My critique of much of modern design:

It is focused on the nostalgia of the past and retrospective because it is “cool” and sells, rather than the substance of it.

For example, there is no reason why modern digital cameras need to look like old school rangefinders. There is no more film cartridge or 35mm cassette which requires it. Also in a world of great autofocus, manual focusing is more about the romanticism than the practicality. In this way, RICOH GR as superior to Leica M cameras in almost all regards.

Same with car design — the delight in the flush nose and front end of the new Tesla cars because a radiator is no longer needed! So with design ask yourself:

Is this design facing forward for the better, or facing backwards and the past for the worse?

ERIC

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It seems the millennial trend is to *NOT* have kids, or to desire to *NOT* have children.

But I can say (as a millennial, or ‘Generation Y’ kid, born in 1988) that having children is one of the most blessed things you can do, experience and witness in life:

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‘Carte Blanche’ — the phrase in French (blank slate, blank piece of paper).

Why is carte blanche so beautiful? When things are new, clean, pure, and un-tainted … then you can truly re-challenge yourself, re-innovate, and re-create yourself and the future (and past!)

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The greatest gift — to own and command your own opinion, to not water it down, and to propagate your thoughts as widely as you can!

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This is something I think about a lot:

How to augment your life experiences, intensify them, make more sticky photos, and to live a more artistically productive life?

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For me the primary reason to make photos:

I have a poor memory, and when I look at my old photos, it resparks great joy in my heart and breast!

Perhaps then for us photographers, forgetfulness or having a poor memory is a great blessing in disguise!

Also perhaps our forgetfulness of our past memories and photos gives us motivation and reason to look back at our old photos and re-relish in them!

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Do you remember your pure, uncorrupted desires when you were a kid, a teenager, high school student or naive and optimistic college student? Perhaps the best way forward in life is to stick to your pure uncorrupted desires and aesthetics/ethics as a kid, and use your adult resources and wisdom to advance!

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 Some thoughts and ideas:

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When deciding to do x, y, z ask yourself:

Am I doing this as a means to strengthen myself or to weaken myself?

Also consider — whenever you do x, y, z, does it strengthen or weaken you?

All things that strengthen you is good, anything you do which weakens you is bad!

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Strange bias in today’s world:

Millenials and many people no longer want to have children.

Why this bias?

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The philosophy of male beauty:

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Is it possible for us humans to have desires which are not mimetic?

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Or why the “panda” approach is best:

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I cannot say for certain that great design uplifts, but I can certainly say that ugly design depresses us:

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It seems many of us desire this pipe dream:

To discover the best design things, the best design objects, etc … and to ‘get them all’.

But towards what ends?

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Which do you strive towards? For me — the artistic!

How to motivate your muscles? This is our artistic and creative inquiry:

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Great design — not about accuracy or precision. Instead, the visual impression it gives you:

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Building upon the notion of boredom:

Perhaps the solution is to figure out what to keep consistent, and what to make novel.

For example, consistency in your tools and equipment and car, and make the novelty having new adventures, making new art works, and new attempts.

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A thought while looking at the new McLaren Artura hybrid super car:

Assuming you buy the best car which exists… how long before you bore of it?

Which makes me think more about boredom in general:

1. Boredom of our devices, cars, cameras, tools, phones, laptops, etc
2. Boredom of our home, city, neighborhood, etc
3. Boredom of certain designs, clothes, fashions, etc

What is the meaning of being easily bored? And are there some virtues of being easily bored?

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Or in other words, optimize your life in such a manner which causes you to live maximally brave and fearlessly.

This can mean own possessions which you’re not afraid to fuck up, break, scratch or dent. Having a phone you’re not worried about breaking and ruining is better … so you don’t need to baby it and fret over it! Same goes with your car — the worst car is the car in which you’re worried about getting pulled over, getting it keyed, scratched, stolen, etc. Incognito is best.

Why create? My thought:

The supreme mode of existence in life is supreme prolificness, joy, and motivation with your creativity.

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Why extremes are better:

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A thought in a half awake state, which got me up this morning:

The joy of life is that there is no end.

For example, with consumer goods. Perhaps the ideal isn’t to strive to have a “perfect” device which you keep forever, and are forever satisfied and happy and pleased with it. Instead, to always “upcycle”your tools and things — ideally buying it used or refurbished, and either keeping it as long as you can (before your eventual upgrade), or perhaps the joy of just testing things out for your own personal interest and returning it later. Essentially not to get tied down by our things.

