Perhaps we don’t desire ‘better’ designs (is there such a thing?) but *different* designs? That is our sign of ‘progress’?

In praise of photographing rough textures:

The photographer-painter.

Similarly speaking, I do not desire to be the billionaire who lives in the suburbs with his matte black Lamborghini Aventador, but stuck at home.

I prefer to be the explorer, the adventurer, the street conquerer … camera in-hand.

Therefore the best equipment for the traveler, wanderer, explorer, and conquerer is the most supreme in being ultra-lightweight, to not have his movement restricted or held back.

Something I’ve noticed with new Apple products (iPhone Pro, 14” MacBook Pro, etc) is this —

The trend towards brutalist design.

Things which are bigger, more powerful, more imposing, more bulky, more imposing, more powerful. A trend away from the Steve Jobs/Jony Ive vision of thinner, lighter, purer.

The question is:

Is this ‘progress’? Is this a step forwards or backwards?

And the question is —

What do we desire from our tools, devices, and design aesthetics? More power towards what ends?

Different design?

I would prefer to own nothing — to just always be borrowing, renting, or using things without the strings of ownership attached.

My prediction:

Apple will eventually become a financial corporation; the point isn’t to buy the devices, but to get the Apple Card and banking system, and to keep buying and upgrading the new iPhone devices.

Note how poor people now can even afford the newest iPhone Pro, with ‘payments’.

Some quick creative thoughts for you:

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NOT WHAT IS ‘BEST’, BUT THAT WHICH LEAST GETS IN YOUR WAY?

The first thought of today —

Don’t optimize for the ‘best’ creative tool, but the creative tool which least gets in your way.

For photography, RICOH GR III. After much deliberation, the reason why it is still superior to iPhone is because —

The RICOH GR has a physical on/off button, and a physical shutter button, which is faster and more streamlined to shoot photos.

Even assuming that one day the iPhone Pro gets superior image-processing aesthetics to the RICOH GR, I would still prefer the RICOH GR. Why? Your hand doesn’t change and evolve. That which best is held in your hand is the best.

Even the funny thing — when observing my niece Amelia … even at a young age, she still preferred shooting photos with my RICOH GR, or with my Lumix G9 (physical button) when compared to an iPhone … which is ironic, because we think nowadays kids prefer phones over physical tools and devices. But it still seems, kids prefer the physical, the haptic. There is nothing which fascinates my son Seneca more than physical buttons, and physical feedback.

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How do you best creatively express yourself?

There are a trillion ways you can be ‘creative’. Creativity just means the love of creating. You can create anything — you can create poems, create prose, create blog posts, create verses, create rhymes, create raps, create photos, create videos, beats and music, create visual images (calligraphy, abstract images … whether digital or analogue), etc.

Don’t ‘optimize’ your creativity

The desire to create the most ‘optimal’ in art … this gets in our way. I say create like a child — create without hesitation, create without notions of ‘perfect’ or ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Observe how kids draw, play with blocks, play with rocks, etc. Observing Seneca has been one of the greatest blessings in life.

Learn from kids.

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If you make something, and you don’t share it … does it still exist?

Philosophically, certainly if you make something and you don’t share it with anyone, it still exists in a physical or a metaphorical space. But the better question:

If you make something and you don’t share it with anyone, will it IMPACT any other human?

No. If your goal as an artist is to maximize your impact, sharing your art works is good.

And what is the best way? Your own website/blog, not social media.

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Nature

The upside of being outdoors, hiking, and stuff like that:

There is something about the great outdoors which does spark some sort of creative energy within you.

I have some theories — perhaps it is the additional oxygen in the air from the trees, the higher elevation, the fresh air, the view (gives you a chance to exercise your depth-perception) which awakens a creative spirit within yourself. There is a reason why humans love great vistas.

Therefore if you want a creative spark, just go on a hike. Bring along your camera, and love the view.

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Don’t stay home

Being at home is anti creativity. Certainly you can be creative at home indoors, yet … less so than being outdoors and out and about.

Why is this? I think it is because your indoor home environment is too steady, too stable, too predictable. Unpredictability, randomness and chance is better to spark in you a creative motivator.

