Random turbo thought:

Perhaps the root of nihilism is simply poor health.

To me, misery, depression, anxiety are simply manifestations of poor health (fatigue, overwork, no recovery, sleep deprivation, physiology out of whack from over-consumption of alcohol/weed/caffeine). Thus the sentiment:

Life is no good and has no purpose

Is this simply a reflection of poor health? Because if you are in great health, you desire the ‘eternal return‘– you desire to seek to live a lifetime!

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A turbo thought when it comes to media:

There is no such thing as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ media — rather, it is either stimulating or not-stimulating (boring).

Avoid snobby commentary on things. For example, SUICIDE SQUAD was one of my favorite films of all time, even though it was given ‘bad reviews’ by ‘critics’. And what is a ‘critic’ anyways? Someone who has a passion for film-making or arts-creation, but lacks the courage or the skills to do so (note to self, only trust the commentary and criticism from fellow creators. For example only listen to film reviews from *OTHER* film makers).

Even the more recent INFINITE by Mark Wahlberg is quite good in my eyes (pumps you up, and love the physique and how buff Mark is).

Lesson:

Seek stimuli which pumps you up and gets you going (motivation), and ignore anything which bores you.

ERIC

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A concept I learned while in Berlin:

‘Upcycling’

Imagine a more sexy re-interpretation of ‘recycling’, but the concept is this:

You take old stuff, breathe new life into it, and make something new (cool).

So basically the gist is this:

Take things you’ve created in the past, and breathe new life into it (remix it), and make something beautiful and new out of it!

ERIC

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It seems in today’s world, we strive to buy new tools that we think will innovate our art creations. But perhaps it is best to just stick with the tools we already got, and to strive to innovate our creations instead.

Why do this? Because it is more challenging, fun, and interesting.

Also this is a way to avoid equipment creep, which is to have more superfluous equipment than you need.

Even if you were a billionaire, best to as many as few tools as possible and ideally own nothing. Even consider how Elon Musk about a year or two ago give away all of his stuff, and doesn’t even own his home. Also for myself, I would prefer to never own a car, and just Uber everywhere instead. Also, instead of owning a home, I would just ideally live inside a hotel, which is what me and Cindy did for about three months in Saigon Vietnam and I loved it.

All black NIKE FREE RUN 5.0 shoes. The best, most minimal shoe, extremely light and very stylish.

Your shoes in Street Photography are probably more important than your camera.

Also, can be worn without socks quite comfortably. This means less friction to get in and out of the house. Also, the laces are purely aesthetic. This means you don’t have to tie your shoes and take them on and off, you can just slip them on and off. The ultimate via negativa shoe.

When in doubt, don’t buy it. More things as worse — the more devices you got, the more stuff to charge and maintain. The more things you got, the less counter space you got and more distractions. Strive to have as little as possible— and whatever few things you got, maximal quality. The smallest footprint, the best quality.

So next time you want to get x, y, or x— ask yourself — “Is this equipment creep entering my life?”

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Rather than seeking the biggest thing (biggest phone, biggest car, biggest laptop, biggest bank account etc)— perhaps we should optimize for the “minimum viable size”.

For example iPhone Mini over iPhone Pro (either size). The smallest minimalist luxury apartment studio or 1 bedroom you can find. Performance version Tesla Model 3 over the Model S or X (even if you can afford them all). MacBook Air over MacBook Pro. Ricoh GR III over Leica M.

The future of freedom:

Don’t optimize yourself, your art work, or your creations for the algorithm (search engine optimization [Google SEO], for the YouTube algorithm, for FacebookGram [Instagram], or anything.

Optimize for your own artistic genius and self-expression:

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A collection of some of my color photos I like:

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One of the benefit of having kids:

You essentially ‘clone’ yourself, and that child can continue to pass on and continue your legacy.

And the great thing about photography:

With digital technology, and with your own self-hosted blog (WordPress.org), your information, ideas, and artwork are in theory infinitely scaleable.

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What do you do once you’ve got all the successes and accolades as a photographer? Simple —

Motivate, move, and inspire others.

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The great joy and motivator of life — to always be making, remaking, transforming and retransforming yourself. Every day you’re new. Every day is a fresh and blank slate — each and every day you’re carte blanche (a blank piece of paper) ready to create and recreate again!

A random selection of some personal favorites as of now:

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Ever since I had my son Seneca, I guess I’ve become a family photographer. My friend Anthony Larson even joked and said, “Man that kid is going to be the most photographed kid on earth.” And I think I agree.

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The best question to ask yourself when it comes to anything — food, nutrition, literature, drink, people, ideas or music.

Or will it become more valuable over time or less valuable over time?

It seems one of the things we are chasing:

To become a ‘successful’ photographer.

But what does this even mean?

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That you’re already at the epicenter of it all? That you already have the ideal tools, location and resources necessary to exploit your archimedes lever in life?

Hope as a vice, at least when it comes to entrepreneurial matters.

Vigor
Pull the trigger
Get lit in this life

Vigor
Let the trigger take you there
Anywhere you desire you must fly higher

Get bigger, stronger and more strong
This world is your oyster
Eat well and live long

ERIC KIM

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The best way to not judge others — just don’t express any interest in others or ask about them.

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Steel spine
Feel the rhymes and untwist the twine
No need to cast pearls before swine
Or compare mine with thine
Your goal is to just shine and be great
No need to state your mission statement in life
This life is rife for the taking
Just keep on making, baking and caking

ERIC KIM

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Advice I would give myself if I started all over again:

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I’ve always believed that ‘hope is dope‘ and we have always been indoctrinated in our society that hope is good.

But why is it that all the ancients saw hope as a vice?

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MAD MAX FURY ROAD (Black and Chrome edition, buy the iTunes version and the Black and Chrome edition is viewable as an ‘Extra’) as a true masterpiece of film-making, story telling, and cinematography:

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What is the main principle of life?

Movement.

All great things come to us through movement.

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Something I’ve been thinking a lot about:

Zero waste.

Truth be told, waste is just bad to me in terms of an aesthetic rather than environmental thing. I think the earth is powerful enough to withstand waste, but still — every time I have an unnecessary can or unnecessary packaging for things, it feels dumb, and aesthetically wasteful/ugly.

Also whenever I fill up the gas in the car I am driving, it feels dumb and silly. It is 2021 … and we are still putting fossil fuels into our cars, in an age where we recharge our smartphones on the daily? Imagine having an iPhone which ran on a gasoline generator.

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Whatever you pursue in life, it must be sufficiently difficult and interesting to you. If anything, difficult things are more fun and interesting!

Something I also realized about working out:

The workouts we do must be sufficiently difficult to us, then it will become ‘interesting’, because we are forced to focus.

For example, 105 pound (48kg) kettlebell swings (one armed). Two armed seems a bit boring, as it is easier and doesn’t require as much focus.

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To better innovate, rather than figure out what to add, figure out what to subtract. (more…)

In praise of sleeper aesthetics, that is low-key aesthetics.

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Advice I wish I could have given myself if I started street photography all over again:

