One of the best pieces of advice I got on writing is the importance of writing without editing. Which means, turn off the inner-censor in your mind and write freely.
What or who is the “inner censor”? Well, the inner-censor is the little voice in your head which tells you “Oh don’t do that, that’s stupid. That sounds stupid. That looks stupid.” It is that inner-voice that prevents you from writing in a stream-of-consciousness flow.
I have often read that life is a journey, not a destination. Meaning that we all have goals in life. But the happiest moments aren’t when we reach our goals. Rather, life is a “beautiful struggle” in which we are happiest when we are pursuing our goals. When we are pursuing our happiness.
I have often found the same is true with street photography. I am always motivated by my photography through the projects I am working on. I used to think that once I had my project completed and published– it would bring me great joy.
Photos in this article are from my on-going “Only in America” series.
I’m currently reading a lovely book titled: “A Philosopher’s Notes: On optimal living, creating an authentically awesome life and other such goodness.” It is a easy and insightful read– and I have been savoring the book so far.
In one of the chapters, I stumbled upon “12 Scientifically Proven Ways to Have More Happiness in Life” via the book “The How of Happiness“. The list is as follows:
I found the list to echo everything in the self-help and philosophic literature I have read so far. And of course in the spirit of this blog– I wanted to link the concepts of happiness and street photography.
So how can you “scientifically” gain more happiness in street photography? Here are some ideas I glued together:
“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.â€Â ― Andy Warhol
As street photographers, I think we are all artists. We craft our version of reality from fragments from everyday life. We don’t just take photos– we make them.
In my art– I am quite insecure at times. I want to make great photographs– images that awe and inspire my audience. Whenever I upload an image that doesn’t get as many “favorites” or “likes” as other images I wonder to myself, “Perhaps that photograph wasn’t any good?”
I just finished reading a book titled: “Trying Not to Try: The Art and Science of Spontaneityâ€. It was a fascinating read on the paradox of “wu-weiâ€â€“ which is a concept in Taoism of “action without actionâ€. This means nature accomplishes everything without effort. Similarly, we should be able to accomplish many things in our life without unnecessary effort. In-fact according to wu-wei, most things in life (especially things we love) should be effortless.
Of course you know in my blog, I like to relate everything I read back to street photography. And I think this idea of “wu-wei†in street photography is quite fascinating.
To sum up, in street photography (according to wu-wei), our best shots should come to us naturally– without making any unnecessary effort.
Many of us shoot street photography because it is challenging, fun, and brings us great joy. However one question I find that most people don’t ask themselves (myself included) is what we ultimately want out of photography.
I just finished an intense week-long street photography workshop in Saigon which was absolutely incredible– and one of my students Sascha Jung asked me what I ultimately wanted out of my photography, and whether I wanted to become a great photographer or a great teacher.
One question I am asked a lot is how I make a living in street photography, and questions about selling prints, and making money.
To start off, I am blessed enough to make a living from my street photography in teaching workshops. I make about 95% of my living from workshops (and around 5% from Amazon affiliates from links to books and other products on the blog).
But I have always been an advocate of “open source” in life and photography– and the greatness of having things open and free.
I feel one of the most important traits to become a better street photographer is first identifying what makes great street photography. This means having good taste.
A quote from Ira Glass from NPR comes to mind– in terms of having good taste:
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.”
I am a big fan of Nassim Taleb and his concept of the “barbell theory” which he derives from his book: “Antifragile” (one of my top 3 favorite books).
The concept of the “barbell theory” is that you embrace two extremes in life– rather than going for the boring “middle” strategy. For example Nassim Taleb says it is better to save 90% of your money in boring cash– and invest 10% in hyper-risky investments (rather than just putting it all into “medium risk” ventures). Nassim Taleb also mentions that regarding drinking, it is better to drink liberally 3 days a week (and completely abstaining the other days) rather than drinking “moderately” everyday.
I recently read a book titled: “A Perfect Mess” in which the author promotes the benefits of randomness and messiness.
I recently finished reading “The Snowball“, a biography on the life of Warren Buffett, one of the most successful investors of all time. One inspirational thing I got from the book was how Buffett always played by his “inner scorecard” — staying true to himself and his own standards. Seeking to please himself, and not others.
