Month: July 2021

  • What I’ve Been Photographing
  • How *NOT* to Judge Others

    How *NOT* to Judge Others

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

  • STEEL SPINE POEM

    STEEL SPINE POEM

    Steel spineFeel the rhymes and untwist the twineNo need to cast pearls before swineOr compare mine with thineYour goal is to just shine and be greatNo need to state your mission statement in lifeThis life is rife for the takingJust keep on making, baking and caking ERIC KIM

  • 20 Photography Marketing, Branding, and Entrepreneurship Tips

    20 Photography Marketing, Branding, and Entrepreneurship Tips

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

  • Is Hope a Vice?

    Is Hope a Vice?

    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 Version Review

    MAD MAX FURY ROAD: Black and Chrome Version Review

    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:

  • MOVE

    MOVE

    What is the main principle of life? Movement. All great things come to us through movement.

  • Zero Digital Photography

    Zero Digital Photography

    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,…

  • Difficulty & Interest

    Difficulty & Interest

    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…

  • Innovation is Via Negativa

    Innovation is Via Negativa

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

  • Sleeper Aesthetics

    Sleeper Aesthetics

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

  • 50 Street Photography Tips by ERIC KIM

    50 Street Photography Tips by ERIC KIM

    Advice I wish I could have given myself if I started street photography all over again: When in doubt, shoot 25% more photos than you think you should If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough – Robert Capa The Dutch angle (tilting your camera and forcing a diagonal composition of a scene)…

  • ALL OR NOTHING.

    ALL OR NOTHING.

    Full force.

  • The Will to Expansion

    The Will to Expansion

    Some Nietzsche (will to power) vibes: Perhaps we as entrepreneurs and innovators and creators have a lust to expand.

  • What is Work?

    What is Work?

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

  • Parallel Living

    Parallel Living

    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.

  • How to Conquer Monochrome

    How to Conquer Monochrome

    Monochrome for us in photography is to be conquered:

  • SOLO THINKING

    SOLO THINKING

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

  • How to Become a Photography Teacher and Educator

    How to Become a Photography Teacher and Educator

    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.

  • The Beauty of Zero

    The Beauty of Zero

    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.

  • Carte Blanche Ideals

    Carte Blanche Ideals

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

  • Transform Yourself into a Hyper Car

    Transform Yourself into a Hyper Car

    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…

  • Review: THE BEAST 48KG (105 Pound) Kettlebell

    Review: THE BEAST 48KG (105 Pound) Kettlebell

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

  • The Secret to Photographic Motivation

    The Secret to Photographic Motivation

    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:

  • MONOCHROME MOTIVATION

    MONOCHROME MOTIVATION

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

  • #SENECAPROJECT

    #SENECAPROJECT

    Life is a never-ending photo project:

  • The Best Genre is No Genre

    The Best Genre is No Genre

    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

  • The Key to Photographic Motivation

    The Key to Photographic Motivation

    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…

  • OBEDIENCE & DISCIPLINE

    OBEDIENCE & DISCIPLINE

    What is lacking in today’s world and society? Obedience & discipline. In which regards? Obedience to your partner/and/or spouse Obedience to your elders (your parent(s) [if they are good])/grand parents, or your parents-in-law Obedience to yourself– to your own will, your own desires. And discipline: Disciplining your children, the youth. Self-discipline (not towards some ‘virtuous’…

  • YOUR FAMILY IS THE ULTIMATE SQUAD.

    YOUR FAMILY IS THE ULTIMATE SQUAD.

    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.

  • SPONTANEOUS PRODUCTIVITY.

    SPONTANEOUS PRODUCTIVITY.

    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…

  • Can Money Make You Healthier?

    Can Money Make You Healthier?

    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…

  • PHOTO TURBO THOUGHTS

    PHOTO TURBO THOUGHTS

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

  • Focus on Your Physical and Physiological Strength, Everything Else Follows
  • SOUL IN THE GAME.

    SOUL IN THE GAME.

    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…

  • Create Your Own Social Media

    Create Your Own Social Media

    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?

  • The Ephemerality of Photography is What Makes It So Beautiful

    The Ephemerality of Photography is What Makes It So Beautiful

    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,…

  • Different.

    Different.

    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…

  • SIMPLER & STRONGER

    SIMPLER & STRONGER

    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…

  • A Single Moment

    A Single Moment

    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.

  • Individual Entrepreneurship

    Individual Entrepreneurship

    You are the full-stack solution:

  • LOW-KEY PHOTOGRAPHY

    LOW-KEY PHOTOGRAPHY

    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:

  • The Individual

    The Individual

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

  • Just Shoot Whatever Reality Offers You

    Just Shoot Whatever Reality Offers You

    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.

  • AESTHETICS ARE THE ULTIMATE LUXURY.

    AESTHETICS ARE THE ULTIMATE LUXURY.

    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…

  • Pacifying Media, Motivational Media

    Pacifying Media, Motivational Media

    Media which pacifies us and media which motivates us:

  • What do we tire and bore of? What *don’t* we tire and bore of?

    What do we tire and bore of? What *don’t* we tire and bore of?

    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…

  • What I Wish I Knew If I Started Street Photography All Over Again

    What I Wish I Knew If I Started Street Photography All Over Again

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

  • ERIC KIM DOWNTOWN LA ADVANCED STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP (September 11, 2021)

    ERIC KIM DOWNTOWN LA ADVANCED STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP (September 11, 2021)

    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):

  • Our Hunger for New Experiences

    Our Hunger for New Experiences

    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.…