Month: September 2021

Advice I wish I had access to:

Contrary to what others may say, I don’t think you should always be reading books. In fact, to over-read books is bad. If you always are reading, your own inner thoughts will be crowded out by the material you read in books. I say the best time to read is when you’ve already exhausted all…

What is my great mission in life as a photographer? To motivate others. And it seems in today’s world, what we don’t need in photography is more equipment and gear, but we need more insight, motivation, ideas, inspiration, and turbo photo thoughts to get us going:

Only pursue your great curiosities in life:

No matter how good the iPhone Pro gets for photography, RICOH GR III will always be at least 10x better in terms of image aesthetics, resolution and camera ergonomics.

I love the new iPad Pro (M1 chip with USB-C). It is a great step to my ideal of “USB-C EVERYTHING”. iPhone Pro — not so much. iPhone Mini is superior to iPhone Pro. If you want a superior creative tool, for your photography and visual creative arts, get iPad Pro. Don’t get iPhone Pro.

NEWS Two turbo thoughts this morning: Perhaps dissatisfaction is good Then The lust for more This is my big thought: Perhaps dissatisfaction and the lust for more is actually good. Now the tricky thing — how can we channel this lust for more in a positive way?

The only way is the way forward.

Perhaps life is all about the lust for more.

The thought of the day: Perhaps dissatisfaction is good.

Perhaps looking at your old photos is almost akin to shooting them anew. Socrates one said an unexamined life is not a life worth living. Perhaps in photography, old photos from the past which lie unexamined aren’t worth shooting either.

All the photos you shoot are good. Thus the goal is for you to just keep shooting.

A great turbo thought I had tonight: When contemplating purchases or investments, try to honestly ask yourself — “Will this give me an (unfair) advantage in life, or not?” For example, buying that new luxury car (if you already have a car) won’t lead to any meaningful advantage. Having an iPhone is certainly superior to…

An epiphany I had: What is a great motivator? Pain. That is, pain is the stimulus for action and activity. For example, boredom is a type of pain. Boredom is a good stimulus for us to act. Similarly speaking, when your body aches, or your back or knees hurt, perhaps it is your body signaling…

My whole photographic life, the most difficult thing is motivation when it comes to photography. Some simple ideas to get you going:

In today’s over-saturated social media world, it is the best time for you to start your own photography blog (bluehost.com and install WordPress.org). Why? Your own open source platform for your photos, thoughts, or anything in-between. You are the owner, the master — you own your domain. More control, more power. An online archive of…

When it comes to photography and artistic matters, best to think: It is all art.

Perhaps the purpose of art is to become more provocative. To provoke a reaction or emotional response:

After much contemplation and experimentation, I believe that the 28 mm lens is the best, perfect, ideal, and supreme lens for street photography, and generally most types of photography. Why? My thoughts:

Life is training:

With the street photography you do, ask yourself— Are these photos personal to me? Pursue street photography which speaks to your soul.

More personal photos. RICOH GR III, digital medium format, less iPhone. I’m quite bearish on the future of iPhone Pro for photography. If you love the ultimate aesthetics for photographic art and images, best to get a RICOH GR III, a Fujifilm digital medium format camera, or a used Pentax 645z. The future of open…

Since 2017 I considered myself retired. And also since then, I achieved financial independence. How did I do that? My thoughts and experience:

It seems everyone wants to FIRE (Financial independence, retire early). But once you got the financial independence and you retire early… then what? Simple ideas, at least for me — Focus on arts generation, philosophy, entrepreneurial ideas to motivate others, and photography. Focus on physical culture: physique, power building, bodybuilding, powerlifting, gym, or kettlebell home…

The thought — if we think about “practice” as a road and a means of becoming, then to do is to become. That is — Figure out what you desire to become, and simply do more of it. We are defined by what we do, make, create, and how we act. Then our identity as…

Assuming photography is our passion,, the question: How do we do more of it?

“We talking practice???” – Allen Iverson One of the (few) good concepts I’ve gotten from the yoga folks is this: They don’t call it “working out”, they call it “practice”. Why is this a good concept? Well, it allows us to think of the practice not as some toilsome labor, but rather … some activity…

What does society hate? The true and deep individual.

True innovation happens *NOT* from asking others for their opinion or ‘focus groups’, but trusting your own artistic gut.

In the world of rapid and ruthless innovation, the practical question, when should one upgrade and one should one not upgrade?

Photography is my passion. And what brings me insane joy? To do more of it.

Just visited an Amazon fresh store, and what is so fascinating to me is the ruthless efficiency. cutting down waist, cutting down excess, and distilling to the essential. Spartan business.

We are alive. We exist in embodied reality. But in today’s world where we got virtual reality, video games, Netflix, etc… what is the purpose of being alive and what is the purpose of existence? And what do you want to derive from reality?

Far superior to iPhone Pro, especially for us photographers. The iPad M1 pro as essential for photographers, because we could quickly import our photos via the USB-C SD card reader, and there is no processor I’ve use which is as buttery smooth as the Apple M1 chip.

GO GREAT IN LIFE:

A realization why I don’t like owning things: I like to have extreme optionality, that is, at any moment to ditch it, trade it, or move somewhere else or no longer own it. For example the other day I realized I’m kind of over Lamborghinis. The design isn’t extreme enough, and it has become a…

Dear friends, A thought: You’re not just a photographer, you’re also a visual designer. What does this mean? As a photo designer, you decide what to include in the frame, and what to EXCLUDE.

Anything which is in between and tries to get the best of both worlds is a bad idea, and a compromise.

Life is too short for you to not follow your passion.

Looking at the new Leica digital M10 rangefinders with fresh new eyes I now think: Wow, the design is so boring. The design is classic and timeless, but … boring!

The street photographer as humanitarian, who transforms society into his/her artwork.

In a different life I can totally see myself going to design school (like RISD) and studying industrial or architecture design. Why? Design is king — it dictates almost everything in our lives. And us as designers, we *designate* what is important and what is not important. If you happen to have fallen in with…

It seems in today’s world, we are seeking perfect or the best in almost everything. But the question — is this desirable?

What do you do once you’re a bitcoin billionaire, or once you become a crypto whale? To me, it seems the only logical thing to do is to focus on your photography, to focus on your artistic creations, and to focus on your own personal self development.

The true privilege is via negativa: