Even in ancient times, poets and playwrights would constantly seek the approval of the public.

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My friend Aaron Offord sent me Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” which has been one of the most inspirational and uplifting books I’ve read in a while. The story outlines Frankl’s story of surviving the Holocaust; he was a Jewish psychologist from Vienna. He writes about his struggles, and how men were able to survive the extermination camps.

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I have lost hundreds and thousands of photographs over the years, due to hard drive failures, forgetting to backup my images, or by accidentally deleting photos (before transferring them).

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Dear friend,

I wanted to share an idea I had with you in regards to philosophy, life, photography, physics, and Elon Musk from Tesla.

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Dear friend,

I wanted to share some thoughts with you on “reducing”, “subtraction”, “less is more” — whatever along those lines.

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I just went to a friend’s wedding the other day— and man, it was so much fun.

Singing, dancing, drinking, eating— the air full of merriment and joy.

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Happy 2016; goodbye 2015.

Every year, we are told what to do for a new year’s resolution.

I propose something opposite this year— let us try to propose things not to do this year.

It is kind of like a Lenten promise— for 40 days deciding something not to do anymore. I have tried Lenten promises in terms of things to do— but these never seem to work out. Figuring out what to not do (or abstain from) actually tends to be easier.

Abstinence is easier than forcing yourself to do something.

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I was driving on the freeway (the 5) and had a random thought:

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What do I want for Christmas?

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In American society— we are always told to buy more shit to take away our misery and dissatisfaction in our lives.

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Dear friend,

I want to tell you a story:

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Dear friend,

I want to propose a new school of photography called “personal photography.” Consider this letter as a way for me to work out some ideas, and to share some ideas with you.

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Dear friend,

I want to let you know— I am a brand-slave. Meaning; I love brands. I love the way they make me feel, but I am imprisoned by them.

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Dear friend,

I just wanted to write you this letter to share you some personal thoughts after reading “Capital” and “The Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx. And no, it isn’t some crazy communist shit– it is rather about how you should never let anything hold you back from unlocking your creative potential.

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After about a hundred shots of espresso, the newest “Learn From the Masters of Street Photography” PDF Book is live. This version (Version II) is the newest and cleanest version that distills the wisdom of the masters of street photography into 100 practical lessons.

This book is “open-source” and free to download, edit, modify, translate, remix, and share.

• Learn more about the book

PDF

• Download / 155MB / .ibooks

iBooks Author Source File

• Download / 620 MB / .iba

For further reading, learn from all the masters of street photography.

“It’s not the daily increase but the daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.” – Bruce Lee

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I’m like a pigeon. I am so easily distracted. If you saw how many Google chrome tabs I have open at once, you’d know what I mean.

When I was walking around in SF in Soma, I saw a sign that said:

Deep Focus

It really stuck to me the next few weeks. What is “deep focus” anyways?

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Don’t be afraid.

Fear is what prevents your inner-artist from expressing itself.

Fear is what prevents you from approaching that stranger you want to talk to/take a photo of.

Fear is what holds you back from quitting your job, and traveling the world.

Fear is what prevents you from approaching that curator to show your work.

Fear is what prevents you from uploading that one photo online; you are scared that others will judge you, you are scared if you aren’t going to get any likes, and you are afraid that you might be revealed as a “fraud.”

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Dear streettogs,

I am excited to share that I am one of the instructors at “Gulf Photo Plus 2016” this year. If you’ve never heard about the event, long story short— it is the most epic, fun, and educational photography-related event I have ever been to.

The event “Gulf Photo Plus” is also the name of the organization (also called Gulf Photo Plus”— yeah it can be confusing)— and it is a yearly event in Dubai (the place that has the ski-lift inside a mall). It brings all the world’s best instructors (both adept photographers and great teachers), and honestly it is just a fun time to hang out with other photographers, grab drinks at the bars in the evening, and feel love and inspiration.

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HENRI

Never Miss the Decisive Moment.

Discover all of the camera straps made by HAPTIC INDUSTRIES:

NEW Henri Wrist Strap Pro (with pad)

• Buy in Haptic Shop >
• Buy Phantom Black on Amazon >
• Buy Crema Brown on Amazon >

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Henri Shoulder Strap

• PHANTOM BLACK on Amazon >
• CREMA BROWN on Amazon >

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Henri Wrist Strap (Crema Brown)

• Buy in Haptic Shop >
• Buy on Amazon >

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Henri Neck Strap (Classic OG)

• Buy in Haptic Shop >

• Buy on Amazon >

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Limited-Edition Henri CHROMA Wrist Straps

HENRI CHROMA Wrist Straps: available for a limited time.

• PHANTOM BLACK >
• CRIMSON RED >
• MIDNIGHT BLUE >

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ERIC KIM

ERIC KIM NECK STRAP (Compatible with RICOH GR II)

• Buy in Haptic Shop >
• Buy on Amazon >

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ERIC KIM Wrist Strap (Compatible with RICOH GR II)

• Buy in Haptic Shop >
• Buy on Amazon >

Bespoke for you

The Story behind the Henri & Eric Kim Straps

This post is written by Cindy aka Haptic:

Serendipitous Encounters: Saigon 2014

In summer of 2014 Eric and I met a group of talented artists in Saigon. We hung out, drank lots of coffee, and talked about creative projects to work on:

Project 1: Our friend Gin and his gang of skilled film producers put together this beautiful film about shooting street photography in Vietnam along with Fujifilm Vietnam:

Project 2: Gin also introduced us to his childhood friend who are models and musicians, Lan and Uyen. In Vietnam, rarely do people just do one thing. There is a spirit of creativity, entrepreneurism, and scrappiness in Saigon. Lan and Uyen also are talented leather makers and artisans.

