July 2021 - ERIC KIM ₿

Photography Must Be Fun For You

Photography must be fun for you — otherwise it is not a worthwhile pursuit.

HENRI NECK STRAP MARK IV

Super super fresh: the new HENRI NECK STRAP MARK IV in CRIMSON RED UNDERBELLY (for Mahogany Brown):

Indifference to Pain or Suffering

In life, we will experience much pain and suffering. What is the best way to approach this?

Know it is part of the game — and become more indifferent towards your personal pain and suffering, and the only time to address it is in order to *NOT* keep yourself in a disadvantageous situation.

For example, let us say you are in an abusive relationship. You will experience much pain and suffering. The smart thing — channel the pain and suffering as an intelligent signal to *GET OUT* of that relationship, no matter what. But once you’re out of the relationship and you think about the past pain and suffering, rather than feel bitter resentment (like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies) — best to just feel indifferent towards your past suffering.

What has happened has happened and the only intelligent thing to do is move forward.

Work through the pain, and fix the pain.

Let us say you get an injury– whether physical or mental. Then the goal:

Figure out what your injury is, and figure out how to ‘rehab’ it — via active physical therapy or mental therapy.

For example if you get some sort of injuries in your joints– figure out how to do active therapy (yoga, stretching, and active dynamic strengthening exercises), and then —

After rehab, you will become *STRONGER* than you were before the injury.

Like Nietzsche said:

What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.

In our words:

That which has injured me or hurt me in the past can be a positive stimulus to help me focus on becoming *STRONGER* than I was before the injury!

ERIC

Fun Experience

We like to test drive cars which are fun to drive. Why not also cameras which are a fun experience to shoot?

Then perhaps in lifeâ€” seek for fun and engaging and thrilling experiences over the â€œbestâ€ ones.

Then some other thoughts: what is the most fun shoe to wear, or the shoe that allows you to have the most fun experiences? Optimizing your life or fun experiences perhaps will help you live a more interesting, fulfilling life, and to become more.

Create BEYOND Yourself

FREE MOTIVATION ON ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER >

Dear friend,

Upon much deep thought and philosophizing — I think I got it figured out when it comes to artistic and creative matters:

Create BEYOND yourself.

What does this mean? This means:

Our lives are limited and short â€¦ and thus â€¦ the goal of life is to augment ourselves in order to create beyond ourselves.

For example with materialistic matters– there is only so much equipment and gear we need. Once we have the ‘best’ tools for artistic creationâ€¦ then what? It isn’t to enjoy these things for the sake of it. It is channeling and harnessing these tools in order to create things. To share things. To publish things.

This is the great upside of online publishing (especially to your own self-hosted blog or website). No gate-keepers. Nobody stopping you but you.

How to create and share beyond yourself today:

Create your own website/blog. Easiest is wordpress.com, then next is wordpress.org (self-hosted website blog on bluehost.com).
Once you have your own website blog, publish fearlessly.
Realize that everything is a work in progress. This means publish BEFORE things are ready. We seem to be fascinated by rough drafts from famous writers, or even sketches of famous painters (the working sketches BEFORE the final product). Thus think — one day future scholars will find fascination with you sharing your works in publish.
Just make it ‘80% good enough‘ and hit publish. This means to ‘satisfice‘ (satisfy + suffice) the ‘minimum viable’ concept.
The more you publish, the more creative and fearless you will become.

Don’t have anywhere to publish your photos? Publish them today on arsbeta.com

ERIC KIM WALLET IS HERE

If you are seeking for the perfect wallet to help you shoot more fearlessly in life, ERIC KIM PHOTOGRAPHER’S WALLET is here for you >

Discover more in HAPTIC INDUSTRIES SHOP >

Publish Fearlessly

What can we control? Our courage. What else can we control? How fearlessly to publish. The only ‘failure’ in life is to fail to publish something because you’re afraid of negative feedback from others.

ERIC KIM PHOTOGRAPHER’S WALLET (SD CARD FUNCTIONALITY x FASHION)

Preview of how to use PHOTO WALLET:

SD Card functionality, and individual crimson red hand-stitching:

Discover PHOTO WALLET >

MAKE DOPE THINGS AND SHARE THEM WITH THE WORLD!

My personal impetus behind HAPTIC INDUSTRIES and everything I create here:

To create awesome, epic, and hugely practical things (which have been of huge use to me) and sharing them with others — knowing that there will be a small group of people who will also find it hugely useful, practical and life-enhancing and life-invigorating!