But anyways, the goal isn’t some end perfect homeostasis. The goal is to continue to journey on this beautiful and unpredictable life, strive to seek your own personal maximum growth, and to create art and share this life journey of yours with others via your blog, website and any other platform which can amplify your voice and creative vision!

ERIC

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This means:

Strive to position yourself in street photography in such a manner in which you enjoy street photography as an independent pursuit for yourself — to enjoy the process of going out and making photos, the joy of interacting with strangers, the joy of being on the streets, the joy of the chase, the chance encounters, the joy of reviewing your photos, selecting the best ones, and sharing your favorite ones.

The more of an independent approach you can take in your street photography, the happier you will be, the more self-motivated you will be (autotelic approach to street photography) and the more creatively prolific you will become!

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A life with street photography is a better life. Why? My thoughts:

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Life is too short for boring design. The best design increases your adrenaline, excites you, and motivates you to do more, aspire to create beautiful things, and to be grateful towards life and everything in-between.

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In life you have the power to dictate your own purpose in life. Your own higher purpose in life. A purpose so high and mighty that you are willing to forgo everything else.

Assuming you don’t believe in a (conscious) afterlife, and think that life is devoid of inherent meaning (nihilism) then this is the greatest thought:

No guilt or fear from *NOT* living a ‘normal’ life, and being able to eschew all societal norms and ‘rules’ in order to pursue your higher purpose in life!

In other words:

1. You can safely ignore all societal norms and rules, because you have decided for yourself that your higher purpose in life far surpasses the importance of conforming to normal social rules.
2. There is no ‘punishment’ or ‘eternal damnation’ in the afterlife … thus, all your actions and responsibilities are your own!

ERIC

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When to expend your strength, when to conserve your strength?

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Refuse to do anything, or participate in any type of activities which rob you of your peace, tranquility, flow of thoughts, and mental zen:

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FREE MOTIVATION ON ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER >

Thought:

As spring is in full bloom, ask yourself — “What new photo adventures await me?”

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We are proud to announce that PHOTO WALLET is here, and available to order (right now) in the HAPTIC SHOP. If you desire one wallet for your everyday life and photographic adventures, PHOTO WALLET is for you. 

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What do we desire the most?

To design our life in such a way which elevates our mode of existence and living to a newer, more epic height.

If story telling in your street photography is your goal, some thoughts for you:

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How will your passion for street photography manifest? Some thoughts:

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Finally a long time after my life experiences (the last decade+) I’ve realized this:

With any design objects, tools, things, phones, laptops, cameras, clothes, homes, etc … it will never fully satisfy you.

There are objects, things, tools, equipment and lifestyle which are superior than other things, and I believe there are some things which are ‘perfect‘ (like the iPhone Mini, RICOH GR III, iPad Pro, 13” MacBook Air, Outlier.NYC Black Merino Wool T-Shirt, minimalist luxury apartments, etc), but let this be known to you:

These perfect things (while they do exist) will never fully satisfy you.

Then what is the game? Is the game to simply accumulate, acquire, and hunt for these perfect things? No. The hunt of life is this:

Seek the tools, objects, foods, helpers, equipment, and lifestyle which best maximizes your physical and physiological vigor, motivation and creative inspiration … and then focus all your power and strength into your artistic and creative production!

ERIC

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Low-key photos are photos that skew towards the dark end and the darker side. The opposite of ‘high key’ photography (very bright photos).

Low-key photos are more dramatic, dark, and mysterious. I say that a low-key photograph is around 80% dark, and 20% bright (80% black, 20% white).

The benefits of low-key photos:

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One of the most difficult things in modern life:

To make a decision, to stick with a decision, and to *NOT* second-guess your past decisions, or to *NOT* have regrets.

Some real thoughts:

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Is satisfaction the goal we truly desire? And once we are “satisfied”— then what?

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For a long time, I thought of and labored for a “perfect”device (phone). Now I’ve discovered it — iPhone Mini (in black, with a red silicone case). And this is the strange zen I now feel and experience:

I no longer think about, or worry about my phone or having the *best* or “perfect” phone.

In terms of devices, I got the perfect tablet (iPad Pro, 10.5 inch)— I actually prefer the home button for screen shotting. And for laptop, the best and perfect laptop is probably the new 13’’ MacBook Air (Space Grey).

