Life … the greatest joy known to man.

You never were asked to be born, but now that you’re here… ask yourself:

How can I benefit maximally from life and being alive, while clipping the downside?

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When contemplating things in life, one of the primary questions to ask yourself;

Why does this matter and why is it significant for me in a pragmatic, personal or philosophical way?

For example in aesthetic matters; why does the color of your car, clothes, watch or iPhone matter?

Think about the importance of things and never stop asking “why“?

In life, one of the greatest joys is to think. To think, to ponder, to question, and to write about your thoughts.

Thus when in doubt, think more, think on, and challenge everything.

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What holds us back in our photography? Paralysis by analysis when we don’t photograph something, with the fear that it might be a ‘bad’ photograph.

My suggestion:

It is better for you to shoot a ‘bad’ photograph than no photograph.

Consider this the great motivator to shoot anything, anyone, anytime … and to maximally creatively thrive!

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When it comes to photography philosophy, there still isn’t enough introspection and thought on the matters:

1. When should you *not* shoot photos of something and someone?
2. When should you and should you *not* upload photos of something or someone … especially when it comes to matters of ‘permission’?
3. If you find a photograph great, and could benefit ‘humanity at large’, yet the subject doesn’t want you to upload the photo, and you upload/share it anyways … it is ‘ok’ or ‘justified’?

Some quick thoughts:

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Towards a non regret lifestyle and philosophy. Only moving forward, no looking back!

When we are bored of photography, does it mean we are bored of our photos, ourselves, or bored of our lives?

And what can cure this boredom? Buying a new camera, iPhone or lens? Traveling? Stopping photography for a while? Studying things outside of photography?

And is it a bad thing to get bored with photography? If so, how long?

We often think the best thing is to ‘always be doing something’. The phrase:

Don’t just sit there … do something!

Perhaps better to think:

Better than just doing something for the sake of doing something … more wise to intentionally *NOT* do anything (the wisdom of purposeful procrastination).

For example, by intentionally ‘doing nothing’ (in regards to my cryptocurrency investments), I made money. If I were always checking my investments, I would have ingested too much ‘noise’ and might have preemptively sold when I was down. By intentionally *NOT* checking my crypto and Bitcoin investment for around 2+ years, I was able to ride through the crazy crash, and eventually when I sold my Bitcoin (and bought Chainlink instead), I have been able to profit.

Morale of the story:

Don’t force yourself to ‘act’.

More wise to wait, lie back, and let things manifest themselves (wu-wei Taoist philosophy).

ERIC

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Typically we are taught that pickiness is a vice, that we should be “grateful for what is given to us” and also to not be choosy. For when we are picky, we certainly make the lives of others more difficult.

But what if pickiness and choosiness was a great virtue? That it makes us less wasteful (we only purchase and own a few great things we value), it makes us more discerning as artists and thinkers, and that it elevates us into something greater?

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Free ideas on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER

Photo ideas; from A to Z:

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Why do you photograph and make photos?

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Dear friend,

When it comes to equipment, we always think:

My equipment is not good enough.

The reason why my lack of inspiration and motivation is because my equipment is sub-par.

However this is just the insidious voice of capitalism and consumerism lurking in the back of our heads.

Consider– a child … when they are painting something or using crayons, do they ever think:

If I only had better crayons I would make better art.

No! Thus perhaps the best way for us to re-motivate ourselves in photography is this:

Learn to UN-LEARN all of this negative self-talk which DE-MOTIVATES us.

ERIC

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When I look at my high contrast black and white photos and I consider what I am doing, I think:

I am not just making photos, I am painting my reality.

High contrast monochrome like a thick black ink brush against a white sheet of paper (calligraphy). Thus when considering your photography, think:

How can I make my photography the ultimate hybrid between painting and reality?

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Before uploading your photos to social media or wondering how many likes you will get on a photograph, ask yourself:

Do I like this photo of mine or not?

The most important person to impress in your photography and impact is yourself!

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What makes photography so beautiful and worthwhile?

