Human artist blog / Street photography / Philosophy
Read as a Google Doc (where you can suggest edits, and also download as a PDF). I recently came across the excellent book: “Mary Ellen Mark on the Portrait and the Momentâ€, an educational workshop book …
I’m still afflicted with GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I want new shit all the time. I’m always dissatisfied with the technology I have (smartphone, tablet, laptop, camera, espresso machine) as well as my car, …
Dear friend, I’m currently sitting at my desk, facing outside. There are beautiful trees, a soft breeze, the sound of birds chirping. I have a “HappyLight” on my left (which helps me wake up …
Dear friend, I want to share a story with you. It is an important life lesson that I learned from Greg Lowe, my tennis coach from high school. Okay let’s start from the very …
So I met Harry Benz when I was in Toronto. My buddy Adam Marelli (probably the most knowledgeable guy about composition and photography) introduced me to him. I shot Harry an email, and we …
(Words and photos unless otherwise stated is by Maarten Rots.  Maarten is an artist working with photography based out of Amsterdam. In his photographs you can see a sense of abstraction and surrealism found in …
Dear friend, I am excited to share that after nearly 3 months on the road, I am finally back at my beautiful home in Berkeley. I just wanted to use this opportunity to share …
Dear friend, You might have heard the term “YOLOâ€, which stands for “you only live onceâ€. However I think most people misconstrue the word. They think that it means to live a life of …
Dear friend, I wanted to write you this letter, sharing with you some of my personal thoughts that here is no one “right” or “wrong” way to shoot “street photography.” I think when most …
“You can’t control the results, only the effort.” – Ryan Holiday Ryan Holiday is a guy I admire very much he’s about my age, and has accomplished a lot. He’s a best selling author, …
Dear friend, I have a problem I need to share with you: I have a huge ego. I love compliments, I love external validation, and I absolutely hate being criticized, judged, or ignored. Recently …
Dear friend, I want to share some meditations and thoughts that are currently on my mind– and perhaps tell some stories. Thank you for being a good friend and listening :) Okay, so I …
Street Photography Quick Links is a compilation of Links, Projects, News, Videos, Events, or anything that is related to street photography or photography in particular that I have personally consumed. Perhaps these might interest …
Dear friend, I want to tell you the exciting start of my day today. I want to share with you as vividly how it felt, and what is on my mind. I woke up, …
Dear friend, I want to share you with excitement a new idea that I got, from William Eggleston. The concept is quite simple (and I know I have shared this with you in the …
Just finished an incredible “Conquer Your Fear of Shooting Street Photography” here in Stockholm, and wow– this is one of the most awesome before/afters. I was so impressed to see how much all of …
SPonatanea is a very active and organized street photography collective based out of Italy. In the interview, I talked to them about their formation, activities, and upcoming projects. This interview also has a …
Read as a Google Doc (feel free to suggest edits), or download and print out the PDF. — I am a slave. I am a slave to others’ opinions of me. I am a slave …
Read as a Google Doc or download as PDF. — There is so much negativity and bullshit out there in modern life. I always hear people bitching and moaning about the difficulties of their …
Read as a Google Doc. — “Over the last 10 years, what has interested me in taking photographs is the maximum — the maximum that exists in a situation and the maximum I can …
Eric Kim Draft v1 (8/28/2015) Special thanks to Paul King and Alan Morris who have contributed lots of edits! Introduction Dear streettogs, I am excited to share you the first draft of my upcoming …
Read this article as a Google Doc (would love your comments/edits), download and print as a PDF, as an .epub (e-reader), or .mobi (for Kindle). I also recommend reading the original: “On the Shortness of …
This article is written by Neil Ta, originally posted here. The views posted here are his and his alone and may or may not be shared by Eric or any other contributors to the website. …
Read as a Google Doc or PDF. — Dear Friend, I wanted to share with you some thoughts that are on my mind: The first thing that came to mind: “small is beautiful.†So …
Dear streettogs, I am excited to share my new upcoming street photography workshops for the rest of the year! If you want to conquer your fears in street photography and meet new peers, don’t …
(Words and Photos by Pierre Belhassen) I’m Pierre Belhassen. I started photography 10 years ago. After studying cinema, I was given a camera. I wanted to discover New York City. It became a revelation in …
Read as a Google Doc or download as PDF. — Dear Ming, I wanted to write you this letter regarding all the trolls and “haters†you have been getting over on your blog. I …
Read as a Google Doc or download as PDF. — Hey Josh, I just wanted to write you this letter wishing you a happy (belated) birthday, and the lessons in life you’ve taught me, …
Cheers to another assignment wrapped and here’s a new one to keep everyone in Streettogs Academy moving, shooting, and perhaps for this assignment, following the beat!
Read as a Google Doc or download the PDF. — Dear friend and fellow streettog, I went to sleep last night, and woke up this morning in beautiful Leeds, England, and suddenly this story …
Read this as a Google Doc or download a PDF. — I have a problem. I often get too attached to my photos, especially my bad photos. I look at all of my photos …
(Cover Photo by Community’s Choice, Jomel Bartolome) In order for a photograph to exist, it has to have light but for this assignment, we are going to focus on the other side of the …
Read this article on Google Docs or download as a PDF. — I believe photography (and life) is more about subtraction (instead of addition). I’m re-reading “Antifragile†by Nassim Taleb, and his chapter on “Via …
(You can also read this as a Google Doc, or PDF) Dear friend, I just finished reading a book by Roman philosopher Epictetus, titled “Of Human Freedom.†It got me thinking a lot about …
I am currently working on a new book: “Learn From the Masters of Street Photography”, which is a distillation of all of the lessons that I’ve learned from the masters of street photography. You …
Jack Simon, a good friend and a street photographer I greatly admire shares what he thinks makes great street photography in the 2 minute video above. Check out my video where I shoot with …
“One should not spoil what is present by desiring what is absent. Rather, realize that what we have were among the things we might have prayed for.” – Epicurus (via the “Epicurus reader“) I’m …
Dear friend, I want to share with you something that has been on my mind for a while: whether a photographer should take a photograph everyday, or only when he/she feels like it. I …
Hey streettogs, just gave a free talk at EyeEm in Berlin last night titled: “7 Lessons from the Masters of Street Photography.” You can see and download the slides for free here.
My friend Josh White made a great point to me about cameras in photography: why is it that we as photographers always talk about the camera we want (that will apparently make us more “creative”) …
“You are not supposed to be a slave of mechanical tools, they are supposed to help you and be as small and unimportant as possible not to disturb the communication.†– Anders Petersen There …
This article is written by Josh White, originally posted here. The views posted here are his and his alone and may or may not be shared by the website as a whole ;) Disclaimer: …
“Rather than catching people unaware, they show the face they want to show. Unposed, caught unaware, they might reveal ambiguous expressions, brows creased in vague internal contemplation, illegible, perhaps meaningless. Why not allow the …
“Sometimes photographers mistake emotion for what makes a great street photograph.†– Garry Winogrand Imagine this situation: it is a cold and rainy day. You are out shooting on the streets, and you are …
“If you start cutting or cropping a good photograph, it means death to the geometrically correct interplay of proportions. Besides, it very rarely happens that a photograph which was feebly composed can be saved …
Street Photography Quick Links is a compilation of Links, Projects, News, Videos, Events, or anything that is related to street photography or photography in particular that I have personally consumed. Perhaps these might interest …
“I never shoot without using the viewfinder.†– Garry Winogrand Another common mistake that aspiring street photographers make is that they try to overcome their fear of shooting street photography by shooting from the …
Hey streettogs, I am excited to announce I will be teaching my popular “Introduction to Street Photography Workshop” in Seattle (September 16-18, 2015) hosted by Gulf Photo Plus as part of their PopUp GPP Seattle event! …
This article is written by Josh White, originally posted here. The views posted here are his and his alone and may or may not be shared by the website as a whole ;) Hi. …
Let’s just jump to the next assignment. I think this one is going to be fun because there are two ways to approach this one:
(Cover photo by Assignment No. 12 Community’s choice Forrest Walker) All the things we do are best done when you love what you are doing. This is an emotion natural to all of us …
“My photography is not ‘brain photography’. I put my brain under the pillow when I shoot. I shoot with my heart and with my stomach.†– Anders Petersen Anders Petersen is one of the …
UPDATE: Deadline extended until AUGUST 25, 2015! You’ve read that right! Colin Westerbeck, acclaimed curator and author of the book, Bystander: A brief history of Street Photography together with Acuity press and PDN are looking for …
Hey streettogs, I’m starting a new book on a distillation of all the “Learn from the Masters” articles I’ve written. I hope these daily lessons can inspire you, I know they inspired me! — …
(Interview by A.g. De Mesa. All photos by Siri Thompson) Siri Thompson is a photographer based in Toronto, Canada. She constantly photographs her city in a manner inspired by her photographic heroes while putting her …
Bercy Park / Paris, 2015 A photo posted by Eric Kim (@erickimphoto) on Jun 25, 2015 at 3:16pm PDT Getting my laptop stolen recently has been the best thing that happened to me recently. …
Restricting to open up. How less can be more when going out to shoot. I am strongly convinced that creating restrictions leads to more freedom and development when it comes to creativity. This may …
I’ve been shooting a lot of photos on my smartphone lately (Samsung Galaxy s6). It has been so much fun and I’ve enjoyed it so much, that I wanted to write an article about …
Sorry for missing an entire. It has been a fiery and explosive month for me here. (I even lagged behind my Streettogs Academy duties) but all is well right now. Here’s another round of links, …
Probably the most fun video I’ve done in a long time: a street photography “Shootout” with bigheadtaco in Vancouver. He used his iPhone 5s while I used my Galaxy S6. The point of the …
Had a fun little interview and chat with bigheadtaco while I was in Vancouver. Hope you enjoy the video above, and make sure to also follow his YouTube channel!
Hey Streettogs, here is the last gopro video I got from Paris! I hope this gives you some ideas and insights on how I shoot street photography. My ultimate lesson in Paris (as well …
Recently I got my laptop stolen in Paris from my backpack. It kinda sucked, but the “blessing in disguise†was that I was able to replace my (slightly) aging 11’’ Macbook air (2012 model). …
Dear streettogs, you might have read it in my last update post from Paris, but I am excited to release my newest free (and “open source“) e-book: “The Street Photography Composition Manual.” The book …
I’m on a train to Aix en Provence, to the south of France and wanted to share my experiences shooting street photography in Paris. If you read on the internet, apparently there are more …
If you’ve been enjoying these POV videos, I got more of them for you! This is of a recent street portrait session I did in Seattle with this beautiful woman we met in the …
Hey streettogs, thanks for your feedback. Just recorded a new GoPro POV street photography here in Paris with my Ricoh GR (and edited in the shots as some of you asked). Here are some …
Hey streettogs, just put out another new Paris GoPro Street Photography Video (been having a lot of fun making these). You can see the previous video I shot in Paris here. More Street Photography GoPro …
Hey streettogs, I just put together a new street photography GoPro POV video here in Paris on my film Leica MP. Unfortunately can’t edit in shots (shooting film), but plan on doing more of …
Almost 12 months ago, during Eric’s trip here in Manila, he pitched me an idea that he wants me to handle. He told me that I am good at looking at photographs and at …