For cameras, RICOH GR III as the perfect camera.

So the thought is this:

When we labor so much for the perfect things … towards what ends? And once we do get perfect (I think it is possible), then what?

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A thought and realization:

With strength, and strength/physical culture, the apex is to maximize your maximum power output (once, a la powerlifting) than arbitrary ‘reps’ (repetitions).

I am convinced this is the best way to *enjoy* “working out”, to prevent injury, and to also become more superhuman:

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The new re-edited JUSTICE LEAGUE by Zack Snyder as insanely great:

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A strange bias I notice in modern society:

We are more interested in objects (cars, watches, design objects, devices, etc) over human beings.

Why? Some thoughts:

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For more effective street photos, try to include the face of the subject in your photos. And as a plus– add your own photo into the frame too!

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In praise of photographing faces:

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We love human faces.

Almost above everything else. The joy of watching movies and films is based on faces. Close ups on human faces and conversations.

Even babies and children — they’re mostly drawn to faces, far more than any other stimuli.

Thus the simple thought:

To be “happier”— perhaps expose ourselves with more human faces?

Also in photography and art, more focus on faces?

A thought and realization:

No more hierarchy of “good” and “bad” stimuli.

Anything which gets you going and inspires and motivates you is good!

This means music, films, videos, sunlight, coffee, social stimuli, visual novelty, art, books, literature, poetry — it’s all good!!

Dear friends,

It seems one of the most difficult things in photography is to self-motivate yourself towards photography– this means:

1. Motivating yourself to shoot and make new photos
2. Motivating yourself to review your photos, select (edit) them, process them, export them, publish/share them, then figure out which photos to share, etc.
3. Finding and discovering deep joy from your photography, which will motivate you to continue your photographic journey.

But why is self-motivation in photography so difficult, and how can we motivate ourselves further in photography? Some thoughts:

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I’m very enthusiastic and interested in the new ultra wide angle lens for the iPhone in terms of the new creative perspectives and views and compositions it will open up to us!

To advance in your photography means:

To become more fascinated with your own photos than the photos of others.

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The goal isn’t to just have a life in which we have aimless leisure — in which we just sit around and ‘do nothing’. The goal is to have a life of artistic and creative leisure — in which we have the mind space, time, opportunity, energy and power to focus on our artistic and creative pursuits and ends!

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In life there are many things we want to do— things we desire to do, and want to do.

However on the other hand, there are other things in which we *MUST* do— things we don’t need to force ourselves to do— things that no matter what, we will self-compel ourselves to do it.

Then the thought is this:

Perhaps in life the best course of action is to simply pursue things you MUST do, instead of things you *want* to do.

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With design– small, compact, and light is the apex:

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Everything that happened to you is for the betterment and strengthening of you.

Everything that happened to you is the best possible thing that could have ever happened to you, and the most desirable thing to have happened to you.

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A thought while watching the new Zack Snyder cut of Justice League:

Wow— you can achieve soooo much more artistically when *NOT* given the basic constraints of the typical 1.5-2 hour film.

This is why the future for (great) films must be online and streaming— directors aren’t stuck in this “Procrustean Bed” of arbitrary constraints, just how there is arbitrary constraints on 30 minute TV shows (for the 5 minute commercial break), or how the typical pop or rap song is around 3 minutes long (or how the typical music album is around 12 songs long).

Then which makes me think: What other (arbitrary) creative Procrustean Beds do we put ourselves into? Social Media as a creative Procrustean Bed— you must follow their restraining template and format. Same goes with the typical photo book: printed matter as a Procrustean Bed because of costs, and production distribution costs.

When it comes with decisions or life events, best to think: everything happened as it ought to have happened.

Also realize all decisions are just a continuum — and your decisions (and your life) is always in a mode of becoming.

A simple thought:

When you shoot and create photos which bring you delight, share that delight with others by sharing/publishing your photos!

And it ain’t even about your ‘best’ photos — it is about your *FAVORITE* photos — photos you love.

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The artist as shaping form. You as an artist — you have the power to form and shape yourself. You are the ultimate clay, the ultimate thing to be reshaped, reformed and to shape yourself into a greater you!

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My interest and passion in design — applied to photography:

The greatest boon of studying design is applying the concepts to photography.