Over the course of three years we worked together to design, experiment, and make different products.

Handmade Leather Camera Straps

All of our leather products — the HENRI COLLECTION (neck strap, wrist strap, wrist strap pro, shoulder strap, chroma) and ERIC KIM COLLECTION (wrist strap, neck strap) are 100% leather and handmade and crafted with care from start to finish. Lan and Uyen source the leather, handmake the straps during the weekdays between music gigs, and ship them to California from Saigon.

Rather than mass produced, these are handmade in small, limited-quantity batches in order to preserve a level of excellent craftsmanship and quality. Each strap is unique.

Once they get to California, Eric and I, (and now with the help of our loving and supportive family–sorry Mom for taking over the dining room table…) work to quality check, finish, and package each strap.

I designed the packaging of each product (I love boxes). The labeling is hand-stamped!

Why buy from HAPTIC aka Cindy & Eric?

Unlike huge, anonymous factories, this is the entire operation: Eric, me, my family, Lan, and Uyen. We are transparent about the labor practices behind the straps because we are proud and love each product we make.

We live in Vietnam currently and are very cognizant of global inequality, especially in labor practices. This is why we price our products the way we do. We want to give a fair and respectful wage to everyone involved. We do not run a wholesale factory, but support honest and beautiful work.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you

We know there are so many other straps and camera accessories to choose from, so we thank you for choosing to support us!

Here are our friends from all around the world, proudly displaying their HAPTIC products:

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HAPTIC Moving Forward

Moving forward, we are focusing on HAPTICPRESS — to publish more art, books, and guides to inspire and empower our artists and photographers. We wish to build a platform of mutual empowerment, and to also hopefully feature your work one day.

We are also building up the ERIC KIM FORUM — your new home to improve, grow, and learn as a photographer and artist.

We thank you so much for building this positive community of sharing, growth, and openness. Let’s continue to ride this creative wave together.

Always,
Cindy & Eric
Saigon, 2017

Raise your hand if you don’t have enough time to make photos.

[Raises hand]

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Dear friend,

I want to tell you about my camping trip in Yosemite during the thanksgiving break.

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This is an interview between me and Neil Ta, my good friend (and manager). He’s recently taken his street photography to the next level by shooting exclusively with a Hasselblad Xpan (panoramic film camera), and has taken a few trips to Cuba. See his on-going edit of Cuba, and learn more about him and how he shoots:

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Read this as a Google Doc

I was talking with one of my friends and students David— and he has an excellent camera. He shot with an Olympus OM-D EM-5 Mark II with a Lumix 15mm lens (30mm full-frame equivalent). I was actually curious about the camera (as Josh White, one of my best friends in Korea) has one— and has been taking phenomenal shots with it.

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“Happiness: take away from your desires, not to add to your riches.” – Epicurus

Today is American Thanksgiving. It is a time of the year to appreciate what you have— to spend time with friends, family, and eat lots of (dry) turkey. I think about Thanksgiving as a chance to really “give thanks” — here is what I am grateful for in my life:

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Dear friend,

I am writing this as a practical instructional manual in terms of how to start your own photography blog. Note that none of this is “truth” or “rules” — these are simply guidelines that I wish I knew when I started a photography blog. I will share some tips, pieces of advice, and lessons which can help you practically when starting a photography blog.

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Dear friend,

I am addicted to G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I always want to buy new shit— the newest iPad (Epic), cars (Mustang), phone (iPhone 6s or Nexus 6P), clothes (hipster $200+ raw denim), coffee makers ($500+), and tons of other stuff in my Amazon gift list. Here are some practical tips that have helped me (partially) combat G.A.S.:

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I love to buy shit. It makes me feel great. I feel cooler, handsomer, sexier, more powerful, and more important. I always feel that if I just bought “X” I would become happier. For example, if I bought a Leica, I would feel more “creative”, “inspired”, and become a better photographer. Not only that, but I would be more “respected” if I had a Leica.

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Ugh, I just woke up and haven’t had my espresso yet (fortunately it is being made right now).

Anyways— I wanted to share an idea that I had when I was rolling out of the couch today: practice random acts of kindness.

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This weekend I’m teaching a “how to find your unique voice” street photography workshop in Downtown LA. One of the things I love most about teaching a workshop is that it gives me the opportunity to come up with new posts to share with you.

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Dear friend, life is brutally short; live a life of leisure.

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I own a lot of shit. I don’t think it is bad to have a lot of material possessions. However I find for me, more stuff, more problems.

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Hey Neil,

Happy birthday man. I’m not 100% sure how old you are now, but all I know is that you’re about a decade my senior. I wanted to write this letter to wish you a happy birthday, and share some personal thoughts of how grateful I am to have you in my life.

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Dear friend,

I want to share some ideas with you– specifically about “personal” street photography. I’m going to ramble a bit before that, so please be patient with me.

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Dear friend,

I wanted to share some ideas with you on my mind; one of them being on happiness.

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I’m in a plane to LA from Oakland (Southwest), and wanted to use this hour or so to write and share about my experiences shooting 100 rolls of Kodak Tri-X Film pushed to 1600 this summer.

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See the most recent version of this book (Version III): “100 Lessons From the Masters of Street Photography.”

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Learn from the masters of street photography, with 82 practical lessons and assignments that will push you outside of your comfort zone, and take your work to the next level.

ePub Download

• Direct Download
• Dropbox
• Google Drive

PDF Download

• Direct Download

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I’ve been in the “social media” game for as long as I can remember. Let me tell you a story:

I just turned 21 years old, and I got 100+ “happy birthday” messages on Facebook. No phone calls. Two text messages (one from Cindy and one from my mom). No presents. No hugs in real life. I felt sad, shallow, and neglected.

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