For example, being a photographer– creating the ideal and perfect tools *I* wish I had access to. Creating what I desire to see manifested in the embodied world.

For example, ERIC KIM PHOTOGRAPHER’S WALLET — my obsession with creating the perfect wallet for myself and all photographers.

With almost all design decisions — design for yourself. Like the new HENRI NECK STRAP Crimson Red Underbelly for the Mahogany Brown color — I just thought:

If I made the inside of the neck pad red– that would look super gangsta.

crimson red Henri neck strap mahogany brown — HENRI NECK STRARP HENRI BROWN (MARK IV)

Morale of the story:

Create things *BEYOND* yourself– things you desire to see manifested in the world.

ERIC KIM

AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TOLERATE.

How much coffee should you drink? How much should you workout? How much should you create, do, explore, travel and challenge yourself? My thought:

As much as your body, mind and soul can tolerate.

Entrepreneurship by KIM

Become the change which you desire to see manifested in the world!

Become you.

Think for Yourself.

FREEDOM

Never stop innovating: “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship“.

Entrepreneurship Mindset

Put a Dent in the Universe.

On Becoming an Arts Photographer

When it comes to photography, there seems to be two types of photography:

The first type of photography is more factual and depictual, which is photographing your car parking spot, or photographing your receipts for an expense report.
Then the other category is arts creation, in which we use the camera as an artistic tool and medium, to create artworks. Us as photographers, our goal is to create art works with our photography.

Thus, donâ€™t photograph things as they are, rather, photograph things as you feel them and experience them (personal photography).

PHOTOLOSOPHY

Discover more personal meaning in your photographic life with PHOTOLOSOPHY >

Let Your Curiosity Drive Your Photography

The photographer Garry Winogrand one said, â€œI photograph to see what the world looks photographed.â€

Perhaps the same philosophy in our photography is good, that is, to photograph things truly because we are curious how it will turn out. This childlike curiosity as the primum mobile, or the first motivator to our photography.

MASTER MOTIVATION

ERIC KIM NECK STRAP MARK II x Ricoh GR II x RICOH MAFIA Artwear

Seek to supersede yourself and become more:

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The Simplest Creative Workflow

Simpler is better and more productive. The more you can simplify and streamline your workflow, with creative artistic matters, means more output and creative flourishing. Perhaps the more streamlined and simpler artistic lifestyle, and artistic techniques, the happier and more fully realized we can and will become.

For example, using iPhone as a creative tool not phone. Procreate, Zen Brush 2, and other arts creation applications. Or blogging from the phone â€” another creativity productivity hack.

Also with videos, when integrating it on your blog, best to just make it auto play on mute and loop.

Or not concerning yourself with formatting blog posts and making things look pretty. Rather, focusing on just creating it, writing it and sharing it and publishing it and getting it out there.

Iâ€™ve also discovered that voice dictation on the iPhone is one of the quickest and most effective ways to write, far faster than texting with your two thumbs. In other words, the data output of voices and speech is at least 100x compared to that of typing on your thumbs. Also, our voices and out lungs and our throats are stronger than the carpal tunnel in our thumbs.

The Art of Creativity

Re-discover your inner-child like PICASSO:

Learn more: Photography >

MAXIMUM STREAMLINE.

The more you can simplify and streamline your life process, the better.

The best fashion as highly functional and streamlined. For example, the benefit of merino wool â€” streamlined living (the best material irregardless of weather conditions). Or military requirement being forest green â€” shows the least amount of dirt and grime when it gets dirty in the field.

Or with packing and putting away clothes â€” not to seek the â€œbestâ€ setup or the most â€œminimalâ€ (often making things more minimal actually makes things more complicated)â€” just do what is easiest and most streamlined (often the best solution after moving is just quickly and efficiently stuffing things into drawers).

The upside of wearing the same all black outfit everyday (Steve Jobs, Mark Z idea)â€” streamline the clothes to maximize the artistic and creative output.

Or espresso over pour overs â€” far faster and more streamlined to make a good coffee in the morning.

Or the upside of having less square footage in your home â€” more streamlined process to find and get stuff and do stuff.

Also with creative workflow (one camera, one lens, preferably and uninterchangeable lens) to streamline your creative process and output.

High range electric cars â€” no need for frictionful oil changes or car maintenance stuff. If you have a charger at home, less time for gas station pit stops.

Or perhaps the upside of wearing crocs or flip-flops or sandals, the ability for you to leave the house without putting on cumbersome socks or having to tie shoes.

Or the upside of just working out with the kettlebell at home. The ultimate streamlined workout without having to leave the house or enter into a gym.