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Creative photography assignments

1. Only shoot a certain type of shape all day: Only photograph squares, rectangles, circles, or triangles for a whole day.
2. Only shoot macro or at 1 meter for an entire day: Limit your focus distance — this is a good creative constraint.
3. Only monochrome: Even if the thing is colorful, or you see an epic sunset, try to shoot it in monochrome, and figure out how you can still make a great image.

Upload your most creative photos to arsbeta.com

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CREATIVE TOOLS

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BOOKS

1. MONOCHROME by KIM — PDF DL
2. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY 103
3. PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP MANUAL by ERIC KIM // PDF // ePub

More books >

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New? Start here.

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If this sparked any creative ideas within you, feel free to share or forward to a friend!

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ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER LINK

Learn from kids, children, your kids. Watching my son Seneca grow has been fascinating because it offers me some theories on human cognition and how we develop:

(more…)

Don’t offer to help, or don’t compliment or don’t thank people?

A stoic way to just stay focused on your own personal life task, without annoyance, disappointment, or frustration with others?

PODCAST

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For example, that which requires the least ‘activation energy’, or that which is the easiest quick-start, with the least amount of friction or annoyance.

For example, iPhone Mini (or the smallest iPhone) as the best iPhone, as it is the *least* likely to get in your way, due to the small size and small weight.

For cars, not the ‘best’ car, but the smallest car, which requires the least amount of maintenance and annoyance. For example, the debate between gas vs electric vs hybrid cars:

Electric cars are in theory great, if you can recharge your car every single night at home, and if you have a short commute to work, and thus you’re always fully charged.

However, if you don’t have a charger at home, or if you plan on going on a long and random and uncertain road trip … electric cars add more burden to your planning.

For coffee, the reason I like espresso is it that it is the least cumbersome way to make your coffee, and the quickest. In theory Nespresso is a good option, but the hassle and burden of always having to buy those new capsules, or have to figure out how to recycle them. Better to just buy coffee on bulk on Amazon (the ‘Fresh Roasted Coffee’ brand), and just grind and make it at home.

Or use a ‘Clever‘ dripper, and just brew a (strong) cup of coffee the night before, keep it in the fridge, and drink a nice strong cup of pseudo-cold brew in the morning to get you going, rather than wasting the morning waiting for your coffee to steep before you get your caffeine kick going.

Or with working out, the easiest is the one which is the least cumbersome. For example, just get on the floor and do pushups, or ‘dive bombers’, or do kettlebell swings at home, or just use your chin-up bar at home. Going to the gym for many can be paralysis by analysis — the issue of finding an ideal time when the gym isn’t crowded, finding parking, waiting for a squat rack, etc.

In the context of photography, I like P (program) mode because it is the least annoying and cumbersome camera mode. You just turn on your camera, and just shoot. The best type of photography is ‘snapshot’ photography, or ‘point and shoot’ photography.

Or the reason why I prefer RICOH GR over iPhone for photography — when you lift your iPhone up, and it does the ‘raise to wake’ thing, you still need to either unlock your phone to get into the desired camera app you like (for example the Provoke app which I like), or for the default camera app, you still need to push and hold the button in the bottom right to activate the camera to turn it on. And assuming you use the default iPhone Camera app, you still often require much post-processing after the fact in order to get the photo you like. Too many steps, and components.

Or also in WordPress and with blogging I like the ‘Tiled Gallery’ block because you can quickly select photos you like, and it automatically aligns them into a collage. Having it do it randomly and automatically is less friction.

The fewer steps required to achieve your desired outcome, the better.

How do you excite or motivate yourself to make photos which will uncover your hidden talent?

PDF TEXT >

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Podcast

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Photo Thoughts

This morning, some thoughts:

1. What is your desired end goal with photography?
2. How do you motivate yourself to go out and shoot more photos?
3. What is the best and ideal camera?

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No Ricoh lasts forever

A big problem —

No RICOH GR digital camera is meant to last more than 2-3 years.

For example, my RICOH GR III recently went kaput. Really bad — 90% of the time when I turn it on, it says ‘lens error’ and refuses to focus.