1. When in doubt, shoot 25% more photos than you think you should
2. If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough – Robert Capa
3. The Dutch angle (tilting your camera and forcing a diagonal composition of a scene) is an easy way to elevate the dynamism of your compositions
4. The best way to share your photos are on your own blog.
5. Instagram is bad for your creativity
6. The best camera for street photography is the newest digital RICOH GR camera
7. Rangefinders are overrated for street photography. When we want a Leica M camera, we just want to become Henri Cartier-Bresson
8. Monochrome will open up more street photography opportunities for you.
9. Your first million street photos are your worst
10. The best street photographers are Henri Cartier-Bresson, Josef Koudelka, then Richard Avedon
11. 28 MM is the ideal focal length for street photography if you use a camera with an LCD screen. If you use a viewfinder that you bring up the camera to your eye, then 35mm is ideal.
12. The best perspective in street photography are either super low or super high up. Avoid shooting street photos at eye level.
13. The most educational street photography book is Magnum Contact Sheets, then 100 Lessons from the Masters of Street Photography
14. Capturing strong emotions in street photography is more important than capturing strong compositions and in street photography.
15. Rather than asking yourself whether it is a good street photo or not, ask yourself whether you care for the photo or not.
16. If you shoot it outside of your house, then it is a street photograph.
17. The best way to improve your street photography is to practice, buy books not gear, and travel. Experiences are the best bang for the buck for improving your photography.
18.  The best shoes for street photography are the most minimal with the least amount of cushioning. This is either water shoes, minimalist shoes, Vibram five fingers, or Nike free shoes.
19. To increase your photographic productivity, shoot in small JPEG with in camera filters and presets. For example high contrast Monchrome black and white photos in Ricoh G3, or color filters for Fujifilm digital cameras like the classic chrome filter.
20. Apple photos is better than Adobe Lightroom to quickly select, favorite, and sync your photos to iCloud.
21. The best cities in the world for street photography include Mexico City, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Saigon, Hanoi, downtown Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco (no particular order) 
22. To become a more productive street photographer, best not to own a car. This will force you to take more public transportation and walk, which will open up more street photography opportunities to you.
23. You don’t have to have humans in your street photos, but you should have a sense of humanity in your photos.
24.  The best diet for street photographers is a ketogenic diet mixed with intermittent fasting.
25. The best workout for street photographers are heavy kettle bell swings.
26. The best Youtubers to follow on street photography are Kaiman Wong, and Samuel street life.
27. The best bang for the buck film camera for film street photography is a Leica M6, and the best bang for the buck lens for street photography film is the Voightlander 35 mm F 2.5 color skopar. Follow Japan Camera Hunter Bellamy Hunt for anything film related.
28. The most innovative modern street photographer is Dirty Harrry from Greece.
29. If you’re curious about flash street photography just try it out. It will open up a great deal of extremely interesting street photo opportunities.
30. To make stronger compositions in street photography, better to subtract from the frame than to add to the frame.
31. The best color street photographer is Alex Webb. The Suffering of Light is the best color street photography book.
32. The best black and white street photography book is Exiles by Joseph Koudelka. 
33. Color street photography is more difficult and challenging than black and white street photography.
34. Street photography is good for the soul. Treat it like walking meditation and walking therapy, and your artistic and creative outlet.
35. Better to ask for permission in street photography and get rejected then to never ask at all. Also, asking for permission in street photography is more difficult and challenging than shooting without permission and candidly.
36. The triangle composition in street photography as the most simple yet effective street photography compositions.
37. Street photography is more of an approach and ethos than a strict definition and genre.
38. Best to define street photography for yourself, and allow your definition of street photography to evolve over time.
39. The more difficult it is to shoot a certain street photograph, the more likely it will be unique and more difficult to replicate.
40. Imagine whether 300 years from now whether your street photos will still ring an emotional bell with your future viewers.
41. To capture more depth in your street photos, focus on what is furthest away from the scene.
42. The best technical settings in street photography are autofocus, Program (P) mode and auto ISO. “Just set it and forget it”.
43. When reviewing and editing your photos (image selection) remember the adage: “When in doubt, ditch.”
44. The most important thing to know in your photography: “Why do I make photos?”
45. Street photography is like driving: it is not a matter of if you will ever get into an accident, but when. In other words, always be ready for a confrontation in street photography and take it as a mark of pride.
46. Longevity is the best marker of ‘success’ as a photographer.
47. The best street photographers are not on social media. And don’t forget– street photography is not a contest, but a personal pursuit and creative endeavor.
48. COVID-19 has changed the game for street photography– now is your chance. Strike the iron while it is hot.
49. Start your own street photography blog, and share your experiences and personal wisdom.
50. Every photo you shoot is a stream of becoming.

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Full force.

Some Nietzsche (will to power) vibes:

Perhaps we as entrepreneurs and innovators and creators have a lust to expand.

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Work — our ability to do, create, move and reconfigure things to our liking.

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The reason why I’m such a huge fan of baby carriers, like the baby Bjorn or the ergo baby is that I can live more in parallel with my son Seneca.

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Monochrome for us in photography is to be conquered:

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What do we lack in today’s world? Solo thinking, which means– to think by yourself, alone, without outside stimuli.

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I was very humbled when Oliver Krumes wrote on why I am the best street photography teacher, and then I thought:

Ultimately for myself, I think that to become a ‘great educator’ and a ‘great teacher’ is one of the apex forms of success.

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It seems the trend now is towards ‘zero’ — zero waste. Thinking about Peter Thiel’s “Zero to One” book as well on entrepreneurship.

Then I thought about the notion of Zero– how beautiful it is.

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You have the power (and must) posit your own ideals for yourself– for your children (or future children) and/or yourself.

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For those of us who are into cars, people into Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Tesla, McLaren, Porsche other hyper sports cars, this is what I have discovered: when we desire these sports cars or hyper cars, what we desire is an external a station of our own personal cell conceive avatar of ourselves. That is, we think we are the car. Or we think that by getting a certain car, like a Lamborghini Aventador, we will become more mean, more lean, more aggressive, cooler and more masculine. But is this the case?

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You cannot buy health, or well-being, but you could buy kettle bells.

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FIRST SENT TO ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER >

Dear friend,

The thing I have been working on my whole life:

What is the secret to photographic motivation?

I think I have found (some) keys, which I outline in this blog post, but also more info below:

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If you need or want more photographic motivation, stick to monochrome.

Life is a never-ending photo project:

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Street photography is my passion, but also my trap. Why? For a long time, if it *wasn’t* street photography I wouldn’t shoot it. And this was bad, because I got stuck in a ‘Procrustean bed‘ of just “street photography”.

Thus the ultimate creative canvas–

Just shoot it all.

ERIC KIM

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Something which has been on my mind ever since I was 18 years old:

What is the secret and key to photographic ‘success’, motivation, and thriving?

For example, I always found myself lacking motivation to go out and shoot new photos, thus the pursuit of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome)– as a means to finding new motivation for photography.

So what is it that we *really* want? Photographic motivation. And what is photographic motivation? It is having the energy, impetus, and the strong desire to go out and make *NEW* photos, or the motivation to take the pre-existing photos we already got to make new types of artwork (PDF E-BOOKS, slideshows, print books, etc).

Some thoughts:

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What is lacking in today’s world and society?

Obedience & discipline.

In which regards?

1. Obedience to your partner/and/or spouse
2. Obedience to your elders (your parent(s) [if they are good])/grand parents, or your parents-in-law
3. Obedience to yourself– to your own will, your own desires.

And discipline:

1. Disciplining your children, the youth.
2. Self-discipline (not towards some ‘virtuous’ end… but your own personal self-dictated ends)

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A simple thought:

The ultimate ‘squad’ to prioritize is your family.

What is your family? In my thinking — you (yourself), your spouse/partner, and your kid(s). If you prioritize your family above all else, everything else will be golden.

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The only type of productivity which is good and spontaneous productivity. This happens from having overwhelming physiological energy and strength. For example, the energy you had after a really great night sleep. And perhaps a good caffeine buzz.

In other words when you are weak or exhausted, don’t force yourself to be “productive”. When you’re feeling weak and exhausted the most “productive” thing you could do is take a nap or try to go to sleep early, and abstain from further coffee or caffeine intake. Then wait for your energy to regain until you will spontaneously burst into some sort of virtuous creative activity.

Assuming that health is the ultimate wealth, and that health is more important than money, then begs the question: can money buy health? And if so, how can you use money to become more healthy?

Some thoughts — money for physical and physiological strengthening. For example, buy a chin-up bar, kettlebells, or use money for a gym membership. Also money on highly nutritious foods — more red fatty meat, steak, beef.

Also the best part of being self employed and having “financial independence”— being able to take a nap whenever you want to during the day, sleeping however early you want (6:30pm, 7:30pm) and waking up however late you want without the agency of an alarm clock.

1. Better to make a “bad” photo than no photo
2. Black and white affords more photo opportunities and photographic “optionality”
3. RICOH GR III as the best camera
4. Don’t become a prisoner to any photographic genre. All genres and “styles” are creative traps.

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Something I have discovered when it comes to art, design and creations:

Did the creator put their soul into it, or did they just do it to please the masses or to make a quick buck?

Certainly there is nothing bad about making money. Perhaps seeking to please others is a vice. The most virtuous thing we can do as artists and creators is to create and put our stamp of authenticity, our soul into it (Nassim Taleb calls putting ‘soul in the game’).

Hard to tell or determine on whether others or other agencies or corporations are truly putting their soul on the line. So best to ignore others, and to simply strive to put your own soul in the game, no matter what you do.

