Yes, you can shoot street photography in the suburbs. Technically if you think about it, a suburb is still urban, just sub urban. As long as there’s human beings around, whether it be on the streets, in the neighborhood, at the local Costco, it is all street.
Something that is on my mind: what is the motive of criticism, or why criticize?
The word criticism comes from the Greek word kritikos which means judge, or to judge. Thus, when you criticize somebody, you are laying a judgment upon them.
Certainly it is good to judge things as “right or wrong “, or to judge what is your own personal preferences. But I think in today’s world people seem to criticize others to make themselves feel better about themselves, or to put others down.
I think perhaps better than wasting your energy on criticizing others in a negative way, only criticize people if it is constructive and you think it could actually help them. The motive must come from a good heart, with good intentions.
Otherwise, best to just ignore others and leave them to be.
Creativity is curiosity, the same curiosity that you had when you were a child, when you were pure and unobstructed by conventions and notions of “good and bad “. Thus the uber artist is a child.
Rather than desire what you don’t have, rather, best to extract the maximum of what you do got. For example let’s say you live in the boring suburbs, strive to make the most interesting photos in the suburbs. If you’re poor, harness the few resources that you do got and maximize it. For example, I have some friends who started off shooting street photography on their iPhone because they couldn’t afford any other digital camera, but that became their thing and help them become a great photographer. Aikbeng Chia (ABC) as one of my favorite photographers who was one of the early pioneers for iPhone street photography with IPA (Invisible photographer Asia).
See yourself as the creator, which means you take any of reality’s clay and mold it to be your artistic creation.
What’s our entrepreneurial lifeblood? Our level and degree of ambition. And this we can control.
So perhaps in life rather than seeking more satisfaction and zen, perhaps better to seek more ambition, challenges, heights, summits, epic attempts and newer braver and more daring goals in life!
In our lives, let’s just focus on photography. Photography as the ultimate visual bliss for us photographers. And also the joy of experience of embodied reality.
Some thing I discovered when it comes to the philosophy of design. Designers often grapple with a question: form or function? Perhaps that is not the right question. Perhaps the better question is focusing on ethos, that means thinking about the underlying philosophy, mood, attitude or aesthetic gist of something. Or the way things should be.
I just finished rewatching 7 Samurai by Akira Kurosawa and some thoughts on the upside of monochrome films:
First, it forces you to use your imagination to interpret and experience the film. The abstraction of a monochrome film is more mysterious and requires more focus and input from the viewer.
Second, monochrome films tend to be more classic. Classic films that have stayed relevant to today are more likely to be worth watching and studying.
Also, monochrome films seems to be a better way to study composition. “Every picture a frame†(YouTube channel, great concept and idea). I love to screenshot compositions which inspire me, and then use the MacBook screenshot tool to sketch on top of the images.
Perhaps the best car is a zen car. A car which allows you to NOT think about your car, to not second guess the goodness of your car.
Perhaps it must be electric or hybrid. Definitely not just a pure gasoline car.
At the moment, I think the most zen car is probably a maxed-out Telsa Model S (Plaid) — black on black. Why? It is a ‘sleeper’ — it is waaaaay faster than any other hyper car or sports car in production (acceleration is only 1.99 seconds from 0-60 — puts other cars to shame). And black on black is ideal, because it is the most long-term robust color scheme (black is boring, but typically black is always in style, long-term).
Or the other option: the hilarity of a ‘murdered out’ black on black on black Prius (Nightshade edition). A more affordable option.
Perhaps the most fun car (gasoline) might be a black on black Civic Type R. Manual transmission, and the highly great practicality of a hatchback design (fun car to drive, and to get groceries). Probably the best ‘bang for the buck’ and unique import Japanese sports car.
Some quick thoughts: first of all, perhaps best to shoot in high contrast black and white monochrome. This immediately abstracts the world around you which allows you to focus on shapes textures and other details which might be shrouded by color.
Also, approach photography from a carpe diem perspective. This means that no matter how uninteresting or boring your lifestyle or neighborhood or society or town where it may be harnessed to your benefit.
Strive to make very interesting photos of very boring subjects.
The more you live to yourself, the less concerned you need to be about ethics. However, the more you live in society and with others, the more you must concern yourself with ethics.
Thus, don’t think about ethics for ethics sake, rather, think about ethics as a social tool. Or perhaps a social technology, to best thrive in the world with others and in society.
How does one become a good role model? Simple: focus on the notion of an “anti role model“.
The general gist is this: strive to be the opposite of bad attributes you see in others.
For example, rather than thinking of how to become a “good†parent, think about how to not be a bad parent. Or in another words, strive to be the opposite of bad parenting.