I should send it in to get fixed by Ricoh, but sending it in is such a pain in the ass.

Thus I spent some time thinking and considering —

What new camera should I get?

A quick thought:

Even though the iPhone is great, I think to barbell is better– just get the iPhone for the phone function (minimum viable phone), and get the camera as a specialized niche device (RICOH).

For example, a simple thing:

The RICOH GR is superior 1000x ergonomically to the iPhone.

The iPhone … not as quick in terms of ‘quick draw’ when comparing taking out my RICOH GR and quickly snapping a shot. The RICOH is far better at quickly turning on, and shooting.

Whereas the iPhone, even though there is a camera button on the Home Screen, it is slower. Perhaps a good future iPhone Camera innovation could be:

“Raise to wake” becomes “Raise to photograph”.

I like the idea if there was a function in which you raised your iPhone, it would automatically go into camera mode (you could customize this in the iPhone settings).

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Why go on adventures?

The trend nowadays is towards ‘over-landing’, off-roading, adventuring in your car, etc, because of the whole COVID pandemic thing.

But why go on adventures?

My mom said it is a good way to discover and uncover your hidden talents.

Therefore in photography, the question —

What hidden talents do you have which lie nascent within you, and adventure is a way to unlock those photographic hidden skills?

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I hate missing the decisive moment

After a day or two of my broken Ricoh, and missing at least 1-2 really important decisive moments for myself (playing with Seneca), it infuriated me. I learned that for me, to capture every single meaningful moment is my goal.

Why? When I see something which brings me extreme joy, I have this need and desire to capture it. If I don’t, it brigs me insane amounts of anger and frustration.

Perhaps this is the hidden motivator for us as photographers?

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MACRO PHOTO ASSIGNMENT

A fun assignment for you:

Shoot only macro mode for an entire day.

I found this to be very creatively interesting; even when seeing things from afar, putting my Ricoh GR III into manual focusing mode into macro mode, shooting things which are out of focus (unintentionally) end up becoming artistic.

This is a step beyond the 1 meter challenge; to shoot macros is even MORE interesting and fun.

I suppose this is the fun of the new iPhone– the macro function mode.

To macro something means to make something larger.

Shoot your eye, the eyes of your loved ones and kids, your food, or any textures around the house.

Upload your best macro photos to arsbeta.com

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You need more opportunities to shoot

If you desire to uncover your hidden talent and skills in photography, you must expose yourself to more photo opportunities. This is where road trips are good, going to the local mall, going to the downtown, going on trips, travels, weekend excursions, etc is good for photography.

Randomness, chance and unknown and uncertain situations awaken the inner-genius photographer within you.

Thus when in doubt, get out of the house. Try to walk 30,000 steps a day, go on a quick hike, go on a weekend AirBnb trip somewhere, and make photography the modus operandi of your life.

ERIC

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7. HENRI SHOULDER STRAP
8. HENRI NECK STRAP MARK IV

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Thoughts on Leica M11

The new Leica M11 is out; and some thoughts:

1. Unfortunate how the M11 is visually indistinguishable from the M10. A good idea would have been to make the M11 have a Black Leica Dot in front; to differentiate itself.
2. The triple stacked sensor is a great idea; better to have fewer megapixels but better high ISO capability.
3. To show ‘Leica M11’ on the back startup is a bad idea — looks dated.
4. For the ISO dial on top, the “A” doesn’t need to be in red lettering, just black it out/
5. The new battery component on bottom and the USB-C is a fantastic idea.

Is it worth the ‘upgrade’?

I don’t think so. Ever since I learned that the RICOH GR III was 1000x more compact and portable and lended me to shoot more photos, Leica M cameras no longer really interest me.

The higher price is a brilliant idea from Leica — it is truly a luxury item and should be priced this way.

What Leica M is best?

Leica M9 is very good (flash):

I still think getting a used Leica M9 is a great idea for the rangefinder experience. Or the used Leica M9 Monochrom. The M240 is lame, the Leica M10 is fine, the Leica M10-R is unnecessary (more megapixels, more problems), and even a small design thing — I hate the new three-button layout of the new Leica digital cameras. The rounded squares look too ‘cute’, I prefer the harder, Bauhaus design of the Leica M9 with the small, tiny, hard dots.

