought about the notion of Zero– how beautiful it is.

You have the power (and must) posit your own ideals for yourself– for your children (or future children) and/or yourself.

For those of us who are into cars, people into Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Tesla, McLaren, Porsche other hyper sports cars, this is what I have discovered: when we desire these sports cars or hyper cars, what we desire is an external a station of our own personal cell conceive avatar of ourselves. That is, we think we are the car. Or we think that by getting a certain car, like a Lamborghini Aventador, we will become more mean, more lean, more aggressive, cooler and more masculine. But is this the case?

You cannot buy health, or well-being, but you could buy kettle bells.

FIRST SENT TO ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER >

Dear friend,

The thing I have been working on my whole life:

What is the secret to photographic motivation?

I think I have found (some) keys, which I outline in this blog post, but also more info below:

If you need or want more photographic motivation, stick to monochrome.

Life is a never-ending photo project:

Street photography is my passion, but also my trap. Why? For a long time, if it *wasn’t* street photography I wouldn’t shoot it. And this was bad, because I got stuck in a ‘Procrustean bed‘ of just “street photography”.

Thus the ultimate creative canvas–

Just shoot it all.

ERIC KIM

Something which has been on my mind ever since I was 18 years old:

What is the secret and key to photographic ‘success’, motivation, and thriving?

For example, I always found myself lacking motivation to go out and shoot new photos, thus the pursuit of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome)– as a means to finding new motivation for photography.

So what is it that we *really* want? Photographic motivation. And what is photographic motivation? It is having the energy, impetus, and the strong desire to go out and make *NEW* photos, or the motivation to take the pre-existing photos we already got to make new types of artwork (PDF E-BOOKS, slideshows, print books, etc).

Some thoughts:

What is lacking in today’s world and society?

Obedience & discipline.

In which regards?

1. Obedience to your partner/and/or spouse
2. Obedience to your elders (your parent(s) [if they are good])/grand parents, or your parents-in-law
3. Obedience to yourself– to your own will, your own desires.

And discipline:

1. Disciplining your children, the youth.
2. Self-discipline (not towards some ‘virtuous’ end… but your own personal self-dictated ends)

A simple thought:

The ultimate ‘squad’ to prioritize is your family.

What is your family? In my thinking — you (yourself), your spouse/partner, and your kid(s). If you prioritize your family above all else, everything else will be golden.

The only type of productivity which is good and spontaneous productivity. This happens from having overwhelming physiological energy and strength. For example, the energy you had after a really great night sleep. And perhaps a good caffeine buzz.

In other words when you are weak or exhausted, don’t force yourself to be “productive”. When you’re feeling weak and exhausted the most “productive” thing you could do is take a nap or try to go to sleep early, and abstain from further coffee or caffeine intake. Then wait for your energy to regain until you will spontaneously burst into some sort of virtuous creative activity.

Assuming that health is the ultimate wealth, and that health is more important than money, then begs the question: can money buy health? And if so, how can you use money to become more healthy?

Some thoughts — money for physical and physiological strengthening. For example, buy a chin-up bar, kettlebells, or use money for a gym membership. Also money on highly nutritious foods — more red fatty meat, steak, beef.

Also the best part of being self employed and having “financial independence”— being able to take a nap whenever you want to during the day, sleeping however early you want (6:30pm, 7:30pm) and waking up however late you want without the agency of an alarm clock.

1. Better to make a “bad” photo than no photo
2. Black and white affords more photo opportunities and photographic “optionality”
3. RICOH GR III as the best camera
4. Don’t become a prisoner to any photographic genre. All genres and “styles” are creative traps.

Something I have discovered when it comes to art, design and creations:

Did the creator put their soul into it, or did they just do it to please the masses or to make a quick buck?

Certainly there is nothing bad about making money. Perhaps seeking to please others is a vice. The most virtuous thing we can do as artists and creators is to create and put our stamp of authenticity, our soul into it (Nassim Taleb calls putting ‘soul in the game’).

Hard to tell or determine on whether others or other agencies or corporations are truly putting their soul on the line. So best to ignore others, and to simply strive to put your own soul in the game, no matter what you do.

And a thought — perhaps corporations, collectives, agencies and anything more than 1 (individual) *cannot* have soul in the game. For example, Apple as the soul of Steve Jobs x Jony Ive (neither who are with Apple anymore). But certain exceptions– Tesla as the soul of Elon Musk. Yeezy as the soul of Kanye West.

Then perhaps the goal and our goal:

Strive to breed and create and mould more interesting and epic individuals … away from the ‘collective good’.