In my personal example, I probably had the worst father figure growing up. Thus in order to become a good father figure, I just strove to be the exact opposite of what my father was. So in other words, as long as I’m the opposite of my father, I will become a great father.
And the interesting irony is this: sometimes it is the bad role models which help you become a more positive person. In fact, I found more motivation to not become my father then emulating “good†role models.
To take this analogy further, one should not helicopter parent the children. In fact, it is pain suffering and injustice which perhaps gives children a stronger moral compass. Even at a early age, I knew the injustice that my father did towards my mother. And I knew that one day when I had a wife, I would do the exact opposite of what my father was to my mother. So when I think of how my father used to curse at my mom, physically assault my mom, and mentally destroy her, I strive to become the zen-stoic husband and father that I am today.
Contemplate– I cannot relate With you other guys Other backstabbing thoughts in disguise
Contemplate means to think Breathe deep, stand back and reflect
Don’t neglect your own passions and thoughts in life Harness the strife and the pain, to gain more gains And to train away the pains
Disregard what the masses say are cool or lame Or blame Or shame Know that your game is to go forth and be bold What can you control in life? Your courage, no more, no less
Beat your chest, thump loud and brave Never cave — you pave your own way.
First of all, the film is hilarious. The jokes in the movie are heart-warming.
The character development is fantastic. Each character in the film has depth, and growth and change throughout the film.
Strong differentiation between the characters of the film. Especially the ‘outcast’ samurai (Mifune) who steals the show.
Phenomenal composition. No other film has so many ‘screenshottable’ scenes. The fact it was shot in the 1950s blows my mind– the ingenuity of the compositions, framing, and the triangle compositions.
Great story. You cheer for the underdogs, and the building of the 7 samurai team is a great narrative.
Sweet relationships between the samurai, which brings a huge smile to your face.
Beautiful use of light.
Strong philosophy here — lots of great quotes. For example the badass Samurai with the scar on his face– ‘A man only interested in testing his own limits’. A good inspiration for myself. Also — the inspiration of being a Samurai (becoming a masterful individual, solo).
We share our cars (Uber, Lyft), we share our homes (Airbnb)— why not share our lives with others? For example more co-op communal living with friends, borrowing one another’s cars, going grocery shopping for others, sharing points with one another. Isn’t this a far more fun, effective and meaningful way to live?
My thought on what makes a successful photographer:
An individual who retains his/her own pure child-like vision and childlike enthusiasm for photography, and to shoot without any concern for the external world.
A photographer who only shoots for his/her own internal world.
It is impossible to stand out if you’re just a clone or an iteration of other things and people. Thus it seems that ‘creative isolation‘ is quite useful, and seek more inspiration from the classics and the past, than the modern and trendy.
Not to wear the same things others wore, not to rock the same brands others rocked, and to sort of become an ‘elitist’ through minimalism, simplicity, and just following my own zen–stoic mind.
Certainly this is a partly vain pursuit — you always compare your uniqueness in comparison to others. But my realization:
No matter how much we would like to think, we are social creatures (sociology of comparison) which means — we will inevitably ALWAYS compare everything when it comes to social matters.
So what are we to do about this? I say just accept it, and perhaps do simple things:
Drive a different car for the sake of driving a different car
Use a different phone from others for the sake of it
Use different tools, apps, and productivity apps for the sake of it
With clothes, shoes, and fashion matters– despise having the same brands, outfits, or concepts as others (strive for extreme differentiation here).
With music, art works, and other aesthetic matters — seek inspiration from the past, or from the obscure which you love.
In life, we will experience much pain and suffering. What is the best way to approach this?
Know it is part of the game — and become more indifferent towards your personal pain and suffering, and the only time to address it is in order to *NOT* keep yourself in a disadvantageous situation.
For example, let us say you are in an abusive relationship. You will experience much pain and suffering. The smart thing — channel the pain and suffering as an intelligent signal to *GET OUT* of that relationship, no matter what. But once you’re out of the relationship and you think about the past pain and suffering, rather than feel bitter resentment (like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies) — best to just feel indifferent towards your past suffering.
What has happened has happened and the only intelligent thing to do is move forward.
Work through the pain, and fix the pain.
Let us say you get an injury– whether physical or mental. Then the goal:
Figure out what your injury is, and figure out how to ‘rehab’ it — via active physical therapy or mental therapy.
For example if you get some sort of injuries in your joints– figure out how to do active therapy (yoga, stretching, and active dynamic strengthening exercises), and then —
After rehab, you will become *STRONGER* than you were before the injury.