Perhaps getting a fixed/refurbished Leica M9-P is a good ‘longevity’ camera.

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iPhone Pro?

Just get a RICOH GR III instead of the new iPhone Pro. If you want a good phone just get an iPhone Mini.

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GR IIIx?

Just ordered a GR IIIx on Amazon to replace my broken GR III. Will test it, and give you some updates later, if I don’t like it I will just return it.

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Stay tuned!
ERIC

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Start Here / Books / Products / NEWSLETTER LINK

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Rate photos on arsbeta.com

WHY APP?

Not just a decisive moment — but capturing a meaningful one.

Upon doing much research and thinking and consideration, all cars suck. Thus my personal thought:

Just get a cheap, easily accessible car, and just go on more road trips and adventures.

To love more, you must also hate more?

Also the things you really love, you also hate it?

RICOH GR cameras for example — I hate how it always breaks, but I love it in terms of the design, function, ergonomics and the photos it produces.

To get buffer arms, the ideal seems to be doing (very) heavy kettlebell swings (one armed), into a ‘clean’ formation.

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What *should* a home be, and how *should* a home be designed?

(more…)

A quick thought on clothing —

Instead of getting a vest, or wearing cumbersome clothing which restricts your movement, just double-upon on your merino wool t-shirt.

Double shirt layer.

And on the *really* cold days, triple merino wool t-shirt.

What do we want out of photography? To capture the fullest gamut of human experiences in photos:

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Literally and figuratively.

Another key to success.

Specialized vs general equipment and tools.

With photography, don’t think too much. Just keep shooting:

Something I have learned:

The thought — ‘I will just “invest” in this one really great camera, this really great lens and own it forever’ is an un-true notion.

For example, a thought I had in the past:

If I just had a Leica M9 and a Leica 35mm Summilux/Summicron lens, I will stay with this system forever, and achieve ‘camera zen’, and be happy and photographically productive forever.

And this is a huge problem — with almost every single new digital camera — no matter how great, expensive, etc it is … it will sooner or later break, get outdated, get old/boring, etc.

Once you get a kid, you gain a new identity — not just you, but you and your kid (an ultra-ego).

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An easy, quick fun ‘bang for the buck’ workout at home:

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The tricky thing — some things cannot really last forever.

For example, you cannot own an iPhone forever. You also cannot really own a digital camera forever. Same goes with laptops, computers, etc. No device or digital thing is ‘future-proof’.

A good ethos for website building, and technology in general.

Rather than figuring out which plugins to add, figure out which to disable and delete.

Something very annoying:

Why is it that when certain things stop working or break (like my beloved RICOH GR III), it cannot be easily fixed by me, and has to be sent elsewhere?

Or another example, I find a pair of NIKE shoes I really like (Air Force 1, Flyknit, special edition), but once the soles wear out … I essentially have to throw them away, and waste time trying to procure a new ‘perfect’ thing similar to it?

The thing I’m trying to figure out:

How to balance minimalism (minimalist design), and inter-changeability?

For example, I get it– the thin MacBook laptops has nothing interchangeable in order to make it as light, slim and sexy as possible. Yet the tradeoff is that when something gets outdated (like the processor, RAM, storage space, battery, etc) … I cannot easily swap out a new version or one.

Then I figured out, the dilemma:

When it comes to cameras, do I buy the newest RICOH GR camera, knowing that it will only last me 2-3 years before it breaks and I gotta buy a new one, *or* is it better to get a more expensive (bigger, bulkier) but inter-changeable lens camera, that will last longer?

Or with shoes:

Is it better to get uber-minimalist shoes (cheap price) that will wear out in a few months, and just keep buying new versions of it when it runs out, or is it better to buy the more expensive boots (in which you can repair the soles), but the boots are heavier and bulkier?

(more…)

The notion of ‘unlimited’ seems to be a good one, but in actuality, not good.

