Month: February 2022

They got a Starbucks and Vons supermarket. Good for Airbnb and Joshua Tree travelers or digital nomads. Also check out “Invisible House”.

One Ricoh GR 3X in your right pocket, and an iPhone in your left pocket? Or a RICOH GRIII in your left pocket?

Loving the RICOH GRIIIX and Joshua Tree. Highly recommend people from California (both Norcal and Socal) to visit for the weekend — just find a nice Airbnb. Very easy road trip!

iPhone 13 Pro camera is very good, but RICOH GR IIIX looks at least 1000x better.

iPhone Pro as efficient and effective for quickly important your photos from the SD card, and to quickly flag and choose your favorite photos. When looking through your photos as aspect ratio, click and hold the photo to favorite it. Like the old school contact sheet editing technique — small thumbnails:

Gets the ERIC KIM stamp of approval.

The most simple and direct way to success. Bluehost.com and install wordpress.org.

In America there is a bias to root for the underdog. But I believe it’s actually better to be part of the winning team. For example, best to stick with Apple and iPhone than to use Android (the losing team). Or better to use Bitcoin instead of all the other “alt-coins” (losing team). Or better…

The more followers you got, the worse. The more likely you are to become mediocre by trying to placate to the masses.

Character and personality is not really a thing. It is something we just do in order to try to moralize things and people.

The front facing iPhone Pro camera for selfies is very great for vlogging. To vlog more, just use the iPhone front facing camera! The camera highlight protection is great, focuses insanely close, and even Kanye West said the iPhone microphone is the best microphone on earth. Similarly speaking, the front-facing (selfie) camera for the iPhone…

Why is the new Apple website so cluttered? Simple ideas: Get rid of these confusing links like ‘Store‘, ‘Only on Apple‘ (it should just say “Services” or “Subscribe”) and instead of ‘Tv & Home“, it should just be “TV”. Also the banner on top is unnecessary and ugly. Just get rid of it. Otherwise the…

Not just 10x, but strive to make things 1000x better, however you define that.

A funny bias — I am very sensitive to icons. For example, I find the Google Maps icon as insanely ugly. I far prefer the Apple Maps icon, even though Google Maps is probably at least 1000x better than Apple Maps for real navigation. Like Steve Jobs said with the original iPhone … the icons…

At first, I was a bit reticent about the Ricoh GR IIIX, but after shooting with it a few days, I have discovered … it is actually insanely good.

Some personal suggestions for the iPhone camera UI-UX, and ideas for the iPhone pro camera: The first idea is to simplify and integrate the different shooting modes better. Currently there are far too many options for shooting modes. For example, integrate the portrait mode into the direct camera mode. Also, either get rid or integrate…

I’ve always been a big fan of the iPad, especially the iPad Pro. And truth be told, I really don’t like and hate the new iPhone Pro. However, maybe the best way to approach it is to not think of the iPhone pro as a phone, but simply as a really really small iPad.

RICOH GR IIIx is surprisingly good; the more I use it, the more I review the photos, the more my mind is blown. Even sharper, higher resolution and detail than the GR III! I love how black the photos are. It seems the lens of the new RICOH GR IIIX has even more contrast than…

In life, we seek magic. To be amazed, blown away. Where has this wonderment gone?

Perhaps the best way to approach life– Treat every day as carte blanche, a new day, a new beginning … without memory of the past. No past prejudices. PODCAST

My son:

If you stop updating, then it is dead.

My personal favorite settings for Ricoh GR IIIx/RICOH GRIII: P (Program) mode Autofocus (default) AE Metering (auto exposure metering): Highlight-Weighted File: JPEG // Small JPEG (no RAW) Auto power off / Sleep mode: 30 minutes Volume: 0 Customize settings: Instant review (OFF) Grid style: 4×4 Grid Shooting info display: Just turn on the grid guide…

Video review of the new Ricoh GR IIIX: Pair it with ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP MARK II: PODCAST FULL The best technical settings for RICOH GR IIIX/III: Technical settings:

Dear friends, Finally had a chance to review the Ricoh GR IIIX. Check it out. The skinny is that the GR IIIx has superior optics and image quality over the GR III. Assuming you already have a GR III, just stick to it, and wait for the GR IV to come out. If you have…

Autofocus is superior to manual focus. Why? Reasons: You are more likely to capture the decisive/significant moment. This is by far, our #1 priority in photography. In theory if you’re shooting street photography on a rangefinder camera, with a 28mm lens, at ISO 1600, at f/16, then technically the rangefinder is superior in terms of…

If I had the option, I would prefer the Porsche 718 GT4 RS over even the Porsche 911 GT3. Why? More gangsta? I really love the new proportions and the color-scheme of the new 718 GT4 RS: The cement grey with the magnesium-blue wheels. The 911 is a bit boring. Also, I prefer the smaller…