Like Nietzsche said:
What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.
In our words:
That which has injured me or hurt me in the past can be a positive stimulus to help me focus on becoming *STRONGER* than I was before the injury!
We like to test drive cars which are fun to drive. Why not also cameras which are a fun experience to shoot?
Then perhaps in life— seek for fun and engaging and thrilling experiences over the “best†ones.
Then some other thoughts: what is the most fun shoe to wear, or the shoe that allows you to have the most fun experiences? Optimizing your life or fun experiences perhaps will help you live a more interesting, fulfilling life, and to become more.
Upon much deep thought and philosophizing — I think I got it figured out when it comes to artistic and creative matters:
Create BEYOND yourself.
What does this mean? This means:
Our lives are limited and short … and thus … the goal of life is to augment ourselves in order to create beyond ourselves.
For example with materialistic matters– there is only so much equipment and gear we need. Once we have the ‘best’ tools for artistic creation… then what? It isn’t to enjoy these things for the sake of it. It is channeling and harnessing these tools in order to create things. To share things. To publish things.
This is the great upside of online publishing (especially to your own self-hosted blog or website). No gate-keepers. Nobody stopping you but you.
How to create and share beyond yourself today:
Create your own website/blog. Easiest is wordpress.com, then next is wordpress.org (self-hosted website blog on bluehost.com).
Realize that everything is a work in progress. This means publish BEFORE things are ready. We seem to be fascinated by rough drafts from famous writers, or even sketches of famous painters (the working sketches BEFORE the final product). Thus think — one day future scholars will find fascination with you sharing your works in publish.
Just make it ‘80% good enough‘ and hit publish. This means to ‘satisfice‘ (satisfy + suffice) the ‘minimum viable’ concept.
The more you publish, the more creative and fearless you will become.
What can we control? Our courage. What else can we control? How fearlessly to publish. The only ‘failure’ in life is to fail to publish something because you’re afraid of negative feedback from others.
My personal impetus behind HAPTIC INDUSTRIES and everything I create here:
To create awesome, epic, and hugely practical things (which have been of huge use to me) and sharing them with others — knowing that there will be a small group of people who will also find it hugely useful, practical and life-enhancing and life-invigorating!
For example, being a photographer– creating the ideal and perfect tools *I* wish I had access to. Creating what I desire to see manifested in the embodied world.
For example, ERIC KIM PHOTOGRAPHER’S WALLET — my obsession with creating the perfect wallet for myself and all photographers.
With almost all design decisions — design for yourself. Like the new HENRI NECK STRAP Crimson Red Underbelly for the Mahogany Brown color — I just thought:
If I made the inside of the neck pad red– that would look super gangsta.
When it comes to photography, there seems to be two types of photography:
The first type of photography is more factual and depictual, which is photographing your car parking spot, or photographing your receipts for an expense report.
Then the other category is arts creation, in which we use the camera as an artistic tool and medium, to create artworks. Us as photographers, our goal is to create art works with our photography.
Thus, don’t photograph things as they are, rather, photograph things as you feel them and experience them (personal photography).
PHOTOLOSOPHY
Discover more personal meaning in your photographic life with PHOTOLOSOPHY >
The photographer Garry Winogrand one said, “I photograph to see what the world looks photographed.â€
Perhaps the same philosophy in our photography is good, that is, to photograph things truly because we are curious how it will turn out. This childlike curiosity as the primum mobile, or the first motivator to our photography.
Simpler is better and more productive. The more you can simplify and streamline your workflow, with creative artistic matters, means more output and creative flourishing. Perhaps the more streamlined and simpler artistic lifestyle, and artistic techniques, the happier and more fully realized we can and will become.
For example, using iPhone as a creative tool not phone. Procreate, Zen Brush 2, and other arts creation applications. Or blogging from the phone — another creativity productivity hack.
Also with videos, when integrating it on your blog, best to just make it auto play on mute and loop.
Or not concerning yourself with formatting blog posts and making things look pretty. Rather, focusing on just creating it, writing it and sharing it and publishing it and getting it out there.
I’ve also discovered that voice dictation on the iPhone is one of the quickest and most effective ways to write, far faster than texting with your two thumbs. In other words, the data output of voices and speech is at least 100x compared to that of typing on your thumbs. Also, our voices and out lungs and our throats are stronger than the carpal tunnel in our thumbs.
The more you can simplify and streamline your life process, the better.
The best fashion as highly functional and streamlined. For example, the benefit of merino wool — streamlined living (the best material irregardless of weather conditions). Or military requirement being forest green — shows the least amount of dirt and grime when it gets dirty in the field.
