Month: October 2021

Force expression either in physical strength, or force of ideas. As an artist, our desire to discharge our creative energy and force via our art works!

What do you do once you get the perfect body and physique, the perfect car, perfect kid and wife, perfect camera, perfect lifestyle, etc? Simple — We must strive to go BEYOND “perfect”.

ERIC KIM NEWS > Why is that we photographers have so low self-esteem? For example: We don’t like to call ourselves ‘photographers’ when introducing ourselves, because we don’t make a living from it. Or, …

Something I realized after much thinking and study: it seems that photographers see painters as superior to them. Thus the desire is the photographer is to become a painter, because the history of painting …

Traditionally we have been taught that consistency in artwork is good. for example, we are taught that once you have discovered your definitive style, you should just stick with it until your death. But …

To have too strong of a conviction towards one thing is bad. Why? We will live too long to be trapped by one idea or concept.

The great thing about art: you don’t need to justify your art or your aesthetic taste to anybody else. You merely assert it. Thus don’t feel like you need to justify or explain your …

Nowadays there seems to be a bias towards single origin, or 100% pure things. but what if a hybrid model, a blended model, or a crossover design was actually better?

What types of photos make me feel the most fulfilled? Photos that bring a smile my own face. Photos of my loved ones, people those who I care for, and photos which I interpret …

So many more opportunities to shoot if you embrace abstract photography!

What is the best life? The life in which we have the opportunity to express or test our courage. therefore, let us not waste time on things which don’t require our courage. For example, …

We love Tesla cars, and all the innovation behind Tesla and the genius behind Elon Musk and his grand vision. but rather than just buying a Tesla, why not just use the money to …

Nietzsche once said, “I am dynamite!“ it seems that this sentiment is quite true. We love explosions. We love explosions in movies and films, we love when people explode with power, and with movies …

In photography, make the best of what you got.

But how long do we want them to last? For cars, perhaps at least 30 years, or at least 200,000 miles. For phones, at least 4 years. For laptops, at least 6 years. For …

Why low key Photography, black and white, low key all black clothing, etc? The upside of being more stealth and ghost-like. To go everywhere like a phantom, not being recognized. The genius of the …

In the past, especially in more martial times when we were at war, courage was on the battlefield. But now in today’s relatively modern and safe world, how does one exhibit courage in every …

Maybe being easily bored is a virtue. Why? If you are easily bored, and have a high threshold for fun and play, then maybe it is the boredom which motivates us to move and …

What makes a certain artist “good” or “bad”? My thought: Depressing art and depressive artists are bad, affirmative and life-affirming artists are good.

What if we just optimized our lives for fun? Is this what the ancient Greeks did?

Question: in today’s Uber technological world, why buy a manual transmission car?

What if the purpose of life is just to optimize for your walking? That is, no more thoughts on “happiness”, but simply salience and desire and capacity to walk long distances with no pain …

To do more, to make more — this is what efficiency is. To make more photos and to provoke more emotional effects with your photography.

When is it useful to be “off the grid”, and when is it useful to be *on* the grid?

What are we lacking the most in today’s word? Pride. Pride in our photography, pride in ourselves, pride in our artwork. But how do we gain more pride in our photography? Some thoughts:

To maximize our photographic impact, with less. More impactful compositions = simpler, but evoking stronger emotions. More contrast. Smaller file sizes. More JPEG. Black and white. Macro photos (getting close, focusing on the details). …

Even the “bad”. Harness it all for your own personal profit and benefit.

A thought: In today’s world, we strive for these awesome material possessions. We want the Lamborghini, we want the Tesla, we want the Porsche, we want Ferrari, we want the Bentley, we want the …

I cannot speak for you, but this is what I personally seek. To have infinite enthusiasm, motivation and energy to do what I love to do, and have the power to produce create and …

What does the artist desire? To enrapture and intoxicate themselves with aesthetic experiences. Maybe this is the power of great cinema to rapture you and transport you into a different world (the matrix, dune). …

The desire to make humans different than they are — why?