Our ability to capture the beauty of everyday, ordinary moments.

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First sent to ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER >

Dear friend,

A thought:

Perhaps my goal in life is to motivate others in their photography.

I know for myself, finding motivation to shoot has been one of the most challenging things the last decade+. And considering I am only 33 years old (yesterday was my birthday) I know I got a long way to go. Considering I plan on living to be 120 years old — better yet:

How can you position yourself in life so you can stay motivated to shoot until you’re 120 years old?

Simple thoughts:

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Paralysis by analysis in photography means:

You see something you want to instinctively shoot, but for some reason or another … you hesitate, and fail to make (any) photograph.

Now why is this bad?

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Really been enjoying studying Japanese Woodblock Cut Prints … especially the work of HOKUSAI, HIROSHIGE, and more recently Utamaro (got recommended him via the Google Arts and Culture App under the Ukiyo-e section).

The reason I’ve found so much inspiration:

There is much we can learn as photographers from Ukiyo-e woodblock cut prints for our photography composition and beyond:

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No life without photos:

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Family photography — photographing your family and loved ones. Probably one of the most underrated and overlooked forms of photography:

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The origin of all joy is physiological:

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Personal HOKUSAI studies:

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Tinker with the settings you can actually control (sleeping setup, white noise machines, noise cancelling headphones, morning and evening routines, workouts, sleep schedule, etc). Tinker with your lifestyle choices and lifestyle flow. Tinker with your diet, what you eat and what you don’t eat (tinker with dairy, legumes, coconut products) and always strive to optimize what is best for you!

The general gist of congruency:

What you do and what you ‘believe’ in are one in the same.

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Why is black and white so beautiful as an aesthetic? For me — the sublime zen bliss I get from monochrome:

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I am a rational optimist. I believe in the future, and am excited for the future.

Right now, as we are trudging through the downsides of our covid lifestyles, it is easy to fall into existential dread, and loss of hope and motivation for the future. However, here are some optimistic thoughts for you:

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Towards the eternal creative cycle:

Draw inspiration from the world around you and from other artists, and keep creating.

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A realization while walking around and shooting some high contrast black and white photos of the snow in the streets:

This looks like calligraphy to me.

Which makes me think:

In order to improve and augment our creative vision for photography, is studying calligraphy a great idea?

I think so!

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I’ve always loved minimalist compositions. But the question:

Why opt for minimalist compositions in photography?

Some thoughts:

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If you’re stuck at home, quarantining or whatever — here are some photography assignments you can do from home:

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The more uninhibited you can shoot as a photographer, the better.

Simple idea:

When in doubt, just shoot it.

Also:

When in doubt, shoot lots of different iterations of the same photo.

You never know what a photograph will look like until after you’ve shot it. Thus, shoot things as a way to fulfill your own personal curiosity:

I wonder what this will look like photographed, or as a photograph?

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A very happy thought:

The future is bright and replete with new photo opportunities for you, new life, new opportunities, new social developments, new technologies and innovations, and future travels.

Let us look forward with great optimism to 2021 and beyond — yes, there will be a day once again when we travel, we will live more freely, a world where more people are vaccinated, etc.

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Meditation is strange. On one hand, we have all these uber-hippies who swear by it, and then you have monks who do it on the regular.

I have always been skeptical and suspicious of the mainstream notions of meditation (even the spiritual ones). Some quick thoughts:

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In our current crazy world (a world in which productivity is our religion [the cult of productivity]), to relax, to rest, to sleep, to take a nap, or to sleep (more) than 6-8 hours a night is considered a sin.

But I would actually say:

It takes more courage, skill, and fortitude to force yourself to relax than to force yourself to be ‘productive’.

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Something I have been thinking about:

What is it which *really* motivates us?

Is it a sense of ‘purpose’ which motivates us and drives us? Is it curiosity which drives us? Is it a lust for more which drives us?

What is our true ‘primum mobile’ (first mover) which motivates us to do anything in life?