ERIC

Rather than seek to accumulate followers and likes on an external social media platform, why not just transform your own website and blog into your own social media?

A thought:

We seem (philosophically at least) to desire an eternity for everything.

This is why we don’t like the idea of death. Nobody likes to think that their life will (one day) come to an end.

But perhaps what makes life and photography so beautiful is the fact that it *IS* ephemeral. Without ephemerality, life, photography and art would not be so beautiful.

Our hunger and desire for different — to do or attempt new and different things, or to have new and different experiences. Why does this motivate us?

Is it perhaps that our hunger for new and novel things is embedded within our DNA? Rather than seeing this as a bad thing, perhaps we should see it as a great virtue!

Our personal ambition: to become simpler and stronger. This could pertain to our lifestyle, or bodily physiological strength, or aesthetics, and the way we approach life.

If you’re a designer, strive to design things which are simpler and stronger. For example even the iPhone, the best iPhone is the one that is simpler, which means smaller like the iPhone mini, and stronger, which means it has faster processing power.

Even with Tesla cars, think about the Tesla model S, a car which is very very simple in terms of design and approach, yet increasingly powerful, think about the epic Plaid Tri motor.

It was all worth it, even for a single blissful moment. A single deadlift personal record lift, a single great photograph, a single sublime memory and experience.

You are the full-stack solution:

Low-key photography means:

Extreme under-exposing of your photos (-2, -3 or more) to paint your images with as much black as possible, to make your photos as dark as possible … to make a ‘minimum viable image‘ in monochrome.

We must go darker:

What gives us great hope and motivation for ourselves and the future? The belief in becoming a great individual.

Perhaps it is best for us to think that there are not more favorable or less favorable photographic conditions. But better to think that all opportunities are ripe for out photographic undertaking.

It isn’t fashion, cars, watches or things we desire… but aesthetics.

And if you think about it, aesthetics are quite ‘useless’ (most aesthetics don’t have a practical or pragmatic utility).

So let us think:

It isn’t the *thing* we want, but the *aesthetic* associated with it.

And whether you grant yourself this luxury or not is up to you!

ERIC

Media which pacifies us and media which motivates us:

I think this is the great secret to life:

As artists, what do we tire of, and what *don’t* we tire of?

First thought:

We quickly bore and tire of aesthetics.

We bore and tire of fashions, car design, phone design, and certain aesthetic trends. Any consumerist or materialist thing or trend … we tire of so quickly and easily. Even when I imagined getting a black-paint Leica M9 (later sold it and traded it for a film Leica MP) and a Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron Lens … how quickly I got tired of the design and the concept. I can also imagine one would quickly tire of owning a Lamborghini (even if you had the black on black Aventador, matted/murdered out with the Lambo/Billionaire/scissor doors).

What *don’t* we tire of? Art. Specifically, the act and process of creating our own artwork. This means creating digital art (Procreate/Zen Brush on iPad/iPhone) or photographs (in praise of street photography and photography in general).

An amalgamation of everything I wish I knew about street photography if I started all over again:

Dear friend,

If you are hungry for an epic street photography adventure and experience, I cordially invite you to my upcoming ADVANCED DOWNTOWN LA STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP (Saturday, September 11, 2021):

What is it that we *really* want in life and out of life?

The hunger and desire for new experiences to test us, challenge us, provoke us and awaken us.

An indoor and “safe” life as the worst life. The best life being outdoors, in public, on the streets, at the gymnasium, with other people.

So it’s not the thing we want, but what the thing *promises* us. For example we desire a certain car to become more “adventurous” (go hiking more often, explore and test the outdoors) or the sports car to live a more “extreme”lifestyle — stunting in front of other humans or driving fast to get your adrenaline up.

So let’s not get suckered by things — let us pursue these new epic embodied expediences to build ourselves, develop ourselves and become more of ourselves.

No street photography, no life.

I’ve heard both thoughts:

Having goals in life is good (the common thought in America) and the other thought (having goals in life is bad, because it is anti-zen).

Some personal thoughts:

Certainly there is a hierarchy of favorable or unfavorable life situations and scenarios. But it seems the trick to extract the maximum out of life and existence is to take your current (“inferior”) scenario and exploit it to the maximum.

A simple thought:

Have your outward appearance and things you own be super low key, but barbell that by making your personality and art super high-key.

Or as Andy Warhol said: “Look poor, think rich.”

Life is too short for the boring. This is why Lamborghini design is still probably my favorite, because of the unabashed extreme and excessive nature of it. Anything that is restrained and pedestrian is bad. In life, be extremely picky and optimize for insane. Even Steve Jobs said his favorite quote was he wanted to make “insanely great” products.

