PODCAST

Creativity is curiosity, the same curiosity that you had when you were a child, when you were pure and unobstructed by conventions and notions of “good and bad “. Thus the uber artist is a child.

Harness everything towards your creative output!

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Rather than desire what you don’t have, rather, best to extract the maximum of what you do got. For example let’s say you live in the boring suburbs, strive to make the most interesting photos in the suburbs. If you’re poor, harness the few resources that you do got and maximize it. For example, I have some friends who started off shooting street photography on their iPhone because they couldn’t afford any other digital camera, but that became their thing and help them become a great photographer. Aikbeng Chia (ABC) as one of my favorite photographers who was one of the early pioneers for iPhone street photography with IPA (Invisible photographer Asia).

See yourself as the creator, which means you take any of reality’s clay and mold it to be your artistic creation.

What’s our entrepreneurial lifeblood? Our level and degree of ambition. And this we can control.

So perhaps in life rather than seeking more satisfaction and zen, perhaps better to seek more ambition, challenges, heights, summits, epic attempts and newer braver and more daring goals in life!

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In our lives, let’s just focus on photography. Photography as the ultimate visual bliss for us photographers. And also the joy of experience of embodied reality.

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Some thing I discovered when it comes to the philosophy of design. Designers often grapple with a question: form or function? Perhaps that is not the right question. Perhaps the better question is focusing on ethos, that means thinking about the underlying philosophy, mood, attitude or aesthetic gist of something. Or the way things should be.

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I just finished rewatching 7 Samurai by Akira Kurosawa and some thoughts on the upside of monochrome films:

First, it forces you to use your imagination to interpret and experience the film. The abstraction of a monochrome film is more mysterious and requires more focus and input from the viewer.

Second, monochrome films tend to be more classic. Classic films that have stayed relevant to today are more likely to be worth watching and studying.

Also, monochrome films seems to be a better way to study composition. “Every picture a frame” (YouTube channel, great concept and idea). I love to screenshot compositions which inspire me, and then use the MacBook screenshot tool to sketch on top of the images.

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Perhaps the best car is a zen car. A car which allows you to NOT think about your car, to not second guess the goodness of your car.

Perhaps it must be electric or hybrid. Definitely not just a pure gasoline car.

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At the moment, I think the most zen car is probably a maxed-out Telsa Model S (Plaid) — black on black. Why? It is a ‘sleeper’ — it is waaaaay faster than any other hyper car or sports car in production (acceleration is only 1.99 seconds from 0-60 — puts other cars to shame). And black on black is ideal, because it is the most long-term robust color scheme (black is boring, but typically black is always in style, long-term).

Or the other option: the hilarity of a ‘murdered out’ black on black on black Prius (Nightshade edition). A more affordable option.

Perhaps the most fun car (gasoline) might be a black on black Civic Type R. Manual transmission, and the highly great practicality of a hatchback design (fun car to drive, and to get groceries). Probably the best ‘bang for the buck’ and unique import Japanese sports car.

Some quick thoughts: first of all, perhaps best to shoot in high contrast black and white monochrome. This immediately abstracts the world around you which allows you to focus on shapes textures and other details which might be shrouded by color.

Also, approach photography from a carpe diem perspective. This means that no matter how uninteresting or boring your lifestyle or neighborhood or society or town where it may be harnessed to your benefit.

Strive to make very interesting photos of very boring subjects.

The more you live to yourself, the less concerned you need to be about ethics. However, the more you live in society and with others, the more you must concern yourself with ethics.

Thus, don’t think about ethics for ethics sake, rather, think about ethics as a social tool. Or perhaps a social technology, to best thrive in the world with others and in society.

The sociology of ethics.

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How does one become a good role model? Simple: focus on the notion of an “anti role model“.

The general gist is this: strive to be the opposite of bad attributes you see in others.

For example, rather than thinking of how to become a “good” parent, think about how to not be a bad parent. Or in another words, strive to be the opposite of bad parenting.

In my personal example, I probably had the worst father figure growing up. Thus in order to become a good father figure, I just strove to be the exact opposite of what my father was. So in other words, as long as I’m the opposite of my father, I will become a great father.

And the interesting irony is this: sometimes it is the bad role models which help you become a more positive person. In fact, I found more motivation to not become my father then emulating “good” role models.

To take this analogy further, one should not helicopter parent the children. In fact, it is pain suffering and injustice which perhaps gives children a stronger moral compass. Even at a early age, I knew the injustice that my father did towards my mother. And I knew that one day when I had a wife, I would do the exact opposite of what my father was to my mother. So when I think of how my father used to curse at my mom, physically assault my mom, and mentally destroy her, I strive to become the zen-stoic husband and father that I am today.

Contemplate–
I cannot relate
With you other guys
Other backstabbing thoughts in disguise

Contemplate means to think
Breathe deep, stand back and reflect

Don’t neglect your own passions and thoughts in life
Harness the strife and the pain, to gain more gains
And to train away the pains

Disregard what the masses say are cool or lame
Or blame
Or shame
Know that your game is to go forth and be bold
What can you control in life?
Your courage, no more, no less

Beat your chest, thump loud and brave
Never cave — you pave your own way.

ERIC KIM

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A thought:

For the time being, I don’t desire more excitement in my life, rather … I seek more peace, calm, tranquility and ZEN in my life, in order to focus on my writing, thinking, poetry, contemplation, blogging, vlogging, photography, and turbo-thoughtting.

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Shoot every day as if it were your last:

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In praise of the film 7 samurai by Akira Kurosawa:

1. First of all, the film is hilarious. The jokes in the movie are heart-warming.
2. The character development is fantastic. Each character in the film has depth, and growth and change throughout the film.
3. Strong differentiation between the characters of the film. Especially the ‘outcast’ samurai (Mifune) who steals the show.
4. Phenomenal composition. No other film has so many ‘screenshottable’ scenes. The fact it was shot in the 1950s blows my mind– the ingenuity of the compositions, framing, and the triangle compositions.
5. Great story. You cheer for the underdogs, and the building of the 7 samurai team is a great narrative.
6. Sweet relationships between the samurai, which brings a huge smile to your face.
7. Beautiful use of light.
8. Strong philosophy here — lots of great quotes. For example the badass Samurai with the scar on his face– ‘A man only interested in testing his own limits’. A good inspiration for myself. Also — the inspiration of being a Samurai (becoming a masterful individual, solo).

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“Every day should be passed like it were your last.” (Publilius Syrus)

If we treat the same philosophy to photography —

1. Always shoot whatever is in your life, no matter how ‘boring’. Don’t wait to travel– shoot today, shoot now (carpe diem photography).
2. Every day, process, filter, and workflow your photos and share them.

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Traveling with Seneca:

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Probably the best interview I’ve had (thanks to Martin for the great questions):

PODCAST INTERVIEW AUDIO

Peep it– thanks Martin [About Photography YouTube]

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The more you share, the better:

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We share our cars (Uber, Lyft), we share our homes (Airbnb)— why not share our lives with others? For example more co-op communal living with friends, borrowing one another’s cars, going grocery shopping for others, sharing points with one another. Isn’t this a far more fun, effective and meaningful way to live?

Family photography– one of the most under-rated genres and approaches in photography.

And yes, to photograph your family is legitimate. And disregard the notion:

If I want to be regarded as a ‘serious’ photographer, I cannot shoot my own family members.

Note the success of photographer Sally Mann and her family photos. Your family is art.

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My passion: monochrome.

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My thought on what makes a successful photographer:

An individual who retains his/her own pure child-like vision and childlike enthusiasm for photography, and to shoot without any concern for the external world.

A photographer who only shoots for his/her own internal world.

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Success as a photographer and photography entrepreneur:

Have an extreme vision — which is so radically bold and ‘insane’, but interesting and starkly different (extreme differentiation) from the herd!

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To make a name for yourself, it is simple:

Strive to become as extremely different from others as possible.

For example, the success of CYBERTRUCK. Or having an extreme vision.

It is impossible to stand out if you’re just a clone or an iteration of other things and people. Thus it seems that ‘creative isolation‘ is quite useful, and seek more inspiration from the classics and the past, than the modern and trendy.

Never stop shooting:

• MY NEED FOR STRONGER VISUAL STIMULI
• ERIC KIM PHOTOGRAPHY INSPIRATION
• How to be Inspired
• Eternal Creation in Photography
• How to Create Mood in Your Photography
• How to Find Inspiration
• Why Do You Need “Inspiration” to Shoot?
• How to Find Inspiration In Your Photography
• 101 Inspirational Street Photography Quotes

Motivation

If you’ve hit “photographer’s block” or need some motivation, read these articles below:

• How to Overcome Photographer’s Block
• How to Overcome Boredom with Photography
• Never Stop Growing as a Photographer
• Just Shoot.
• 5 Things to Do If You’ve Lost Your Passion for Photography
• How to Have Unshakeable Confidence in Yourself
• Don’t Give Up On Your Dream
• Don’t Waste Your Potential
• Unlock Your Potential
• Empower Others With Your Photography
• Why You Shouldn’t Follow Your Passion in Photography

Motivational Videos

This means:

No matter what, everything in society, life, money, things, happiness and stuff is ALWAYS in comparison to others socially.

SOCIOLOGY by KIM

1. Mimetic Desires
2. Interest in Humans or Objects?
3. Social Stochastic Resonance
4. How to Live Bravely in Today’s Brave New World and Society
5. Arousal
6. Is Humanity on the Decline?
7. Social Innovations
8. Society *Shouldn’t* Be Fair
9. Why Society Doesn’t Want Free Thinkers and Free Livers
10. Our New Soft Society
11. HARD SOCIETY

Sociological Theory

• TOLERANCE AND INTOLERANCE
• POST-MONETARY SOCIETY.
• Simulated Universal Basic Income
• DIGITAL CAPITALISM
• Capitalism 2.0
• SOCIETY 2.0

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Photography and Sociology

• Street Photography Sociology
• Visual Sociology through Street Photography
• How You Can Apply Sociology to Your Street Photography Projects
• 10 Things Sociology Has Taught Me About Street Photography

Typically my pride has been:

I do not want to be like anyone else.

My pride —

Not to wear the same things others wore, not to rock the same brands others rocked, and to sort of become an ‘elitist’ through minimalism, simplicity, and just following my own zen–stoic mind.

Certainly this is a partly vain pursuit — you always compare your uniqueness in comparison to others. But my realization:

No matter how much we would like to think, we are social creatures (sociology of comparison) which means — we will inevitably ALWAYS compare everything when it comes to social matters.

So what are we to do about this? I say just accept it, and perhaps do simple things:

1. Drive a different car for the sake of driving a different car
2. Use a different phone from others for the sake of it
3. Use different tools, apps, and productivity apps for the sake of it
4. With clothes, shoes, and fashion matters– despise having the same brands, outfits, or concepts as others (strive for extreme differentiation here).
5. With music, art works, and other aesthetic matters — seek inspiration from the past, or from the obscure which you love.

PHILOSOPHY by KIM

Philosophical Essays

• Children & Purpose
• Thoughts on Becoming a Parent
• Where Does Our Desire to Upgrade Come From?
• WE ALWAYS NEED SOMETHING FURTHER TO ASPIRE TO.
• Self-Task Yourself an Awesome Mission in Life
• Differentiation vs Equalization
• My Passion to *Become* Something More
• No Aesthetic or Ethos is Forever
• What is Your Higher Purpose in Life?
• IT WILL NEVER SATISFY YOU.
• How to Decide
• Things You *Want* to Do vs Things You *MUST* Do
• Towards a More Beautiful Mode of Existence and Future
• EXTREME GRATITUDE.
• AMAP (As Much as Possible) or None.
• Why or How Does it Matter?
• The Philosophy of Time and Events
• How *Not* to Resent
• FORWARD LOOKING
• DOMAIN FLEXIBILITY.
• The Miracle of Human Growth
• EXTREME ADAPTATION.
• Why Plan?
• You Don’t Need to Justify Yourself
• The Philosophy of Ego
• True vs False Passions
• How to Achieve Tranquility
• On Making Your Own Philosophy
• The Purpose of Life is to Create New Life
• Think On!
• The Wisdom of Doing Nothing
• Congruency
• My Thoughts on Meditation
• The Philosophy of Purpose
• Emulate Yourself
• Good Fear, Bad Fear
• For the Betterment of Humanity or Just Yourself?
• What you *really* believe in and care for is manifested through your actions (or non-actions)
• Why Culture is Your Enemy
• YOUR EXPERIENCES ARE KING.
• LIFE IS INHERENTLY GOOD.
• Artistic, Physical, and Philosophical Muscles
• All New Experiences are Good Experiences
• What is the Purpose of X?
• UTILITY.
• Philosophy is a Luxury
• The Attempt is More Interesting than the Result
• Joyfulness vs “Happiness”
• Effectiveness Over Happiness
• Self Actualization
• MAXIMAL ENGAGEMENT
• Life & Pain
• On Living Every Day with No Regret
• Learn as if you’re going to live forever, live as if you’re going to die tomorrow
• Live Every Day Like it Were the Last Day of Your Life
• Self-Determination
• FALSE GRATITUDE vs REAL GRATITUDE
• HOW TO LIVE MORE
• THE UPSIDE OF TRAGEDY
• Satisfaction is a Sucker’s Game
• Supreme Repose
• WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF LIFE? According to ERIC KIM
• STUBBORN, FLEXIBLE
• EVERYTHING HAPPENS AS IT *SHOULD* HAVE HAD HAPPENED
• Good Addiction, Bad Addiction?
• What is the Best Life?
• The Philosophy of Thinking
• The Philosophy of Conspiracies
• Conspiracies
• Growth
• Skepticism.
• What Do You Really Want Out of Life?
• Seem or Be?
• Learn Through Pain
• Respect Yourself
• In Praise of Elitism
• Why Independent Thinking?
• I Will Never Die
• Bitter is Better
• The Genesis of Nihilism and Existential Dread
• The Ethics of Personal Enrichment
• Good vs Not Good
• Punished by Privilege
• Abstinence Over Moderation
• Just Leave Others Alone
• You Can Only Critique that Which You Truly Understand and Love
• ERIC KIM Critique of Metaphysics
• Only Trust Philosophers Who Deadlift
• Heuristic: If Someone Talks Shit About Others Behind Their Back, Most Likely They’re Also Talking Shit About You Behind Your Back
• Virtue is a Privilege
• What Are Your Life Goals?
• Honesty
• Why I’m Anti Moderation
• No Spite, No Malice.
• Ascending Life or Descending Life?
• Double Edged Sword
• Ignorance.
• Why I Don’t Trust “Nice Guys”
• Why You Must Share Your Opinion
• Selfish Isn’t Evil
• Wisdom is the Goal
• YOU ARE KING.
• MASTER YOURSELF
• What is “Good” for You is Often what is Bad for You
• Care.
• BITTERSWEET
• ONE REP MAX
• Morality and Ethics is the Snare
• BY HELPING YOURSELF, YOU BEST HELP OTHERS
• Insanity is Good.
• Think Deep.
• PHILOSOPHY IS THE FUTURE.
• Open Mind vs Closed Mind
• ENTHUSIASM IS GENIUS
• Towards a More Critical and Rigorous Line of Thinking
• How to Encourage and a Foster Independent and Free Thinking
• What is the Purpose of Life?
• WHY PHILOSOPHY IS SUPREME.
• Elitism.
• I Cannot Form an Opinion About Somebody Until I’ve Met Them in the Flesh
• ALL GENETICS ARE GOOD GENETICS.
• Happiness vs Freedom
• The Birth of a Hater
• My Way Isn’t the Right Way
• Walking as an Existential Thing
• Why I’m So Tolerant
• Mortal Gods
• THE HUMAN SPECIES
• Why I’m So Skeptical
• Just Follow the Money
• Why Selfish?
• WHY WE CANNOT BLAME OTHERS
• Why Are We So Anti Elitism?
• What Actually Interests You?
• How to Become Yourself
• SELF HATE
• Optimistic Fatalism
• Death is the Ultimate Creative Constraint
• FLUX.
• How to Think for Yourself
• FLESH
• How to Live the Best Life
• Why Live a Life Without Regrets?
• Why Plato Ruined Art and Aesthetics for Us
• Self Respect
• Hypocrite vs Contradict
• Ideals vs Reality
• Spaceship Philosophy
• What is Your Ideal Life?
• MY EXTREME GRATITUDE TOWARDS LIFE AND BEING ALIVE!
• Critique of Utilitarianism
• Don’t Treat Others the Way You Want to Be Treated
• The Eternal Recurrence of Tragedy and Joy in Life
• Elite Asceticism
• Why I Don’t Like Numbers
• Action and Reaction, Cause and Effect
• The Antidote to Nihilism: The Philosophy of Nothingness
• ERIC KIM Notes on Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• EXPLOIT CHAOS.
• WHY I DON’T BELIEVE IN GENETICS
• Self-Wisdom
• The Future Belongs to the Fearless
• INDIVIDUALISM
• Why Live Forever?
• THIS TOO WILL PASS.
• Why Education?
• How to Become Yourself
• Things Shouldn’t Go Back to the Way They Used to Be
• Why Am I So Cruel?
• The Great Joy of Existence
• Virtue for the Sake of Virtue
• NO DISDAIN.
• INTELLIGENT IGNORANCE
• A LIFE WITHOUT PAIN, DIFFICULTY OR TRAGEDY ISN’T A LIFE WORTH LIVING
• BITTER IS BETTER.
• EXPLOIT THE BEST FROM TRAGEDY AND LIFE 
• DISREGARD FOR SELF-PRESERVATION
• PAIN.
• WHAT IF EVERYTHING IS NOT GONNA BE ALRIGHT?
• Tomorrow is Never
• Life is the Ultimate Creative Constraint
• EMBODIED REALITY
• BLACK SWAN
• THINGS WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THE WAY THEY USED TO BE
• What are you *really* afraid of?
• HAPPINESS ISN’T THE GOAL
• Philosophy is King
• Why is Selfish Evil?
• YOU’RE CONSTANTLY IN A STATE OF BECOMING
• ENTITLEMENT A SIN?
• NARCISSISM
• BE BRUTALLY HONEST WITH YOURSELF
• WHY FREE WILL?
• OBEY YOUR OPINION
• EGO IS GOOD.
• WHY IT IS GOOD TO BE INTO YOURSELF
• Seek the Good Pain
• Anti-Perfection in Photography, Art, and Life
• Can You Become an End into Yourself?
• WHY I LIVE
• Why I Hate Decline
• Why I Eat
• Why am I So Positive and Optimistic?
• EFFORT IS ENJOYMENT
• Never Stop Gaining
• TRUST YOURSELF
• A Life of Maximal Personal Independence
• What Do You Desire to Become?
• What Do I Want from Technology?
• Stratified Society
• Do You Love or Hate Reality?
• On the Brian, Body and Mind
• I’m Maximally Happy, Now What?
• Care over Fame
• ACTIVE NIHILISM
• Never Stop Subtracting
• How to Live a Happier and More Epic Life
• A Risker Life is a Better Life
• Only Work on Things You Can Imagine Doing for Eternity
• How to Maximize Your Happiness
• Influence
• The Gladiator Makes His Plans once He Enters the Ring
• Meditations on Meaning in Life
• There is Nothing More Interesting than Human Beings
• Is Hope a Vice?
• EGO
• Why Be Unique?
• Happiness is Metabolism Health and Strength
• You’re the Hero
• Is Productivity a Virtue or Vice?
• Why Do We Prize the Rare?
• The Joy of Uncertainty
• How Should I Best Use My Time and Life?
• A Life Without Pain or Suffering Isn’t a Life Worth Living
• Free or Unfree?
• What Do You Really Care For in Life?
• Anti-Satisfaction in Life
• Why Think?
• The Eternal Return
• Only Do What is Best for You!
• Truthiness
• Why Be Happy?
• Permissionless Living
• In Praise of Unconventional Wisdom
• Become the Change Which You Wish to See in the World
• Happiness
• Beyond Freedom
• Idolize People, Not Stuff
• What Makes You Stronger? What Makes You Weaker?
• Why Hate?
• The Secret of Happiness
• You’re Constantly in a State of Becoming
• Life is about Choices, Not Obligations
• Anti-Nihilism
• First, Do What is Best for You.
• Live Dynamic
• How to Prosper
• Is the Point of Life to Be Satisfied?
• SUPREME EFFORT OF WILL.
• How to Become more Idealistic
• Thrivival 101
• Create Yourself
• Non-Small
• Inspiration
• How to Live a Heroic Life: Dare the Heights!
• Human Augmentation
• Prune
• Happiness: Do What You Want to Do (And Don’t Do What You Don’t Want to Do)
• Avoid Vain (Empty) Pursuits in Life
• Modern Slavery
• Kill the Leeches
• Wisdom Augmentation
• Why We Need Friction in Life
• Straight Line Philosophy
• What’s Your End-Game in Life?
• Create Your Own Happiness Today
• Desire Both Pain and Pleasure in Life
• Try the Impossible
• SELF-RESPECT
• Anti-Social Extrovert
• Never Blame Anybody But Yourself
• Human Flourishing
• Simpler, Not Better.
• How to be Free
• Embrace the Extremes
• Cultivate Your Own Culture
• COURAGE.
• Thrivival
• Inner Power
• How to Live a Purposeful Life
• My Definition of Happiness
• Why Change is Good
• Why Work?
• How to Live the Happiest Possible Life
• The Two-Pronged Approach to Maximize Joy in Your Life
• You Always Have Another Option!
• INFINITISM
• Never Stop!
• What is Your Self-Directed Purpose in Life?
• Live Today Like it Were Your Last
• Do You Photograph to Live, or Live to Photograph?
• ARTIST-PHILOSOPHER
• Live Life to the Fullest!
• In Praise of Selfishness
• Why You Must Be a YAY-SAYER to Succeed in Entrepreneurship and Life
• Why I Love Walking
• Live Life Like a Video Game!
• Simple Luxuries in Life
• Treat Your Life Like a Fun Experiment!
• Only Prove it to Yourself
• You Don’t Always Need to Feel Joyful to Live a Fulfilling and Meaningful Life
• Life is Too Short to Be Bored!
• Money Cannot Destroy Boredom
• How to Find Inspiration in Life
• Why You Must Ignore Haters to Succeed and Win in Life
• An Active Life is a Happy Life
• My Simple Joys in Life
• Never Stop Striving
• How to Motivate Yourself in Life
• How to Be Optimistic in Life
• How to Dictate Your Purpose in Life
• In Praise of a Dynamic Life
• PURPOSE.
• How to Enjoy Life
• Photography Therapy
• How to Conquer Regret
• Take Your Play Very Seriously.
• How to Prosper
• Memento Vivere
• Destroy in Order to CREATE
• Trust Your Body More Than Your Mind
• Make Photos to Make Meaning in Your Life
• Seek Knowledge, Not Information
• The Purpose of Human Life
• How to Overcome Impedence
• Why I Love Death
• How to Be Centered in the Eternal Now
• How to Be Happy
• Why Do You Care What Others Think of You?
• Why I’m Happy
• Why?
• Why I’m So Prolific
• How to Reduce LAG in Life

Masters of Philosophy Â»

• Seneca
• Marcus Aurelius
• Publilius Syrus

Personal Philosophy Â»

• You Are the Light of the World
• Your Soul is a Diamond in the Rough
• Why Live?

Stoicism Â»

• How to Be a Stoic Street Photographer
• How to Use Photography as Self-Therapy
• How to Free Your Soul From Disturbance

Zen Philosophy »

• How to Be a Zen Street Photographer
• Zen in the Art of Street Photography
• How to Find Tranquility in Your Photography

Life Lessons Â»

• How to Conquer Your Fears in Life
• Conquer Yourself
• How to Focus

Learn more: Start Here >

You’re not just a photographer– you’re a creator. When you make photos, you create *BEYOND* yourself. This means:

You take embodied reality, and make something new, fuller, and more interesting with your photos!

MASTER MOTIVATION

Seek to supersede yourself and become more:

• Create *BEYOND* Yourself
• Let Your Curiosity Drive Your Photography
• LOVE YOUR PHOTOS.
• Abstract Monochrome Photography
• SHOOT WITHOUT THINKING.
• Just Have Fun With Photography
• Wu-Wei Effortless Motivation
• CONSISTENCY x NOVELTY
• Easily Bored?
• Face Photography
• How to Become More Self-Motivated in Your Photography
• YOUR OWN PHOTOS ARE THE BEST PHOTOS.
• On Sharing Your Favorite Photos
• UBERABUNDANCE.
• Peak Photographic Productivity
• When to Review Your Photos
• Serotonin and Photos
• The Photos You Have Yet Shot are Your Most Important Photos
• 3 Tips How to Master Photography
• Do You Like Your Own Photos?
• The Beauty of Mundane, Everyday Moments
• Reasons Why to Be Optimistic About the Future
• A Photography-Full Future
• The More You Shoot, the Better
• How Many Photos Should You Shoot Everyday?
• Why Do We Love Motion?
• Now is Your Chance to Shoot History in the Making
• Photo by Photo
• How and Why Photography Remains So Interesting to Me
• How to Conquer Your Inner Photographic Critic
• Thoughts on HDR Photography
• New Year, New Photos
• Why Exhibit Your Photos?
• Photography is Visual Poetry
• What’s the Purpose of Art?
• Why Do We Photographers Have Such a Hard Time Staying Inspired and Motivated?
• On Becoming a More Optimistic Photographer
• Philosophy of Weather
• How to Become a More Optimistic Photographer and Human
• You Are a Creative Photographer
• JUST SHARE YOUR ARTISTIC PROCESS WITH OTHERS.
• What Motivates Me to Shoot?
• How to Maximize Yourself to the Fullest
• HOW TO MOVE AND MOTIVATE PEOPLE
• Autotelic Photography
• The more I go out and photograph the world, the more interesting and beautiful the world becomes
• Why Photographers Have Such Low Self-Esteem
• ERIC KIM MOTIVATION
• Why Am I So Unmotivated?
• EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY
• WHY ARE YOU SO UNMOTIVATED?
• Movement is Motivation
• How to Motivate Myself to Make New Photos
• Never Stop Optimizing
• How to Help and Motivate Others
• Feed On Your Own Photos; Let Them Nourish You!
• Competition is for Suckers
• A Future Without Travel
• How Google Can Improve Your Photography
• DEVELOP YOURSELF.
• NEVER STOP MOVING!
• How I Self-Motivate Myself
• Every Day the Sun is Birthed Anew
• A Life Without Photography Isn’t a Life Worth Living
• WIN.
• 8 Practical Photography Assignments for You
• Tabula Rasa, Blank Slate, Carte Blanche
• RELENTLESS
• LIFE IS THE ULTIMATE RPG
• HYPER VIGOR
• FRESH AIR PHOTOS
• WHO IS GONNA THRIVE IN TODAY’S BRAVE NEW WORLD?
• ARTISTIC OPTIMISM
• PASSION, not Discipline
• Better Bad Photos than No Photos
• The Empowering Feeling of Failure
• To Be Human is to Move
• Enjoy the Process
• Better Bad Photos than No Photos
• Why Keep Making New Art and Photos, Indefinitely?
• Photography Motivation: What if There is Nothing Interesting to Photograph?
• Move First, Motivation Later
• Motivation Follows the Action
• In Praise of Heroes
• 5 Tips How to Boost Your Creativity
• How to Have Inspiration to Take Photos in the Suburbs
• Anything that Motivates You to Move is Good!
• The Productive Photographer is the Happiest Photographer!
• Make Today Count!
• How to Break Through Photographer’s Block
• The Joyful Photographer
• The Dancing Photographer
• The Kaizen Process of Gradual Self-Improvement in Photography
• It is Your Duty to Make Beautiful Pictures!
• Making Pictures IS Happiness!
• NO EXCUSES.
• The Pomodoro Photography Technique
• The ABC of Photography
• Just Shoot It.
• How to Change the World With Photography
• How to Find Inspiration in Photography and Life
• How to Overcome Resistance
• Create Against the Past
• How I Motivate Myself to Make Photos
• Wear Your Camera Like a Necklace or Bracelet
• Have Your Photos Come to You
• How to Level Up in Your Photography
• How Not to Give a Fuck of What Others Think of You
• How to Overcome Procrastination in Your Photography
• How to Reinspire Your Photography
• What is Your Mission in Photography and Life?
• How to Overcome Photographer’s Block
• Be a Photographer Now
• How to Overcome Boredom with Photography
• Never Stop Growing as a Photographer
• Why Do You Need “Inspiration” to Shoot?
• Just Shoot.
• 5 Things to Do If You’ve Lost Your Passion for Photography
• How to Have Unshakeable Confidence in Yourself
• Don’t Give Up On Your Dream
• Don’t Waste Your Potential
• Unlock Your Potential
• Empower Others With Your Photography
• Why You Shouldn’t Follow Your Passion in Photography

See all articles >

Super super fresh: the new HENRI NECK STRAP MARK IV in CRIMSON RED UNDERBELLY (for Mahogany Brown):

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In life, we will experience much pain and suffering. What is the best way to approach this?

Know it is part of the game — and become more indifferent towards your personal pain and suffering, and the only time to address it is in order to *NOT* keep yourself in a disadvantageous situation.

For example, let us say you are in an abusive relationship. You will experience much pain and suffering. The smart thing — channel the pain and suffering as an intelligent signal to *GET OUT* of that relationship, no matter what. But once you’re out of the relationship and you think about the past pain and suffering, rather than feel bitter resentment (like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies) — best to just feel indifferent towards your past suffering.

What has happened has happened and the only intelligent thing to do is move forward.

Work through the pain, and fix the pain.

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Let us say you get an injury– whether physical or mental. Then the goal:

Figure out what your injury is, and figure out how to ‘rehab’ it — via active physical therapy or mental therapy.

For example if you get some sort of injuries in your joints– figure out how to do active therapy (yoga, stretching, and active dynamic strengthening exercises), and then —

After rehab, you will become *STRONGER* than you were before the injury.

Like Nietzsche said:

What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.

In our words:

That which has injured me or hurt me in the past can be a positive stimulus to help me focus on becoming *STRONGER* than I was before the injury!

ERIC

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FREE MOTIVATION ON ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER >

Dear friend,

Upon much deep thought and philosophizing — I think I got it figured out when it comes to artistic and creative matters:

Create BEYOND yourself.

What does this mean? This means:

Our lives are limited and short … and thus … the goal of life is to augment ourselves in order to create beyond ourselves.

For example with materialistic matters– there is only so much equipment and gear we need. Once we have the ‘best’ tools for artistic creation… then what? It isn’t to enjoy these things for the sake of it. It is channeling and harnessing these tools in order to create things. To share things. To publish things.

This is the great upside of online publishing (especially to your own self-hosted blog or website). No gate-keepers. Nobody stopping you but you.

How to create and share beyond yourself today:

1. Create your own website/blog. Easiest is wordpress.com, then next is wordpress.org (self-hosted website blog on bluehost.com).
2. Once you have your own website blog, publish fearlessly.
3. Realize that everything is a work in progress. This means publish BEFORE things are ready. We seem to be fascinated by rough drafts from famous writers, or even sketches of famous painters (the working sketches BEFORE the final product). Thus think — one day future scholars will find fascination with you sharing your works in publish.
4. Just make it ‘80% good enough‘ and hit publish. This means to ‘satisfice‘ (satisfy + suffice) the ‘minimum viable’ concept.
5. The more you publish, the more creative and fearless you will become.

Don’t have anywhere to publish your photos? Publish them today on arsbeta.com

ERIC KIM WALLET IS HERE

If you are seeking for the perfect wallet to help you shoot more fearlessly in life, ERIC KIM PHOTOGRAPHER’S WALLET is here for you >

Discover more in HAPTIC INDUSTRIES SHOP >

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What can we control? Our courage. What else can we control? How fearlessly to publish. The only ‘failure’ in life is to fail to publish something because you’re afraid of negative feedback from others.

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Preview of how to use PHOTO WALLET:

SD Card functionality, and individual crimson red hand-stitching:

Discover PHOTO WALLET >

My personal impetus behind HAPTIC INDUSTRIES and everything I create here:

To create awesome, epic, and hugely practical things (which have been of huge use to me) and sharing them with others — knowing that there will be a small group of people who will also find it hugely useful, practical and life-enhancing and life-invigorating!

For example, being a photographer– creating the ideal and perfect tools *I* wish I had access to. Creating what I desire to see manifested in the embodied world.

For example, ERIC KIM PHOTOGRAPHER’S WALLET — my obsession with creating the perfect wallet for myself and all photographers.

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With almost all design decisions — design for yourself. Like the new HENRI NECK STRAP Crimson Red Underbelly for the Mahogany Brown color — I just thought:

If I made the inside of the neck pad red– that would look super gangsta.

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Morale of the story:

Create things *BEYOND* yourself– things you desire to see manifested in the world.

ERIC KIM

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How much coffee should you drink? How much should you workout? How much should you create, do, explore, travel and challenge yourself? My thought:

As much as your body, mind and soul can tolerate.

Entrepreneurship by KIM

Become the change which you desire to see manifested in the world!

Become you.

1. Speed is Paramount
2. TAKE IT BACK TO THE BEGINNING.
3. A Life With No Risk Taking is *NOT* a Life Worth Living
4. Dissatisfaction is Good
5. GREATER STRENGTH, GREATER CHALLENGES.
6. In Praise of the New
7. Uncorrupted Desires
8. You Cannot Fake Passion
9. SELF-OVERGOING
10. FORM YOURSELF.
11. Personal Entrepreneurship
12. RELENTLESS.
13. PUT YOUR NAME ON IT.
14. A Life of Expansion
15. SELF-ENTREPRENEURSHIP
16. YOU ARE THE EXCEPTION.
17. Use Your Life as an Experiment to Self-Develop Yourself to Heights Never Seen Before
18. Invest in New Developments
19. Investing Towards What End?
20. The 90%/10% Principle in Entrepreneurship
21. Speed Wins
22. The Philosophy of Happiness
23. When to Over-Estimate, When to Under-Estimate?
24. Never Stop Iterating
25. Money as a Tool for Life and Artistic Experimentation
26. Less But More Premium
27. Mainstream vs Low-Key Success
28. Why Dissatisfaction is Good
29. SEEK YOUR OWN PERSONAL MAXIMAL BENEFIT INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING
30. Manifest Your Destiny
31. Is it Best to *Not* Communicate Your Inner Thoughts or Ideas With Others?
32. CREATE THINGS YOU WISH TO SEE MANIFESTED IN THE WORLD
33. How to Do More Work
34. CONTROL.
35. Competition is for Losers
36. Change.
37. Your Competitive Advantage with Insanely Fast Wifi and High Speed Internet
38. Pseudo Individualism
39. Natural Internal Promoting vs External Promptings

Think for Yourself.

1. Survival vs Thrivival
2. Become Rich
3. SECRETS.
4. Why it is Better to Beg for Forgiveness than Ask for Permission
5. Thinking About the Past Prevents You From Thinking About the Future
6. How to Predict the Future
7. Tools of Mass Distraction
8. So What?

FREEDOM

• On Leaving a Legacy
• I wanna be me!
• Productivity for personal freedom
• How to Purchase your Freedom

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Never stop innovating: “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship“.

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Entrepreneurship Mindset

• What is Your Dream in Life?
• 8 Blogging Productivity Tips
• Why Be Normal?
• How Much Suffering Are You Willing to Endure to Achieve Your Dreams?

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Put a Dent in the Universe.

• Innovate for the Sake of Innovating!
• Reality is Malleable!
• Stoic Entrepreneurship
• Against Self-Preservation
• The Purpose of Life is to Make New Stuff!

When it comes to photography, there seems to be two types of photography:

1. The first type of photography is more factual and depictual, which is photographing your car parking spot, or photographing your receipts for an expense report.
2. Then the other category is arts creation, in which we use the camera as an artistic tool and medium, to create artworks. Us as photographers, our goal is to create art works with our photography.

Thus, don’t photograph things as they are, rather, photograph things as you feel them and experience them (personal photography).

PHOTOLOSOPHY

Discover more personal meaning in your photographic life with PHOTOLOSOPHY >

• Photos and Pictures
• Photographic Productivity > Happiness
• PHOTO WISDOM.
• The Philosophy of Photography and Life Experiences
• The Significant Moment
• Reflexive Photography
• Photograph Your Own History
• Why Share Your Photos?
• Photographic Memento Vivere
• Photography Art and Ethics
• Via Negativa Photography
• Psychology of the Photographer
• Optimize Your Life for Photography
• PHOTOGRAPHY IS A PRIVILEGE.
• How to Become a Great Photographer
• What is the Point of Photography?
• Past, Present, and Future Photos
• Reliability
• Why Share Your Photos?
• On Becoming Less Critical of Your Photos and Yourself as a Photographer
• Camera is God
• Photography Philosophy
• Photography for Mental and Physiological Health
• Photography and Health
• How You Can Become a Great Photographer
• Form and Substance
• ALL PHOTOS ARE ACCURATE, NONE ARE TRUTH.
• What Are You Trying to Message in Your Photography?
• Don’t Strive to Make Good Photos
• EVERY OPPORTUNITY IS A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
• Photography as Your Personal Life Odyssey
• Grapher
• The Joyful Photography
• Photography 300 Years from Now
• All I wanna do is make photos and philosophize!
• First Get Happier, then Shoot Photos!
• No Artwork SHOULD Last Forever
• High Photography
• How to Photograph Your Everyday Life
• The Photograph is Not Sacred
• PHOTO MODE.
• The Visual Soundtrack of Your Life
• The Photographer is a Visual Explorer and Transformer
• Photography as the Ultimate Artistic Form of Self-Expression
• Don’t Seek to Please or Impress Others with Your Photos
• Shoot For Yourself
• Power Photography
• Creative Evolution
• The Artist-Photographer
• Photo Realism
• Perpetual Photography
• All Photography is Good Photography
• Optimal Simplicity
• Photograph.
• True Happiness in Photography
• NOW IS THE TIME TO SHOOT! #photolosophy
• Photolosophy: With Physical Proximity comes Emotional Proximity
• Why Share Photos?
• Chaos Photography
• Soul Street Photography
• Now is the Time to Shoot!
• Photolosophy 101: Don’t Photograph Others the Way You Wouldn’t Want to Be Photographed
• Photolosophy 101: Life and Death in Photography
• Photolosophy 101: Street Photography and the Art of People
• Introduction to Photolosophy
• Photography Entrepreneurship Philosophy
• Photography Philosophy 101

The photographer Garry Winogrand one said, “I photograph to see what the world looks photographed.”

Perhaps the same philosophy in our photography is good, that is, to photograph things truly because we are curious how it will turn out. This childlike curiosity as the primum mobile, or the first motivator to our photography.

MASTER MOTIVATION

Seek to supersede yourself and become more:

• LOVE YOUR PHOTOS.
• Abstract Monochrome Photography
• SHOOT WITHOUT THINKING.
• Just Have Fun With Photography
• Wu-Wei Effortless Motivation
• CONSISTENCY x NOVELTY
• Easily Bored?
• Face Photography
• How to Become More Self-Motivated in Your Photography
• YOUR OWN PHOTOS ARE THE BEST PHOTOS.
• On Sharing Your Favorite Photos
• UBERABUNDANCE.
• Peak Photographic Productivity
• When to Review Your Photos
• Serotonin and Photos
• The Photos You Have Yet Shot are Your Most Important Photos
• 3 Tips How to Master Photography
• Do You Like Your Own Photos?
• The Beauty of Mundane, Everyday Moments
• Reasons Why to Be Optimistic About the Future
• A Photography-Full Future
• The More You Shoot, the Better
• How Many Photos Should You Shoot Everyday?
• Why Do We Love Motion?
• Now is Your Chance to Shoot History in the Making
• Photo by Photo
• How and Why Photography Remains So Interesting to Me
• How to Conquer Your Inner Photographic Critic
• Thoughts on HDR Photography
• New Year, New Photos
• Why Exhibit Your Photos?
• Photography is Visual Poetry
• What’s the Purpose of Art?
• Why Do We Photographers Have Such a Hard Time Staying Inspired and Motivated?
• On Becoming a More Optimistic Photographer
• Philosophy of Weather
• How to Become a More Optimistic Photographer and Human
• You Are a Creative Photographer
• JUST SHARE YOUR ARTISTIC PROCESS WITH OTHERS.
• What Motivates Me to Shoot?
• How to Maximize Yourself to the Fullest
• HOW TO MOVE AND MOTIVATE PEOPLE
• Autotelic Photography
• The more I go out and photograph the world, the more interesting and beautiful the world becomes
• Why Photographers Have Such Low Self-Esteem
• ERIC KIM MOTIVATION
• Why Am I So Unmotivated?
• EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY
• WHY ARE YOU SO UNMOTIVATED?
• Movement is Motivation
• How to Motivate Myself to Make New Photos
• Never Stop Optimizing
• How to Help and Motivate Others
• Feed On Your Own Photos; Let Them Nourish You!
• Competition is for Suckers
• A Future Without Travel
• How Google Can Improve Your Photography
• DEVELOP YOURSELF.
• NEVER STOP MOVING!
• How I Self-Motivate Myself
• Every Day the Sun is Birthed Anew
• A Life Without Photography Isn’t a Life Worth Living
• WIN.
• 8 Practical Photography Assignments for You
• Tabula Rasa, Blank Slate, Carte Blanche
• RELENTLESS
• LIFE IS THE ULTIMATE RPG
• HYPER VIGOR
• FRESH AIR PHOTOS
• WHO IS GONNA THRIVE IN TODAY’S BRAVE NEW WORLD?
• ARTISTIC OPTIMISM
• PASSION, not Discipline
• Better Bad Photos than No Photos
• The Empowering Feeling of Failure
• To Be Human is to Move
• Enjoy the Process
• Better Bad Photos than No Photos
• Why Keep Making New Art and Photos, Indefinitely?
• Photography Motivation: What if There is Nothing Interesting to Photograph?
• Move First, Motivation Later
• Motivation Follows the Action
• In Praise of Heroes
• 5 Tips How to Boost Your Creativity
• How to Have Inspiration to Take Photos in the Suburbs
• Anything that Motivates You to Move is Good!
• The Productive Photographer is the Happiest Photographer!
• Make Today Count!
• How to Break Through Photographer’s Block
• The Joyful Photographer
• The Dancing Photographer
• The Kaizen Process of Gradual Self-Improvement in Photography
• It is Your Duty to Make Beautiful Pictures!
• Making Pictures IS Happiness!
• NO EXCUSES.
• The Pomodoro Photography Technique
• The ABC of Photography
• Just Shoot It.
• How to Change the World With Photography
• How to Find Inspiration in Photography and Life
• How to Overcome Resistance
• Create Against the Past
• How I Motivate Myself to Make Photos
• Wear Your Camera Like a Necklace or Bracelet
• Have Your Photos Come to You
• How to Level Up in Your Photography
• How Not to Give a Fuck of What Others Think of You
• How to Overcome Procrastination in Your Photography
• How to Reinspire Your Photography
• What is Your Mission in Photography and Life?
• How to Overcome Photographer’s Block
• Be a Photographer Now
• How to Overcome Boredom with Photography
• Never Stop Growing as a Photographer
• Why Do You Need “Inspiration” to Shoot?
• Just Shoot.
• 5 Things to Do If You’ve Lost Your Passion for Photography
• How to Have Unshakeable Confidence in Yourself
• Don’t Give Up On Your Dream
• Don’t Waste Your Potential
• Unlock Your Potential
• Empower Others With Your Photography
• Why You Shouldn’t Follow Your Passion in Photography

See all articles >

Simpler is better and more productive. The more you can simplify and streamline your workflow, with creative artistic matters, means more output and creative flourishing. Perhaps the more streamlined and simpler artistic lifestyle, and artistic techniques, the happier and more fully realized we can and will become.

For example, using iPhone as a creative tool not phone. Procreate, Zen Brush 2, and other arts creation applications. Or blogging from the phone — another creativity productivity hack.

Also with videos, when integrating it on your blog, best to just make it auto play on mute and loop.

Or not concerning yourself with formatting blog posts and making things look pretty. Rather, focusing on just creating it, writing it and sharing it and publishing it and getting it out there.

I’ve also discovered that voice dictation on the iPhone is one of the quickest and most effective ways to write, far faster than texting with your two thumbs. In other words, the data output of voices and speech is at least 100x compared to that of typing on your thumbs. Also, our voices and out lungs and our throats are stronger than the carpal tunnel in our thumbs.

The Art of Creativity

Re-discover your inner-child like PICASSO:

• The Artistic Impulse
• The Photographer as Painter
• Home Photography Assignments
• Creative Optionality
• All Photos are Creative Photos
• In Photography Even the Smallest Thing Can be a Leitmotif
• 5 Creative Photography Motivation Ideas
• Creative Cross-Pollination
• In Praise of Creative Repetition
• The Joy of Glitching Your Photos
• How to Master Creativity
• Creative Work and Physiology
• Enough is Never Enough.
• Become More Uninhibited
• Utilitarianism is the Enemy of Creativity
• CONQUER CREATIVITY
• ERIC KIM Thoughts on Creativity
• What Do You *Really* Want in Life?
• Creative Iteration
• In Photography, Even the Smallest Thing Can Be a Leitmotif
• The Art of Creativity
• Why Constrain Yourself in Only Color or Black and White?
• In Praise of Collaging Your Photos
• The Purpose is to Create
• Photographing With No Filter in Small JPEG
• The Impetus to Create
• On Focusing on Your Own Self Development
• WHY COME UP WITH NEW IDEAS?
• Visual Stochastic Resonance
• Future Creativity
• Eternal Re-Creation
• How I Come Up With My Ideas (Ideation 101)
• How to Be Creative During Quarantine
• Constraints are Creative
• HOW TO BE MORE CREATIVE DURING COVID
• It is All Connected.
• What is Interesting to You is Very Likely to Be Interesting to Others
• Happiness as a Means to Creative Productivity
• How I Remix My Photos in iPad and ProCreate
• Creative Productivity
• In Praise of Repetition
• The Eternal Creative Loop
• CREATE!
• The Goal is Spontaneous Creative Activity
• Ignore Your Haters.
• You’re on a Winning Streak
• Ultralight Photography
• How to see.
• CREATORS SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.
• How to Ignore Your Inner-Critic
• How to Unlock Your Inner-Genius
• Success is Your Only Option
• How to Make Your Photos More Artistic
• Creative Lessons Rick Rubin Can Teach You About Photography
• Why I Love Shooting With an LCD Screen
• How to Shoot Abstract Photography
• How to Be More Spontaneous in Your Photography and Life
• How to Re-Invent Yourself in Photography
• How to Photograph Like a Child
• How to Be a More Imaginative Photographer
• Provoke
• Never Rust
• Limit Your Palette
• Follow Your Intuition
• Have Creative Confidence in Yourself
• How To Find Your Unique Voice in Photography
• Beginner’s Mind
• There is No Wrong Way to Shoot Street Photography
• You Can’t Control the Results, Only Effort
• On Capturing Beauty in the Mundane
• On Searching For the Maximum
• The Beauty of “Creative Constraints”
• How to Stay Curious
• Enjoy the Process

Learn more: Photography >

The more you can simplify and streamline your life process, the better.

The best fashion as highly functional and streamlined. For example, the benefit of merino wool — streamlined living (the best material irregardless of weather conditions). Or military requirement being forest green — shows the least amount of dirt and grime when it gets dirty in the field.

Or with packing and putting away clothes — not to seek the “best” setup or the most “minimal” (often making things more minimal actually makes things more complicated)— just do what is easiest and most streamlined (often the best solution after moving is just quickly and efficiently stuffing things into drawers).

The upside of wearing the same all black outfit everyday (Steve Jobs, Mark Z idea)— streamline the clothes to maximize the artistic and creative output.

Or espresso over pour overs — far faster and more streamlined to make a good coffee in the morning.

Or the upside of having less square footage in your home — more streamlined process to find and get stuff and do stuff.

Also with creative workflow (one camera, one lens, preferably and uninterchangeable lens) to streamline your creative process and output.

High range electric cars — no need for frictionful oil changes or car maintenance stuff. If you have a charger at home, less time for gas station pit stops.

Or perhaps the upside of wearing crocs or flip-flops or sandals, the ability for you to leave the house without putting on cumbersome socks or having to tie shoes.

Or the upside of just working out with the kettlebell at home. The ultimate streamlined workout without having to leave the house or enter into a gym.

We are seeking the supreme simplicity in life, design and aesthetics. But once you achieve supreme simplicity in all domains in your life … then what?

Then the next goal:

Create *BEYOND* yourself.

Less is more beautiful:

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Not seeking the “best” aesthetic, but the most zen one. The aesthetic which affords you the most peace, calm, quiet and strong stoic tranquility in order to *NOT* think about the design and aesthetic. The best design as the one you never even have to think about! Via negativa aesthetics.

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Human art:

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Typically from the past. Great cinema — Akira Kurosawa (7 Samurai), classic Renaissance painting (Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael), great photographers (Henri Cartier Bresson, Richard Avedon, Josef Koudelka). Any compositions which inspire you are great.

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The secret to boundless self driven motivation for your photography:

Boundlessly love your own photos, far more than the photos of others.

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Our photographic aesthetic Dionysian ideal. Perhaps also more tragedy in cinema, art as a superior form of beauty and storytelling.

The Philosophy of Aesthetics

The Philosophy of Aesthetics

• Depressing or Affirmative Art?
  DISDAIN DETAIL.
• Pragmatism as Anti Aesthetic
• AESTHETICS ARE ALL.
• AESTHETICS ARE THE ULTIMATE LUXURY.
• No Aesthetic is Forever
• Black is Boring
• DARKER IS BETTER.
• We Tire of The Beautiful, but Not of the Ugly?
• Minimalism as an Aesthetic and Ethos
• The Zen of Monochrome
• SIMPLICITY IS THE SUMMIT.
• AESTHETICS OVER FUNCTION
• The Desire to Banish Ugliness from Our Eyes
• Aesthetics Above All
• Simple is Sexy
• Towards a Philosophy of Aesthetics in Photography
• The Philosophy of Aesthetics
• ALL KILLER, NO FILLER.
• The Most Compact and High-Quality
• The Beauty of Imperfection
• TASTE.
• The More Obscure and Unclear, the Better.
• Cultivate Your Own Taste
• Image Quality and Great Photos
• Imperfect Photos are More Beautiful
• Do you photograph the world better, the same, or worse than reality? #aesthetics
• Aesthetics are Ethics
• Beauty over Truth #philosophy #aesthetics
• Philosophy of Aesthetics and Beauty in Photography
• Aesthetics in Photography
• Aesthetics Strengthen, Simplify, and Focus
• Not better image quality; more beautiful aesthetics!
• Why Aesthetics?

We photographers as visual poets.

The great thing about having a son:

> Becoming the father I wish I had. 

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The goal is the most streamlined photographic workflow. Simple ideas:

1. Just shoot small JPEG (faster buffer speeds, faster time to upload your files, fewer issues with storage space)
2. Use a preset or filter while you’re shooting in JPEG (for example, high contrast monochrome mode or cross process mode on RICOH GR III). This reduces time when it comes to post-processing. If you decide to shoot RAW, just use presets in Lightroom (FREE ERIC KIM PRESETS)
3. When sharing your photos, upload and share/publish them to your own blog (self-hosted, WordPress.org) and try using the ‘Tiled Gallery’ function to best publish and share your work.
4. When reviewing your photos, use the simplest and fastest software possible (for example I like Apple Photos on my laptop, faaaar faster than Lightroom Classic). If you decide to use Lightroom, I recommend the new Lightroom CC (much faster to review photos).
5. When it comes to any photo matters ask yourself: “Is this going to streamline and *SIMPLIFY* and speed up my workflow, or will it complexify and make it slower and more burdensome?” For example, more megapixels, more problems.

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“The service is twofold greater when it is promptly rendered.” – Publilius Syrus

Perhaps the key to success or dominance — optimize for speed. For example Tesla Model S in Plaid+ mode, or Google AMP to speed up the web, or anything in photography which speeds up and streamlines your workflow. We love speed, saving time, having less lag, obstructions and fewer kinks in the pipe!

Perhaps then better to do a fast, speedy and prompt job than no job … or better to do something “poorly” and fast, than slow and never.

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Your own photos and those of others:

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A fun pursuit and photography assignment:

Shoot high contrast abstract photos in monochrome.

For example:

1. Shoot under-exposed photos (as dark as possible). -1 or -2 or -3 exposure compensation.
2. Photograph textures, light, interesting surfaces
3. Look at the sky, or places with extreme high contrast
4. Look for faces in gritty textures or beautiful decay (patina, wabi-sabi aesthetics).
5. Look for patterns, or things which break the pattern (spot the not)

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Street photography you shoot for yourself– street photography you shoot for the pure joy of the activity and the experience of shooting street photography.

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My joy of photographing bodies (legs, feet, bodies, torsos, hands, faces) is this:

The human body is pure poetry.

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In life, there’s a trillion things for us to pursue (money making, crypto and investing speculation, and other random pursuits). But perhaps out of all these pursuits, photography as the most interesting and worthwhile one.

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It isn’t a “simple” lifestyle we want, but a more *streamlined* one — with fewer annoyances and blockages and “friction” which prevents you from doing what you truly desire to do in life.

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Why it is probably best to just buy the cheapest (manual transmission) car:

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Minimalism because I easily bore of things and nothing satisfies me. I just strive to get the “least hateful” design, and just stick with it — even though it’s never perfect. And when it’s perfect I also easily bore of it.

Thus don’t think of minimalism from an aesthetic or ethical perspective, but a highly practical one.

“The best or nothing”, and if you got the best, just stick with one. Towards a “luxury” Spartan design ethos.

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Yes perfect exists. But once you get it, achieve it or buy it, things are boring. Thus never seek happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction from perfect — but perhaps the pursuit of perfection is the goal and the way.

The ethos of the creator:

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As minimalist as possible:

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“I bought every V12 engine, wish I could take it back to the beginning.” – JAY Z

The purity and innocence of the beginner mind. Take yourself back to your high school self — what did you believe in and dream of, before getting corrupted by the outside external world? Internal desires, motivations and belief systems and ethos over external ones superimposed on you by others or society.

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Curiosity as the root of philosophy. A life with no curiosity is a dead life.

One doesn’t need to cultivate curiosity — one just needs to return to ones childlike curiosity about everything in the world! You don’t need to force a child to be curious — it is just his natural state of being!

Curiosity as the art of observation, and having lots of questions. Sociology as questioning social norms and the way things are traditionally done. To challenge convention as the heart of the curious individual.

Think black and white, high contrast, textures, macro mode:

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And photography helps us capture and immortalize this!

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