I think sometimes photographers think photography is a sport with clear winners and losers. But photography isn’t a zero sum game. There are no point system. Rather we sometimes use social media follower numbers, the amount of exhibitions we’ve had, the books we’ve published, the gear we own, to validate our self worth (compared to other photographers).
But screw all of that. Shoot based on your own “inner scorecard”. Challenge yourself in photography, and know you aren’t competing with anyone. There are no clear winners or losers. We should focus on collaborating with one another, rather than worrying about who is a better photographer or who has more “favorites” or “likes”.
Don’t aim to be the best photographer out there. Rather, aim to the best photographer you can become.
For further reading, you can read my past article: How Many “Favorites†Or “Likes†Are Enough?
This article by Josh White, a street photographer based out of Korea. This article originally appeared on Josh’s blog here.Â
DEFINITION
Gear Acquisition Syndrome (abbreviated to GAS) is a term used to describe an urge to acquire and accumulate lots of gear.
TREATMENT
None
GAS hasn’t received any major medical attention. GAS is not a clinical condition. It can be the result of a psychological lack of personality.
source: Wikipedia.
A lot of people have asked me a lot lately about cameras and getting over the feeling of wanting every f*cking camera you see. As much as I hate gear talk now, I really feel like this post is necessary.
Life is too short to do shit you don’t like doing. I know a lot of people who work in jobs they absolutely hate, stay in relationships they don’t enjoy, and force themselves to do hobbies that they aren’t that interested in.
We all have relatively short lives while we are here on earth. Not only that, but we have no idea when we are going to die. Sure if we are relatively healthy we can expect to live to around 80. But who knows if we get a rare form of cancer and die early? Or if we get into a car accident and die? Or perhaps die in some sort of other freak accident?
Photos in this article are from my “Grandfather” series.
“99% of street photography, if not more, is about failure” – Alex Webb
Street photography is all about failure. The failure to have the courage to take that one shot. The failure to capture “the decisive moment.” The failure to get a clean background. The failure to have your subject make eye contact. The failure to move your feet to get a better frame. The failure to get recognition for your work. The failure to have your photo get “explored” on Flickr. Failures upon failures upon failures.
I think I can speak on behalf of all of us that we all want to be happy. In some shape, way, or form.
Over the years I have thought a lot about happiness. How to “optimize” my life to become “happier.” How to avoid unhappiness in my work, relationships, and my sense of purpose in the world.
There are countless books written on the topic of happiness, and trust me– I have read almost all of them. I am quite addicted to “self-help” books, and always looking to better improve myself. And of course one thing I wanted to increase was my own personal “happiness.”
Today I turn 26 years old. Life has been one hell of a ride so far. When I was a kid, I had no idea I would be where I am today– with the love of my life, phenomenal friends I have met all around the world, a supportive family, as well as the freedom and opportunity to pursue my passion (street photography).
Ever since I got laid off my job around 3 years ago, life has been a blur. I remember the anxiety I had no longer having a stable income, health care, and a sense of security. I had no idea where my life would take me from that point– but I am so grateful that Cindy, my family, as well as you (my dear friend) was able to support me to run this blog and teach workshops for a living.
I always use birthdays as an opportunity to reflect on life– and think about the lessons that I have learned. Of course in the spirit of my blog, I will present 26 lessons that life has taught me and how it has even given me insight into street photography.
Photos in this article are from my time in Michigan in 2013.
In life I have a certain strategy: I set very low (or no) expectations for myself and try my personal best.
I know often people say you should always set your ambitions and expectations high– but I find several faults with this strategy:
Photos in this article are from my Gallo Boxing Series in Michigan. You can see all the GoPro POV videos on YouTube here.
“To try to please everybody is to please nobody” – Publilius Syrus
For those of you who follow my blog (or even worse, my YouTube channel) know that I have a lot of critics. Many people often ask how I deal with the criticism. I’ve had some people tell me that I must have a thick skin, and commend me for it.
However in reality, I actually have very thin skin, and when people do criticize me, it hurts me a lot.
I hate advertising in a lot of ways. Although I think there are some beautiful advertisements (that I think can double as art) at the end of they day, they are just trying to get you to buy something. And with that– advertisers and marketers often create false wants (which we get confused with “needs”). For example, I “need” a new iPad Air, rather than I “want” a new iPad Air.