For example:

1. How to design a frame (composition is designating what is of importance to you in the frame).
2. Dynamic design (dynamic composition concepts)
3. The aesthetics of your photo (color combinations or black and white) and post-processing styles, etc.

To design: to designate. If you designate what you show is important (you designate and select the subject-matter and what to and what *NOT* to photograph) and you also design the composition (you designate what you find is beautiful or not in a frame).

Also:

A designer seeks to beautify the world, by creating beautiful things.

As a photographer, you do the same — you desire to create beautiful images, and bring them into the world!

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My interest in design:

A realization … not to just admire and continually obtain “design objects”, but instead to seek to *UNDERSTAND* the beauty behind design, and to use these insights to create your own designs and things!

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With cameras, equipment, lenses, gear or any other decisions of the type try to honestly ask yourself: “Will this decision or purchase help me create more”?

If so, just go for it. If not, just use what you got and make on!

The definition of “creativity” as the propensity to create … anything!

Photographic fitness: to shoot a lot, frequently, and to always stay fit with your photography; your technique and sharpness in shooting, your photographic vision, and your photographic muscles!

You are a special type of artist– one who paints with light. You write and paint with light; this is what photography is!

Thus in photography, think about creative ways you can write with light and paint with light. Utilize the light, create light, and write your feelings with your photos!

Why I love RICOH GR III, and why I think it is the best camera (better than any Leica camera, rangefinder, iPhone, etc):

1. Ability to shoot with one hand (increases your photographic optionality)
2. Best monochrome JPEG images (high contrast black and white)
3. Charges via USB-C (insanely useful, especially if you own a MacBook Pro charger)
4. Smallest camera, lightest weight, and strongest power (the most powerful camera, with the smallest footprint and weight).
5. Best ergonomics on a compact camera (best ergonomics holding it in your hand, the hand grip, shooting, etc).
6. 1080p 24fps video recording (monochrome) as very good for making artistic videos or short clips.

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A epiphany I had while shooting with the iPhone Mini (one handed, in my left hand while walking):

The most flexible form and the best technique in photography is having the ability and privilege to shoot one-handed.

For example, most of the time when we are out living our everyday lives, we often have to do something with one of our hands (holding a grocery bag, holding a coffee cup, or pushing a stroller if you got a child).

This is one of the reasons I LOVE the Ricoh GR III–I can shoot with it one handed! And also the new touchscreen for autofocusing points is great, because I can even use one hand to touch a certain point of the screen to autofocus. As a result, I’ve been able to shoot more personally decisive moments— when walking around the neighborhood with a coffee in my left hand, and a camera in my right! Or holding an umbrella with your left hand, and a camera with your right hand!

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How do you know what great design or technology is?

The more you use it, the more you like it!

Or,

The more you use something, the more the design surprises and delights you in ways you couldn’t have even imagined!

For example, the iPhone Mini: the joy of shooting photos with one hand, the ability to reach all of the screen with one hand, and even the ability to use the phone with my (less dominant left hand)! The thought that ‘one handed photography‘ is great!

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What do we desire?

We desire to look forward to a more beautiful and prosperous future.

What does this mean? This means:

1. More beautiful sights (more beautiful interior decor, more beautiful neighborhoods)
2. Being part of a more elite/beautiful society (more beautiful human beings, deeper conversations, more ‘turbo thoughts‘)
3. Brighter light (living in a place with more bright light, sun), better weather (Southern California as the goal).
4. Training your body to beautify your body, and to also make more beautiful art work.

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When I look at my most powerful photos, this is what I have noticed:

My strongest photos are typically very close (I am close to the subject, both physically [macro mode] or emotionally).

This goes not only in my street photography, but my personal photography.

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Or in other words:

Life is too short to pursue or do anything you are *NOT* passionate or enthusiastic towards.

I still believe:

If you pursue your passion(s) with the greatest zeal and might in life, there is no way you cannot succeed and win.

Why? With passion, you will have pure endurance, perseverance, not out of some sort of ‘virtue’, but you cannot do anything otherwise (meaning, you cannot help but keep on going on pursuing your passion, because you are compelled by yourself to do it naturally, with love, play, and fun!)

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The goal:

To make more powerfully impactful images.

Photos which elicit a strong and powerful emotional response within us. Stronger and more powerful aesthetics, stronger light, and stronger and more emotional subject-matter (for example, photographing your family, loved ones, or children).

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