For example, better to limit your reps when it comes to lifting weights (better to do fewer reps, with higher intensity/difficulty/weight) than crunching out mindless repetitions until ‘failure’. Ironically enough, you are more prone to injure yourself through doing too many repetitions, when compared to doing a one rep max. For example, when I go for ‘max rep’ bodyweight chin-ups (even a neutral grip), I am more likely to get elbow tendonitis than strapping on four 4-pound plates via a weight belt and doing chin-ups.

Or another example, you’re more likely to ‘injure’ yourself (or cause annoying knee pain) by going for max-rep bodyweight squats, than a one-rep max squat at the gym (no belt).

In trying to discover new types of workouts with the 105 pound kettlebell (the beast, 48 kg), a floor press (‘bench-press style) is a good one:

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Our ideal, pursuit and goal.

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When you have the choice, go to the beach, go on a hike, take photos:

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Many people spend tons of money upgrading their car (buying new parts, additions, customizations, rims, performance parts, etc), or by upgrading their entire car (buying a Tesla, Lamborghini, Porsche, etc)–

But much more effective than spending all that time upgrading your car and vehicle, why not spend that money on upgrading yourself instead? For example:

1. Upgrading your body: Use more money and time to workout (powerlift), or buy some kettlebells to workout at home.
2. More money on grass-fed beef, steak, bone marrow, and other highly nutritious cuts of meat, to fuel your muscular gains.

For example, a lot of people buy a new carbon fiber piece for their car. Why not use that time and effort to augment your own muscular width instead (getting the infamous ‘wings’ in your back muscle, from doing deadlift, kettlebell swings, chin-ups, weighted chin-ups, etc).

Or instead of getting a car with a faster 0-60 time, or upgrading your car horsepower to drive faster, why not start sprinting instead?

Or instead of upgrading your exhaust, or getting a new muscle car or Lamborghini with a ‘mean’ growl, better to start grunting loud like a beast at the gym when doing a one-rep max.

Or instead of getting a new paint job or rims for your car, or a new carbon fiber hood or trunk or spoiler, maybe just invest that money into more ‘performance’ clothing for yourself. Buy more merino wool clothing, more GoreTex clothing, more military-esque clothing, more elite shoes (minimalist), etc.

The upside of reviewing your photos in reverse chronological order:

Your best photos tend to happen towards the end or the very end.

Physiological depression — can be remedied by extreme hiking and walking?

What makes a more personal photo? A photo in which your hand is also in it:

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With aesthetics, faded is good. Why? The more faded it is, the more wear and tear, the better.

What is ‘cool’? The more you use something, the more wear and tear it has, it is a badge of honor.

Like Leonardo da Vinci said– start with a black canvas, and then on top of the black canvas, paint whatever you desire.

With black, your possibilities are limitless.

After doing the whole Silicon Valley thing, going through the whole crypto billionaire thing, etc — what is the end of all of it? Simple: photography.

(more…)

In Ancient Greek times— being “different” wasn’t the goal… courage was. In the Iliad, strength courage and might is what is valued, not being “different”.

What designs impress you? You gotta see and perceive it in person.

For example, ignore marketing materials and photos. See it in person, touch it in person, hold it in your hand.

For example, I don’t really like any of the new iPhones. iPhone Pro is too big, thick, heavy, and doesn’t feel good in the hand. Also doesn’t have a sexy finish. Funny enough the older matte black finish for iPhone 7 as superior.

Even iPhone Mini— the midnight finish is too shiny.

Even I saw a new Tesla Model S Plaid in real life with a matte black wrap (all blacked out)— I thought I would like it as an aesthetic ideal, but when witnessing it in person, I didn’t really care for it.

Morale of the story: always try it on in person, or test it and hand it in person.

What is a ” brand “? An aesthetic taste and ethos in the commercial, capitalist world in which we live.

Covid ain’t ever going away. Perhaps road trips are the future?

Black isn’t the ‘best’ color, but the least eye-sore.

When it comes to design, best for us to consider every single inch; to not compromise any inch of a design of a thing.

For example, my insane huge disdain for chrome accents (cheesy), and also plastic trim on cars.

If I were the creative director of Apple, I would become 1000x more insanely discerning with every inch of Apple product design (iPhone, Mac could be greatly improved in my opinion).

In praise of the 48kg (105 pound) kettlebell workout:

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