Not only that, but one of the great psychological tricks that advertisers/marketers use is to create a sense of dissatisfaction with what you already own. Sure, you already have the iPhone 5, but you suddenly feel that you are missing out by not having the iPhone 5S (it has a marginally better camera!)
Photos in this article are from my road trip from Michigan to California.
One thing I hate about the modern world is our addiction to speed. We want everything to be done faster, more efficiently, and better optimized. We are frustrated when we are loading up a website on our smartphones and it takes longer than a few seconds. We hardly have the patience to cook anymore, so we just pop something in the microwave. We then inhale our food in a few seconds so we can get back to work and be more “productive.”
At the moment of writing this, I have over 30,000+ Facebook fans, 13,000+ Twitter followers, 20,000+ Google+ followers, and 12,000+ YouTube subscribers.
People have called me a bit of a “social media phenomenon” at times – and commend me for being so good at “marketing myself.”
I am certainly not the social media guru but I have learned a few things through social media through the years (especially when it comes to photography).
I wanted to write an article on some guidelines I suggest street photographers (and all photographers alike) when using social media:
Eric’s Note: This guest article is written by A.G DeMesa— a street photographer based in Manila.
A.G.: What is street photography for me?
Surely it isn’t the mundane. Nothing gets more mundane than a 16 year old’s meal taken over Instagram. It’s not about capturing history or the little human acts because you will just be beaten by the lens of an experienced journalist. How about the perfection of form and the elements like rhythm, texture, layers, lines and others? Well, can’t photography stand on its own two feet and not rely on the concepts of painting?
So I killed my street photography. I murdered it because I became obsessed with making sure everything aligned together. I was mulling over the small details that should be present. I was looking out for the lines that should converge. I had to find the layers that will highlight the human or non human elements. I lost sight of what is important in photography: Seeing. I was doing photography and being a slave to what it means to photograph. There was no flow and joy in it for me anymore.
I think one of the best ways to become better in street photography is to look at a lot of great street photography books. Books by the masters. Books by Magnum Photographers.
From the point of this writing, I have been shooting street photography for 7 years. However it wasn’t until around 3 years ago that I started to seriously read photography books.
I had several problems:
One day we are all going to die–whether we like it or not.
I have been thinking a lot about death lately– which I know might not necessarily be healthy for a 25-year-old, but still feel that it is something important to consider.
Regarding death, I often think about the legacy I am going to leave behind. How will people remember me? Did I use all my abilities to the fullest? Did I help contribute to society? Will people remember me after I die? How will people remember me after I die? Will I have finished my life’s “task” (whatever it may be?)
The other night before I went to sleep, I was reading a book on my iPad and then wanted to post an inspirational quote onto Facebook. So I logged into Facebook, shared the quote– and suddenly got sucked into the news feed. I started scrolling through the activity of all my friends– and started to feel pretty down. It seemed that all the other photographers I follow online are doing things much more exciting than me: they are traveling to places I have always wanted to, are doing big exhibitions, publishing photography books of their own, and doing interviews for big-shot media companies.
As I kept scrolling through my news feed and clicking around– I started to feel sick in my stomach. What am I doing here sitting on my ass here in Berkeley– and not achieving as much as these other people? After all, I work hard in my photography, in my blog, making connections, and all that jazz.
I then caught myself: I was being jealous. Jealous of the success of other photographers– and not being satisfied with what I had.
The last two weeks I have spent in Istanbul with my good friend Charlie Kirk. I first met Charlie around two years ago in Paris– and since then we have shot together, had good food and drinks together, critiqued each others’ photos, taught together, and met others together.
During many of my other travels I also had the pleasure of meeting so many incredible people during my life’s journey.
I interviewed Josh White about a month or two ago– and one of the questions I asked him is why he shoots street photography. He told me that it was the friendships that he made through street photography is what mattered to him the most.
When I first started this blog, I wrote about the idea of “open source photography.†To sum up the idea, I wanted to make a personal vow to always keep the information on this blog open and free for anyone to use, remix, or share.
I remember when I was an undergraduate student at school, and I was so broke I could barely afford textbooks. It always infuriated me how these textbook companies would charge ridiculous sums of money for knowledge that I believed should be open and free to promote knowledge, wisdom, and learning for the rest of humanity. Sure I do agree that these companies have to make a profit somehow, but I think that charging $200 a textbook (required reading) was excessive for a student surviving on pizza and ramen.