What do we want from our phones? First of all, I think a phone is not a camera. It shouldn’t be a camera. We should have a ‘standalone’ digital camera instead (Ricoh GR III/IIIx) Secondly the question is– Do you actually use your phone for phone calls, or only texting? A productivity hack I discovered…

Quick review of the GR IIIx — a good refined design:

Something I’ve experienced at least 2-5 times in recent memory: When going to the mall, going somewhere, and the parking lot is full … there is only 1 open spot (miraculously), but the parking spot is insanely small, because one person in a big SUV/truck parked into a ‘compact’ spot next to it. Then in…

Our design ethos and goal– to refine. Refine our bodies (subtract and chisel away body fat), with design … to simplify, streamline, make thinner, and make the design more direct. With fonts… more refined. With design and clothing, more refined. Fewer flourishes and superfluous design elements; as insanely simple as possible. With cameras, to refine…

I just started to review the photos from the RICOH GR IIIx, and I was really shocked– the optics and image quality and resolution of the RICOH GR IIIx actually looks substantially and significantly superior to the RICOH GR III. Perhaps this alone can be a good sticking point — I might keep the RICOH…

“Movement which inspires” — I forget where the tagline is from but it is an apt one. To *not* have your movement obstructed is the goal.

In a world of uncertainty, Bitcoin is a good bet. Why? The other day I learned that my servers’ kid just got a job at In-N-Out Burger (starting pay is $20 USD an hour) — a simple hamburger joint in America. That was the same salary as my post-graduate UCLA undergraduate salary at a tech…

Perhaps we don’t desire ‘better’ designs (is there such a thing?) but *different* designs? That is our sign of ‘progress’?

In praise of photographing rough textures: The photographer-painter.

Similarly speaking, I do not desire to be the billionaire who lives in the suburbs with his matte black Lamborghini Aventador, but stuck at home. I prefer to be the explorer, the adventurer, the street conquerer … camera in-hand. Therefore the best equipment for the traveler, wanderer, explorer, and conquerer is the most supreme in…

Something I’ve noticed with new Apple products (iPhone Pro, 14” MacBook Pro, etc) is this — The trend towards brutalist design. Things which are bigger, more powerful, more imposing, more bulky, more imposing, more powerful. A trend away from the Steve Jobs/Jony Ive vision of thinner, lighter, purer. The question is: Is this ‘progress’? Is…

I would prefer to own nothing — to just always be borrowing, renting, or using things without the strings of ownership attached.

My prediction: Apple will eventually become a financial corporation; the point isn’t to buy the devices, but to get the Apple Card and banking system, and to keep buying and upgrading the new iPhone devices. Note how poor people now can even afford the newest iPhone Pro, with ‘payments’.

Some quick creative thoughts for you: NOT WHAT IS ‘BEST’, BUT THAT WHICH LEAST GETS IN YOUR WAY? The first thought of today — Don’t optimize for the ‘best’ creative tool, but the creative tool which least gets in your way. For photography, RICOH GR III. After much deliberation, the reason why it is still…

Learn from kids, children, your kids. Watching my son Seneca grow has been fascinating because it offers me some theories on human cognition and how we develop:

Don’t offer to help, or don’t compliment or don’t thank people? A stoic way to just stay focused on your own personal life task, without annoyance, disappointment, or frustration with others?

PODCAST For example, that which requires the least ‘activation energy’, or that which is the easiest quick-start, with the least amount of friction or annoyance. For example, iPhone Mini (or the smallest iPhone) as the best iPhone, as it is the *least* likely to get in your way, due to the small size and small…

How do you excite or motivate yourself to make photos which will uncover your hidden talent? PDF TEXT > Podcast Photo Thoughts This morning, some thoughts: What is your desired end goal with photography? How do you motivate yourself to go out and shoot more photos? What is the best and ideal camera? No Ricoh…

Not just a decisive moment — but capturing a meaningful one.

Upon doing much research and thinking and consideration, all cars suck. Thus my personal thought: Just get a cheap, easily accessible car, and just go on more road trips and adventures.

To love more, you must also hate more? Also the things you really love, you also hate it? RICOH GR cameras for example — I hate how it always breaks, but I love it in terms of the design, function, ergonomics and the photos it produces.

To get buffer arms, the ideal seems to be doing (very) heavy kettlebell swings (one armed), into a ‘clean’ formation.

What *should* a home be, and how *should* a home be designed?

A quick thought on clothing — Instead of getting a vest, or wearing cumbersome clothing which restricts your movement, just double-upon on your merino wool t-shirt. Double shirt layer. And on the *really* cold days, triple merino wool t-shirt.

What do we want out of photography? To capture the fullest gamut of human experiences in photos: