What if our goal and motive as photographers was to capture the fullest extent of life, while we’re still alive?

To photograph people, nature, urban landscapes, plant life, and all of life?

When I look at artwork, I like artwork which “moves” me– quite literally moves me. Which encourages me to move around, dance, and go out and make more of my own artwork!

An idea: for fun, turn your photos into animated GIFs!

Refuse yourself to become a prisoner to your past self, your past artistic style, etc.

Free DOWNLOAD of Eric Kim Stock Photos (Volume 1).

Thanks to Cindy for the idea. The basic notion is this:

If you need free photographs or illustrations for a book cover, design, etc — these are for you.

Practical ideas:

It seems that success as a photographer in today’s brave new world of photography is 90% dependent on marketing skill, and only 10% photographic skill. It seems this is the truth.

Now, how are you to succeed and stand-out? Here are some practical ideas I’ve learned through my decade+ experience in photography, marketing, philosophy, and life:

Why don’t I like to possess things which others posses?

I deem JOSEF KOUDELKA as one of the greatest photographers of all time. Why? Let me share.

To make great photos, strive to make strong and simple compositions.

When in doubt, go light.

With enough of your personal willpower, you can achieve, do, become, or create anything.

But the practical question:

How do we “gain” more willpower? How can we strengthen our willpower?

A simple way of living life:

Devote all of your power and energy to do dope shit!

A thought inspired by Cindy:

You are the end.

What I mean is this:

Is there such thing as “ideal” aesthetics in photography?

To me, entrepreneurship is applied philosophy to reality. To become an entrepreneur takes 10000x more guts than to be a thinker and philosopher. Why? As an entrepreneur you are tied to reality (skin in the game, via Nassim Taleb). You’re a modern day hero. You’re taking on personal sacrifices and risks to better humanity and the collective.

Where should the profit motive fit?

I love monochrome. Here are some practical tips to help you elevate your monochrome vision:

I have a bold new vision of the future:

A world in which we derive happiness and meaning from creating and producing things (artwork), instead of striving to buy, possess, or consume.

In photography, using a wide-angle lens and getting very close will make better photos:

Why is happiness important? Why be happy?

Kind of random — but after years of experimenting with different headphones (noise cancelling, over-head, in-ear, bluetooth, wireless, wired, etc), I have decided:

In-ear monitor ‘earbuds’ are the best headphones.

Entrepreneurial concepts to help increase your likelihood of success:

What is art? Art is something that a human being creates.

Anything you create is an “art-work”.

Now perhaps the more practical question is this:

Is art a legitimate art-form? And is it on the same plane as painting or other forms of artwork?

I claim it is. Why? Let me explain:

ARS: The superior ‘anti-social’ social media platform BY photographers, FOR photographers!

How I shoot in real life:

Some of my favorite photos and why I love these photos:

A thought on art:

Perhaps we should strive to make beautiful things which we like to look at.

I am one of the most creatively productive people I know. Here are some practical thoughts and tips on how to create more:

What are the best camera straps for you? An overview of all HAPTIC STRAPS:

Some ideas on walking more and shooting more:

What makes a beautiful photo? How do we better increase our chances of making a beautiful photo? What type of camera do we need, and so forth?

To become more successful in life, give more and receive (take less).

Life is too short for ugly photos.

A thought when listening to some hip hop music and looking through my photos:

I strive to make a visual soundtrack.

My photos are a reflection of me. My photos are imbued with my soul.

Surreal photos are more interesting, and more artistic.

The beauty of monochrome, blur, grit, and surreal/abstract photography — that it looks different from reality?

To motivate others literally means to make them move.

What kind of photos do I like to look at? I only like to look at photos which encourage me to move and go out and shoot my own photos!

Great photographers:

• Richard Avedon
• Henri Cartier-Bresson
• Josef Koudelka
• Bruce Davidson
• Jason Eskenazi

Strive to study more photographers who motivate you.

You’re a photographer-artist. Never let anyone talk down on you.

Practical ideas on how to make better photos:

A thought on entrepreneurship and life:

Don’t be led by trying to make money. Instead, work on challenging, interesting, and difficult problems which interest you and which are fun for you!

Practical thoughts on why iPhone is the best camera:

Study compositions from other great photographers you admire, break them down, and aspire to take your own compositions to the next level!

Some inspiration from Garry Winogrand:

You ever have someone tell you:

“Put away the camera, just enjoy this moment!”

But what if to photograph something WAS to experience it deeper, richer, fuller, with more gratitude and joy?

A pre-requisite in life:

Like yourself.

If you don’t like yourself, how do you expect others to like you?

Why do you do photography? Why do you make images? Why do you engage with the visual world? What do you want your viewers to get from your images?

This is the start of visual philosophy/photography philosophy (I call it ‘photolosophy‘).

What makes great artistic photos? Visual poetry.

Composition is endlessly fascinating, has a trillion permutations, and has no right or wrong.

One of my favorite photo books — part of our ongoing HAPTIC PHOTO BOOK CLUB (Summer):

Hey streettogs, super pumped to share that me and Cindy will start a summer book club around photography books.

Check the HAPTIC shop for special summer discounts, as well as the blog for more articles and insights about photo books and publishing! To celebrate our love of books and printing, all print and mobile books in the HAPTIC shop will have new flash sales every week throughout the summer while supplies last.

BASED ON A TRUE STORY by David Alan Harvey 

BASED ON A TRUE STORY by David Alan Harvey â€” a beautiful book concept that teaches us: 

There are so many new, innovative ways we can produce books and interact with!

Ideas from the book:

1. Print ‘newspaper’ styled books
2. Don’t need to create a spine or staple. Allow the reader to re-arrange the pages.
3. The book as a visual experience: Empower the viewer/reader of the photo book to create whatever flow they desire. 
4. Perhaps we should stop calling it a ‘photo book’, but perhaps a “photo experience“?

Interview with Cindy Nguyen on Haptic Press

The primary question of visual philosophy:

What is the worth of an image. And why are visual art works important?

The bitter in life is better than the sweet.

Bitter coffee as superior to sweet coffee.

Bitter experiences toughen you.

Of course, we should still strive towards the “bitter-sweet”— we need BOTH the bitter and the sweet in life in order to thrive, discover more gratitude in life, and have more power.

There are many types of photography out there. And honestly, there isn’t a “superior” genre out there.

Better yet — perhaps we shouldn’t separate photography into different types? However at the same time, studying different photography genres is a good way to discover NEW forms or types of photography you might not yet know you’re interested in.

These are the photography quotes I believe to be the most true, based on my personal life experiences:

To read a photo means to interpret the photo, analyze it, dissect it, strive to understand it, and to derive meaning from it.

Ambition — your life purpose risen. Break out of your mental cell and prison. 

Are your thoughts stuck or risen?

Follow your strength and charisma Laud yourself and like you through and through.

Being true is understated, confused, and underrated. Being true is to just follow your own gut— to disregard fame, wealth, and avoid prostrating yourself to others, one knee knelt.

Tighten your belt, grit your teeth. Your future is waiting, will you seize it (great reach!)

If you’re new to photography (or you want a refresh), this article is for you:

You are a creator, innovator, and artist. Now we got that out of the way, what are some practical tactics and tips to empower you to be creative everyday?

If you’re creative everyday (meaning, you create things everyday), you’re happier, more empowered, optimistic, and enthusiastic about life! 

I’ve written much on why blog, how to start and setup your own blog, but not much on how to blog. This will be a distillation of everything I’ve learned thus far from blogging (from age 15 to age 31)— 16+ years!