I have always been into computers growing up, and my student job was IT. I remember first reading about “open source” software and was amazed how generous these developers were in creating software that changed the world. It gave access to people who could not afford expensive copies of Windows, Office, or Photoshop. The open source versions were free to download, and were nearly as good (sometimes even better) than their expensive for-profit-driven counterparts.
I grew up in the lower socio-economic class in America, with my mom holding down three part time jobs working as a waitress, cashier, and even cleaning houses to put me and my sister through school. The biggest resources that helped us were public services (thank God for libraries) and other free organizations that helped me build character and leadership skills (Boy Scouts, local community centers, etc).
I was also fortunate enough that I was able to pay my way through school at UCLA with a combination of grants from the American government and also through my work study job (also subsidized from the government). I also have had countless mentors throughout my life who dedicated thousands of hours to help shape me into the person I am today, and I have a moral and societal obligation to give back to the community.
Therefore I want to re-clarify my purpose of running this blog. My purpose is to spread and promote the love of photography— via educational posts (what I have learned from the master photographers), inspirational (interviews and feature for contemporary photographers), or community-based (exhibitions, books, etc.) I initially started this blog as a hobby and to help others in their journey in street photography (as there were few community-driven blogs online dedicated to street photography about three years ago). I have been lucky enough to make it a living primarily by teaching workshops.
I am certainly not the authority when it comes to street photography. There is still a lot I am ignorant of and many things I need to learn. I am not the best street photographer either, I don’t have a body of work I am proud of yet. However I have the passion, drive, and fervent love of street photography I want to promote– and I wish to contribute to the community by sharing things I have been learning along the way.
Therefore I want to reiterate the fact that I will never charge anything on the blog in terms of information. I will make sure that anything information-based (articles, videos, features, etc) will always be available openly and for free on the blog. I do envision myself writing more paper-bound books in the future, but if I self publish these– I want to always have an ebook available for free online.
I also plan on offering more free street photography workshops to students as well as those who cannot traditionally afford to attend my workshops. I have recently offered some student scholarships when I taught workshops in Manila, and also hosted a charity-based workshop in Detroit with Brian Day which was pay-what-you-can (the profits went to the Detroit firefighters fund).
I have no intentions to becoming rich through my blog, and certainly don’t want to be a blood-thirsty capitalist. I studied sociology in school and I view my socio-political-economic views as quite liberal, and I hope not to stray away from my core ideals and beliefs. If I do by chance become a blood-thirsty capitalist/vampire trying to suck profits out of the street photography community, please stab a wooden stake through my heart and bust out the garlic.
I also wanted to announce that I have recently made all of my photos on Flickr available for free as full-resolution downloads. So if you have ever liked any of my photos and wanted a print, feel free to download any photo and print any sized photo you want. Use it as wallpapers, prints to hang on your wall, or whatever you want to use them for (non commercial). And no, you don’t need my permission.
I already make a living through my workshops and am currently earning enough to live comfortably. I am starting to think more about my future financially (in terms of starting a family, buying a house, all of that “grown up†stuff) but I want to always keep the information on my blog available for free.
Currently what I think is charging for workshops to earn my living (and also I love teaching as well) while keeping everything else available for free.
I also just moved into my new place in Berkeley and finally am starting to get settled in. I ordered an uber-fast 50megabit Internet connection for my home (will be installed this weekend) so I plan on publishing video lectures, and I also hope to write more free ebooks on street photography. I am also currently a bit burnt out from international travel, and I want to focus my energies more locally while spending more time with my girlfriend, family, and close friends.
I think this year (and hopefully many years to come) will be a well spring of educational learning and community-involvement (I am collaborating more with guest writers for this blog). I also hope to become more involved in the local Bay Area photography scene, as this is where I grew up (I grew up in Alameda).
Thanks again so much for reading, participating, and helping this beautiful art of street photography flourish. None of this would be possible without you.
– Berkeley, 8/29/2013
“You don’t eat to be “the best” taster the world, don’t take a stroll to be “the best” stroller in the world, don’t push buttons in an elevator to be the best button pusher in the world.” – Nassim Taleb
One question which has always bothered me is the following: “Why are photographers so competitive?”
Okay I get it– if you work as a commercial photographer you are competing against other photographers to obtain clients and make a living. However in the world of amateur photography (photography in which we do it for pure love, not profit) why does competition matter at all?
