Assuming our purpose or telos to life is photography, then begs the question —
How can we become the most sublime photo machine of all time?
Some thoughts:
The most powerful, muscular body for photography
The naïve understanding we have for photography and art is that as long as one has a “spirited soul“, one can become a great photographer. I disagree. One cannot become a truly great artist or photographer without having great muscles, or without a great body.
For example, even Pablo Picasso, in his later years, you could see how great shape he was in, topless at the beach with his young wife.
Even the bodybuilder Kai, apparently he started a comic book series— I would only trust a comic book series with a highly muscular and powerful superhero, who has a physically formidable author.
Even the John Wick series: the reason why I trust it is that the Director Chad S — he himself is in great shape.
Study the artist, not the art
We also have a naïve understanding that somehow, we can separate the artist from his/her artwork. This is not possible. It is like trying to study the appearance of a child without first looking at the mother or father.
I say if you want to improve the condition of your photos, first improve your own personal physiology.
Don’t buy that new camera or lens
Instead, just buy a very heavy kettlebell. 70 pounds, 105 pounds, 200 pounds, etc.
Or just get a good gym membership somewhere close by and convenient.
Focus on strengthening your legs
I have a simple thought: if you deadlift over 500 pounds, or squat over 400 pounds, how can this not benefit your photography? As photographers, our Archimedes lever is our legs and our feet.
Consider, the stronger your legs are, the further you could walk, with less fatigue. Also, the greater ability you’ll have to squat down low to the ground to get better angles for your photos, or even sprint quickly to catch the photo opportunity.
Practice
Maybe it is a good idea to think about our photography like breathing. Or drinking coffee. Does a day go by in which you don’t breathe, or drink coffee? I think not.
Every time you click the shutter, you are practicing making a photo.
Pratikos in Ancient Greek — to do, to cross, to go over.
What is the end goal of our photography? To simply keep doing it. Mastery is a fluid and flux process, in which the end of your progress is your personal death.
One of the things I find very sad about athletes is when they have to retire. Either by choice, or without. For example, I don’t think people actually know that Michael Jordan is still alive. How sad it must be to just watch rising stars on the sidelines.
Note any actor, athlete, artist or individual as happy, as long as he or she is still practicing.
So the question about your photography:
Are you in practice, or out of practice?
The goal is to stay in practice, until you die.
Visual stimuli
At the end of the day, assuming that all you owned was a pair of shorts, and your camera, what is the use of all of your time and money? Simply to expose yourself to certain environments which are maximal conducive to finding inspiration and motivation to make new photos.
For example, if you desire to use your money to make new photos, use that money towards travel. It doesn’t need to be far, or expensive. You could spend your money on gas, charging your electric vehicle, or going on a flight. For accommodations, you could just do a day trip, or spend money at a cheap hotel or Airbnb.
This is also the funny thing: I’ve actually discovered that the most picturesque places are the worst place to go to make photos. For example, when I was in college it was my dream to backpack through Europe, and shoot street photography in Paris. However ironically enough, I found Paris as the least inspiring place to shoot street photography. Much more interesting to shoot street photography in Marseille than in Paris. Lesson —
The grittier the place is, and the less “fancyâ€, the better it is for photography.
Or another words, better to shoot street photography in Hanoi than in Singapore.
Also the upside—
If you want to maximize your photography potential, go to cheaper places.
Berlin, Prague, Saigon.
Insanely simple
RICOH GR IIIX, High contrast black-and-white, extra small JPEG. Use Apple photos to review and flag your photos, and upload them to your own personal website blog.
Our concern isn’t too much the photo itself, but the process of being infinitely inspired to make more new photos.
Or in other words, making perfect photos or even “good†photos isn’t the goal. Rather, it is to just always be shooting, and reviewing your photos, and delight in this “eternal return†in your photography.
ERIC
VENTURE ON!
Discover your soul in photography at ERIC KIM EXPERIENCE
ERIC KIM BOUTIQUE
HAPTIC INDUSTRIES— the only photo equipment you need to thrive:
- HENRI SHOULDER STRAP: For the heavyweights
- FREE PDF MATERIALS
- MUSE BY KIM: Muse on.
Food for thought
- Twilight of the Idols by Nietzsche
- The Odes of Anacreon
- Lightning Network
MOAR
“ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS†(Art [will last a] long time, life is short) – Seneca