If we liken photography with fitness and powerlifting — the goal isn’t to compete with others. Instead, seeking your own new “personal beats” or your own “PR’s” (personal records):

Thought on innovation: You don’t always need to innovate carte blanche (blank slate). Much innovation can be done by taking classics, and applying modern innovations on top of them. For example with sneakers, take …

Let us not be fooled — reality is cruel. So the question: Given the cruelty of reality … and in spite of it, how can we thrive?

A thought: Harness all “good” and “bad” things to your benefit. For example, are you exhausted? Just take a nap, and find new appreciation in your newfound strength. Bored? Channel that boredom to read …

The gift of photography: You can express yourself very much creatively with photography because it takes minimum effort to make photos, but the visual impact you get from photography is great.

The foolish thought — thinking that out there … somewhere … a utopia exists. But what if the truth were this: This ugly dystopia in which we live in … is all we got …

Not all pain is alike. There is good pain (the good pain of growth, overcoming, fun challenge) and then there is bad pain (injury, toxic people, etc). Then a simple way to live life: …

It seems the human goal is towards infinite, renewable energy — not causing environmental damage. But… towards what ends?

A thought: the reason why I don’t like to buy things brand new is that it takes no skill. For example, if you wanna buy something brand new, the only “skill“ you display is …

A simple thought: your personal health is worth 1 trillion times more than your productivity. in fact, if you prioritize and optimize for your health, productivity will come naturally. However if you sacrifice your …

Like Kanye said, you don’t want to be soft like bread. And in terms of getting your juices flowing, it seems that the hard core is preferable to the soft core. then the goal …

When you have a choice and option, opt for the extreme and nontraditional. Life is too short to be boring.

What is the mean to become a better photographer, how does one actually become a better photographer? Some thoughts:

The great thing with real life, embodied reality is the best: it is open world. The best world is open, not closed.

I am so insanely enthusiastic about the new Denis V version of DUNE (2021) on HBO MAX. It is literally the best thing I’ve experienced in a long long time (to me, on the …

Perhaps is this strategy the ultimate in extracting the maximum out of life and existence?

Thus let us be clever and see how we can maximally exploit it!

Isn’t the best way to live life to think — Everything happened for the best. Not “everything happens for a reason”, but further: All the “bad” things that happened to me indeed made me …

Perhaps when it comes to matters of life, lifestyle, fitness, health, food/diet and nutrition and productivity, think to yourself: Is this thing I want to do, or this thing I desire to consume *BETTER* …

Your body as the ultimate design (towards human design focus):

A thought: When in doubt, optimize for control over convenience. Perhaps is this a reason to be anti-Facebook/Instagram, anti-Google?

What type of photography is most noble? The type of photos which have personal significance to you. For me, photos of Seneca, photos of Cindy. Photos of myself. Photos of society, and street photography …

Not ‘be’ all that you can be. But to *BECOME* all that you can be — through your effort, industry, and courage.

A funny thought while sorting our my laundry today: I take out the one black merino wool shirt I have in my drawer, a ‘less desirable’ Minus 33-branded merino wool black t-shirt (as opposed …

Pain is useful, because it tells us what to do and what not to do. Then the goal isn’t to get rid of pain for the sake of pain, but rather, to distinguish the …

I find it hugely hypocritical and contradictory when people criticize Amazon and their business practices, when they themselves have an Amazon prime account and membership. Nobody could doubt that Amazon, especially “free” one and …

It seems our end goal and desire is lofty thoughts. That is, we desire to use our superfluous sense of well-being, happiness and strength, in order to think and see above and beyond ourselves. …

What is the hyper blogger? Simple: The hyper blogger as someone who always shares what’s on their mind, and always hyper-links it (connects) it with other things. For example, cross pollinating it with past …

Nietzsche had a quote saying something like: The reason why we beautify our homes and go to beautiful places like Italy, etc is to remove vulgarity from our eyes, to make space for our …

ERIC KIM NEWS Dear friends, What is the purpose of an artist or photographer? To make (new) photos. So how do we actually do this?

A riff from the buy books not gear motto: When you desire to buy a new camera, because you are hungry for inspiration … just buy a photo book instead to scratch that itch.

A new territory I’m experimenting in discovering with is parenting philosophy. That is, how should one raise one’s child?