I was sitting at home with my girlfriend Cindy, and I suddenly got a call from my cousin overseas. After two bouts of heart attacks while he was in the hospital, he passed away suddenly. My mom then called me and told me that I had to immediately get on the next plane to Korea to attend my grandfather’s funeral (which was on Sunday).
It was Friday night, and Cindy was fortunately able to help me book a plane that left the next morning. I quickly tossed some clothes into a gym bag, packed my camera and laptop, slept, then left to the airport.
After a 18-hour flight to Busan, I arrived Saturday night in cold and rainy weather. I took a taxi straight to the church where my entire family from all around the globe was getting prepared for the funeral.
“What do I want out of photography†has been a question I have been grappling with for the last few weeks. When I was still in school, I had barely any time to even practice my photography, let alone contemplate what I wanted out of it.
However now, after graduating college and having more free time than ever, I have found myself in a quite stagnant position—sort of a limbo. Having always been so busy, I didn’t know what to do with myself with all of this free time. I then started to fill up all of my free time preoccupying myself by going out and taking more photos, working more on my website and blog, as well as participating more on Flickr and my friends’ blogs. However it seems that by the end of every day, I feel unsatisfied and wanting for more.
What do I want out of photography? Money, fame, prestige? Well I’m definitely not in it for the money. I have noticed that the more my photography gets involved with money, the less that I enjoy it and it becomes more of a job than a passion for me. Is it for the fame? I doubt that I will ever be as famous as Henri-Cartier Bresson or any of the other great street photographers without being a full-blown photojournalist or anything of the sort. The prestige? Sure I love attention (as does everyone else in the world) and enjoy having my work appreciated. However, I don’t want to ever become an “elitist†of any sort, congregating with snobby photographers and self-proclaimed “artists.â€
I know I want to spread my love of photography to others. I love being a teacher—especially when it comes to photography. Nothing gets me more excited than teaching the basics of photography to an eager beginner. Being one of the co-founders and the president of The Photography Club at UCLA was one of my greatest joys. I want to give the gift of photography especially to those who do not have access to it, be it social or economic reasons. Something along the lines of “Kids with Cameras,†a non-profit situated in Calcutta, India which teaches children in the red-light district photography, while providing aid and support as well.
Although being a photographer is a very individualistic practice, it is beautiful to participate in a community as well. It is impossible to say that a photographer is completely original in his or her photography. He or she will always draw inspiration from other photographers merely by looking at the photographs of others. Like what Pablo Picasso said, “Good artists copy, bad artists steal.â€
They say that money doesn’t buy happiness. To bridge this into photography, neither does the number of views, comments, favorites, or subscribers that your website or Flickr has. In real life, it is not the number of friends that one that dictates their happiness and satisfaction with life, but rather the few and powerful connections that one has with his close circle of friends. Therefore it must not be the popularity that one has with their photography which brings them satisfaction,  but the support circle that they have with their friends, family, and other fellow photographers.
A photographer that only seeks fame is doomed to be miserable. It is a never-ending quest, as there will always be a photographer more talented, popular, or skilled than oneself. This is definitely a path that all photographers should avoid at all costs.
Focusing on having a relationship with a close circle of photographers is crucial. The support that a photographer gets from others is the energy that continues to drive one another in going out and continuing their photography. A photographer that walls him or herself in without any support from others is a photographer who will have difficulty pursuing his or her art.
In writing this, it seemed that my vision has been clarified. I guess to find the true meaning of my photography, I need to do what I (as a sociologist) have always known, but lost sight of. That is to create community, teach, and share.
So who is down for a photo outing sometime?
From my friend Roseann Marquez’s Facebook account. Link to her twitter.
Makes me think of one of my favorite quotes: “It is better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission.” That is one of the few things that I have learned in life, which is that people are always so afraid of the negative consequences that they rarely think of the positive outcomes that could come out of breaking out of one’s shell. Fear is one of the things that prevents men (and women alike) from truly achieving what they are capable of. Is failure what scares people, or the fear of failure? Although failing is a disheartening feeling, it does not kill the individual. Rather, it empowers the individual to continue to strive for greatness until it is actually achieved.
So never fall into complacency. Strive for greatness. And like Nike famously puts it, “Just do it.”
