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Spartan Street Photography
We are the new Spartans. That means, we are more indifferent to success or failure, we are more interested in courage and the attempt.
Video
An innovative thought that I had this morning is that if you think about it, there is a good hybrid mix and cross pollination between Street photography and being Spartan. That is, I believe street photography to be the most courageous form and approach of photography out there, maybe even more courageous than war photography, because in war photography or conflict photography or photojournalism, do you got a press badge. But in street photography, you don’t.
In street photography, you have no “reason“ or ultimate authority. What drives you instead is your own personal interest, guts, and ambition.
It is all about the attempt, and your own personal courage
Better to ask for permission and get rejected, than not to even ask.
In weightlifting, better to attempt an insanely audacious weight, and fail, instead of attempting something lesser, and succeeding.
Also I think there is a good crossover between weightlifting and courage, audacity in Street photography. That is, the stronger I get in the gym, and the more hypelifting I practice, the more courage I actually gain in street photography. Nowadays, I am far less fearful in the context of street photography now than I was in the past. Why? My personal theory is that with weightlifting, hypelifting, powerlifting, etc., it boosts your testosterone, your courage, your muscle, and helps you conquer the fear of failure, and also makes you more risk loving. Once you’re able to rack pull over six plates, and you find out that everything‘s OK, if you find out that you could really do anything.
Courage in street photography
Seek danger. That means in the context of street photography, try to put yourself into more situations or scenarios which require you to exhibit your courage.
For example, I’ve discovered in the context of weightlifting, I am not interested in attempting any sort of weightlifting style exercise in which I am 100% certain I will succeed. In fact, I am actually more interested when at the back of my head, there is a potential for failure. Why? Danger, risk, and adventure are all intertwined. If you already know you’re going to succeed at something 100%, before doing it, I have zero interest in doing it.
So maybe in Street Photography, the reason why it is so fun and interesting is because you never know what’s going to happen. Also, when you interact and engage with a person, when there is a risk of something going south, that is what makes it fun and interesting.
Therefore as a philosophical twist, maybe the only way to keep street photography fun and interesting for us is to keep seeking danger, social risk-taking, and uncomfortable situations.
Pragmatic ways to become more courageous in street photography
- Intentionally try to get rejected: The assignment is approach the most unfriendly looking people, and ask to make a portrait of them. Do you have to keep asking until you get 10 people to intentionally reject you. The reason why this is such a powerful and effective approach is that once you get rejected at least 10 times, you actually find out that it wasn’t as bad as scary as you thought it would be. Also, often people who you think would reject you, actually end up saying OK. This is a good way to rewire your brain.
- Learn to love risk: What is the best way to seek happiness? Love risk and danger. What is the secret to the happiest life? The life with the most danger and risk. That is seek a life and existence in which you expose yourself to the maximum amount of danger and risk, without losing a limb or dying.
So where is the best place to shoot street photography?
Go to where the people are! It depends on your environment and where you live. For example, if you’re in orange county, just go to the Irvine spectrum, where you have lots of people walking around, and lots of foot traffic. It looks like if you’re in the suburbs, the best place to go to is the mall.
It is a good idea to go to downtown areas if people are actually walking around.
Let’s get our adrenaline up!
Pump up your courage to the next level at an upcoming ERIC KIM EXPERIENCE:
- BOSTON: ERIC KIM CONQUER YOUR FEARS IN STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP 2023 (March 25th, 2023 (Saturday)) — Conquer paralysis by analysis, and conquer your fears in Street Photography.
- April 15th, 2023 (Saturday): BERKELEY INSANE INNOVATION WORKSHOP — Learn to radically think outside the box, to channel innovation in your favor.
- June 19-23rd, HADONG SOUTH KOREA ZEN PHOTO RETREAT // Stay updated here.
What do I want for Christmas this year?
Maybe as a minimalistic experience and thought process for the next year, best to tell people not to get you anything this year, and in respect, you also don’t give anyone anything this year.
Nice idea for a gift is give somebody a hand written card, telling them what you appreciate about them. Also a good hybrid approach is you could just write it out on a piece of paper, shoot a photo of it on your iPhone, and just text it to them.
What if I want to buy myself something?
Just buy yourself a Ricoh GR 3X, and/or an iPad Pro.
The future of street photography?
Now that COVID-19 has calm down a lot, and people are starting to travel again, I think it is a bright time and future for Street Photography. The iPhone Pro is excellent, and is a very capable tool for street photography. I still prefer a Ricoh GR IIIX over an iPhone, because the ergonomically are at least 10,000 times better.
But ultimately, anything that you shoot is good, and any tool that you use in Street Photography is also good. When in doubt just shoot it.
Street Resources
More books
Next steps
- Start your own photography and Street Photography blog, and start uploading photos to it. Just use bluehost.com and install wordpress.org
- Start vlogging your own thoughts on street photography and upload to YouTube
- If you want critical feedback on your photos, upload to arsbeta.com
Street gods
If you have a friend either interested in Street Photography, or wanting to up their game, forward this to them!
All is street!
ERIC