When it comes to aesthetics, start with black and figure out how to add the colors later. Better to have black as a base and have a pop of color somewhere else.

For example, think about a black Camaro with white racing stripes. Even Leonardo da Vinci said start with a black canvas. With clothing, start with black. Black never goes out of style. Same goes with cars and Apple devices, it seems that black always has the best resale value.

The more you can extend what you decide to photograph, the better. The uber-photographer as the individual who shoots more of everything — tramples over all boundaries and captures all of life, embodied existence and disdains any categories which attempt to hold him/her in.

With our photographic aesthetics in monochrome, the best way:

Under-expose your photos to make them as dark as possible.

Or just think:

“We must go darker”.

“He who starts is already halfway done.” – Publilius Syrus

The best way to conquer ‘paralysis by analysis‘:

Just start it.

This means, better to start something (half-ass) and half-way, than to never attempt and start at all! Because my theory:

When you start something, you’re more likely to continue it until you get bored, versus never starting at all out of paralysis of too many options or uncertainty or fear.

Or in other words:

When you just start it, you will achieve more, do more, and become more in life!

ERIC

A realization:

For myself, only visual things and artwork interest me.

My fascination with forms, shapes, colors, lines, tones, textures, aesthetics, design, fashion, art, sculpture, photography, industrial design, the human body, architecture, 3D (virtual reality/augmented reality), video, cinema, film, paintings– it is all good.

Takeaway point:

Focus on all things aesthetic and visual.

A thought:

All of existence, your life will be worth it just for the sake of one interesting thought– a thought which excites you, motivates you, and uplifts you.

The best life and way to approach almost anything?

Just do it in a ‘non-boring’ way, or consume things and produce things which aren’t boring to you!

In this way, being easily bored is a virtue.

Not boring cars, not boring fashion, not boring thoughts. Not boring music. Not boring philosophy. Not boring is the way.

Perpetual photography is the goal. This means to never stop shooting. Imagine like having perpetual energy for your photographic and creative pursuits. This means always be shooting throughout the day, always be reviewing selecting and editing your photos, and always be sharing your photos. In praise of photography blogs where you update and publish multiple times a day. Also, harness the power of video, which is just another photography tool in our photographic toolkit. Thus in order to optimize for perpetual photography, strive to walk around as much as you can. It is impossible to make photos if you’re not walking, and the best photos always come to you while walking.

Some thing I realized: all design is social. There is a certain sociology of design, which means there is some types of designs which are created for impressing others (public design) then there is design which is designed for your own private enjoyment.

For example, would you desire a Lamborghini with the infamous Lamborghini scissor doors if there was no one else to witness it? Would you enjoy it for your own private enjoyment? Or do you only get joy from stunting or flexing in front of others?

Same goes with designing your body. For example, do you want impressive muscles so you can flex in front of yourself in the mirror before taking a shower naked, for your own enjoyment? Or do you want big muscles to impress others?

The other day I went to an Amazon fresh store for the first time. It is truly an epic view of the future. Essentially they have carts that could way in automatically check you out, and I love the design of the place. The thought that came to my mind was bare bones. Imagine like a futuristic Costco without superfluous elements. Ultra and uber high ceilings, dark gray granite, and clean futuristic LED lighting. This is the place I would want to stay if there were a zombie apocalypse. I like the idea that a grocery store could be re-created carte blanche, or from a blank slate. Perhaps we should delight more in bare-bones design. For example the joy of the extremely spartan and minimalist interiors of the Tesla model 3 and now Tesla model Y. Think about other places in life where we can integrate bare-bones design in a minimalist minimally aesthetically beautiful way.

Will this last? Will this not last?

A simple thing I learned in life: health is far more important than money.

Why? Simple —

What’s the point of being a billionaire if you have the worst physiological pain and suffering in the world?

In life we often make the sucker mistake of trading health for money. This is the worst trade. If anything, we should be trading money for health. In this way, health is king and money is perhaps only a means towards health.

Don’t seek to obtain luxury brands and things. Rather transform yourself into the icon, brand, hero and cult of yourself.

A thought on my mind: what will future humans look like?

Funny enough, it seems that future of humans will look like more of our ancestral hunter gatherers. For example when people become silicon valley tech billionaires and retire, what do they do? They go hiking camping backpacking get into working out and lifting weights and doing other “basic” things.

What is the future of anything? It is a return to the classics. Or a return to more ancestral or minimal concepts.