And a thought — perhaps corporations, collectives, agencies and anything more than 1 (individual) *cannot* have soul in the game. For example, Apple as the soul of Steve Jobs x Jony Ive (neither who are with Apple anymore). But certain exceptions– Tesla as the soul of Elon Musk. Yeezy as the soul of Kanye West.

Then perhaps the goal and our goal:

Strive to breed and create and mould more interesting and epic individuals … away from the ‘collective good’.

ERIC

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Rather than seek to accumulate followers and likes on an external social media platform, why not just transform your own website and blog into your own social media?

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A thought:

We seem (philosophically at least) to desire an eternity for everything.

This is why we don’t like the idea of death. Nobody likes to think that their life will (one day) come to an end.

But perhaps what makes life and photography so beautiful is the fact that it *IS* ephemeral. Without ephemerality, life, photography and art would not be so beautiful.

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Our hunger and desire for different — to do or attempt new and different things, or to have new and different experiences. Why does this motivate us?

Is it perhaps that our hunger for new and novel things is embedded within our DNA? Rather than seeing this as a bad thing, perhaps we should see it as a great virtue!

Our personal ambition: to become simpler and stronger. This could pertain to our lifestyle, or bodily physiological strength, or aesthetics, and the way we approach life.

If you’re a designer, strive to design things which are simpler and stronger. For example even the iPhone, the best iPhone is the one that is simpler, which means smaller like the iPhone mini, and stronger, which means it has faster processing power.

Even with Tesla cars, think about the Tesla model S, a car which is very very simple in terms of design and approach, yet increasingly powerful, think about the epic Plaid Tri motor.

It was all worth it, even for a single blissful moment. A single deadlift personal record lift, a single great photograph, a single sublime memory and experience.

You are the full-stack solution:

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Low-key photography means:

Extreme under-exposing of your photos (-2, -3 or more) to paint your images with as much black as possible, to make your photos as dark as possible … to make a ‘minimum viable image‘ in monochrome.

We must go darker:

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What gives us great hope and motivation for ourselves and the future? The belief in becoming a great individual.

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Perhaps it is best for us to think that there are not more favorable or less favorable photographic conditions. But better to think that all opportunities are ripe for out photographic undertaking.

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It isn’t fashion, cars, watches or things we desire… but aesthetics.

And if you think about it, aesthetics are quite ‘useless’ (most aesthetics don’t have a practical or pragmatic utility).

So let us think:

It isn’t the *thing* we want, but the *aesthetic* associated with it.

And whether you grant yourself this luxury or not is up to you!

ERIC

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Media which pacifies us and media which motivates us:

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I think this is the great secret to life:

As artists, what do we tire of, and what *don’t* we tire of?

First thought:

We quickly bore and tire of aesthetics.

We bore and tire of fashions, car design, phone design, and certain aesthetic trends. Any consumerist or materialist thing or trend … we tire of so quickly and easily. Even when I imagined getting a black-paint Leica M9 (later sold it and traded it for a film Leica MP) and a Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron Lens … how quickly I got tired of the design and the concept. I can also imagine one would quickly tire of owning a Lamborghini (even if you had the black on black Aventador, matted/murdered out with the Lambo/Billionaire/scissor doors).

What *don’t* we tire of? Art. Specifically, the act and process of creating our own artwork. This means creating digital art (Procreate/Zen Brush on iPad/iPhone) or photographs (in praise of street photography and photography in general).

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An amalgamation of everything I wish I knew about street photography if I started all over again:

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Dear friend,

If you are hungry for an epic street photography adventure and experience, I cordially invite you to my upcoming ADVANCED DOWNTOWN LA STREET PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP (Saturday, September 11, 2021):

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What is it that we *really* want in life and out of life?

The hunger and desire for new experiences to test us, challenge us, provoke us and awaken us.

An indoor and “safe” life as the worst life. The best life being outdoors, in public, on the streets, at the gymnasium, with other people.

So it’s not the thing we want, but what the thing *promises* us. For example we desire a certain car to become more “adventurous” (go hiking more often, explore and test the outdoors) or the sports car to live a more “extreme”lifestyle — stunting in front of other humans or driving fast to get your adrenaline up.

So let’s not get suckered by things — let us pursue these new epic embodied expediences to build ourselves, develop ourselves and become more of ourselves.

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No street photography, no life.

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