Or with packing and putting away clothes — not to seek the “best†setup or the most “minimal†(often making things more minimal actually makes things more complicated)— just do what is easiest and most streamlined (often the best solution after moving is just quickly and efficiently stuffing things into drawers).
The upside of wearing the same all black outfit everyday (Steve Jobs, Mark Z idea)— streamline the clothes to maximize the artistic and creative output.
Or espresso over pour overs — far faster and more streamlined to make a good coffee in the morning.
Or the upside of having less square footage in your home — more streamlined process to find and get stuff and do stuff.
Also with creative workflow (one camera, one lens, preferably and uninterchangeable lens) to streamline your creative process and output.
High range electric cars — no need for frictionful oil changes or car maintenance stuff. If you have a charger at home, less time for gas station pit stops.
Or perhaps the upside of wearing crocs or flip-flops or sandals, the ability for you to leave the house without putting on cumbersome socks or having to tie shoes.
Or the upside of just working out with the kettlebell at home. The ultimate streamlined workout without having to leave the house or enter into a gym.
We are seeking the supreme simplicity in life, design and aesthetics. But once you achieve supreme simplicity in all domains in your life … then what?
Not seeking the “best†aesthetic, but the most zen one. The aesthetic which affords you the most peace, calm, quiet and strong stoic tranquility in order to *NOT* think about the design and aesthetic. The best design as the one you never even have to think about! Via negativa aesthetics.
The goal is the most streamlined photographic workflow. Simple ideas:
Just shoot small JPEG (faster buffer speeds, faster time to upload your files, fewer issues with storage space)
Use a preset or filter while you’re shooting in JPEG (for example, high contrast monochrome mode or cross process mode on RICOH GR III). This reduces time when it comes to post-processing. If you decide to shoot RAW, just use presets in Lightroom (FREE ERIC KIM PRESETS)
When sharing your photos, upload and share/publish them to your own blog (self-hosted, WordPress.org) and try using the ‘Tiled Gallery’ function to best publish and share your work.
When reviewing your photos, use the simplest and fastest software possible (for example I like Apple Photos on my laptop, faaaar faster than Lightroom Classic). If you decide to use Lightroom, I recommend the new Lightroom CC (much faster to review photos).
When it comes to any photo matters ask yourself: “Is this going to streamline and *SIMPLIFY* and speed up my workflow, or will it complexify and make it slower and more burdensome?” For example, more megapixels, more problems.
“The service is twofold greater when it is promptly rendered.†– Publilius Syrus
Perhaps the key to success or dominance — optimize for speed. For example Tesla Model S in Plaid+ mode, or Google AMP to speed up the web, or anything in photography which speeds up and streamlines your workflow. We love speed, saving time, having less lag, obstructions and fewer kinks in the pipe!
Perhaps then better to do a fast, speedy and prompt job than no job … or better to do something “poorly†and fast, than slow and never.
Street photography you shoot for yourself– street photography you shoot for the pure joy of the activity and the experience of shooting street photography.
In life, there’s a trillion things for us to pursue (money making, crypto and investing speculation, and other random pursuits). But perhaps out of all these pursuits, photography as the most interesting and worthwhile one.
It isn’t a “simple†lifestyle we want, but a more *streamlined* one — with fewer annoyances and blockages and “friction†which prevents you from doing what you truly desire to do in life.
Minimalism because I easily bore of things and nothing satisfies me. I just strive to get the “least hateful†design, and just stick with it — even though it’s never perfect. And when it’s perfect I also easily bore of it.
Thus don’t think of minimalism from an aesthetic or ethical perspective, but a highly practical one.
“The best or nothingâ€, and if you got the best, just stick with one. Towards a “luxury†Spartan design ethos.
Yes perfect exists. But once you get it, achieve it or buy it, things are boring. Thus never seek happiness, fulfillment and satisfaction from perfect — but perhaps the pursuit of perfection is the goal and the way.
“I bought every V12 engine, wish I could take it back to the beginning.†– JAY Z
The purity and innocence of the beginner mind. Take yourself back to your high school self — what did you believe in and dream of, before getting corrupted by the outside external world? Internal desires, motivations and belief systems and ethos over external ones superimposed on you by others or society.
Curiosity as the root of philosophy. A life with no curiosity is a dead life.
One doesn’t need to cultivate curiosity — one just needs to return to ones childlike curiosity about everything in the world! You don’t need to force a child to be curious — it is just his natural state of being!
Curiosity as the art of observation, and having lots of questions. Sociology as questioning social norms and the way things are traditionally done. To challenge convention as the heart of the curious individual.
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