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I am addicted to and love to create. To me, being in the zen zone of creating and the “flow” of creation is the optimal state.

As the years have progressed, I feel I’ve become more creative the more I’ve disconnected. To disconnect — to gain some sort of “creative isolation” — away from social media, and your contemporaries. This is the great secret to creative productivity:

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What do we desire? Camera zen. What is camera zen? To just have one camera, one lens you can always depend on… and always shoot, without thinking about another camera … but the camera you’re shooting with.

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Why do we care whether the photo is “good” or bad?

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My notion of the uber-artist:

Going *beyond* basic notions of art. Crafting and creating your own artistic definitions, visions and goals.

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FREE PHOTO MOTIVATION on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER >

Dear friend,

Something I believe in:

If you seek more happiness, joy and personal meaning in life … photography is a great road.

Thus the question then becomes:

What are the practical or meaningful strategies I can employ in order to maximize my photography?

A simple thought:

Black and white photography as augmenting your creative optionality, as it gives you MORE opportunities and MORE avenues to express and outpress yourself creatively.

After a small walk, here are some quick ideas I got for you:

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The more creative options you got, the better.

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The goal: propagate yourself, your artwork, your ideals, and your ideas.

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A thought while walking around the other day:

When it comes to life decisions, consider — Does this give me a meaningful advantage in life or not?

For example, perhaps with cars — they give you some sort of meaningful advantage if your purpose is to use your car to signal your success, wealth, or perhaps hope to pick up an attractive partner. Or if you’re a race car racer, and you want to win the race, of course you spend exorbitant amounts of money to upgrade your car, and buy the most expensive chassis and model.

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Reason:

You gotta squint hard at a black and white photo without much context, which forces you to use your imagination and add color to your past (monochrome photo) memories.

As a consequence, the “disfluency” of the image (the fact that a high contrast, sometimes blurry or out of focus photo) isn’t clear is precisely what makes the photograph or memory more memorable.

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Photograph your blessings in life and your joys, no matter how small.

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Artistic longevity
To dance on your levity
Tippie toes
To gleefully expect another day.

Longevity
is the goal

To outlast the whole world is to burn strong through the fads and phases
To keep your eyes sharp like lasik

Brace hard and hold tight
Your camera is your sword — you yield the light.

ERIC

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We often discriminate in our photography. We refrain from shooting x, y, z because we are concerned:

This will not be an interesting or artistic photo.

However this is what I say:

Just shoot it, and figure out what to do with it later.

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New deadlift PR (personal record) // one rep max attempt:

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A life in which we can just focus on our art and artistic production, without concerns for money, fame, followers, likes and finances — isn’t this the summit?

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If we take this advice to heart, there are far more options in photography and options of things to photograph than limits and limitations!

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Optimize for dynamic.

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“From the age of six, I had a passion for copying the form of things and since the age of fifty I have published many drawings, yet of all I drew by my seventieth year there is nothing worth taking into account. At seventy-three years I partly understood the structure of animals, birds, insects and fishes, and the life of grasses and plants. And so, at eighty-six I shall progress further; at ninety I shall even further penetrate their secret meaning, and by one hundred I shall perhaps truly have reached the level of the marvellous and divine. When I am one hundred and ten, each dot, each line will possess a life of its own.” -Hokusai

Hokusai apparently exclaimed on his deathbed, “If only Heaven will give me another ten years … Just another five more years, then I could become a real painter.” 

A Haiku Hokusai wrote towards the end of his life, shortly before his death:

“Though as a ghost, I shall lightly tread, the summer fields.”

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The more opportunities and options you have to make art and be creative, the better.

Thus the goal is this:

Strive to broaden your options… to discover many more and new avenues to create art!

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Visual intelligence — looking at images and being able to deconstruct them, determining *why* the images are great, and seeing the hidden shapes and forms *behind* the images, hiding in the shadows:

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Studying Hokusai (Simplified lessons on drawing 1, Volume 2, Volume 3) a very interesting epiphany:

The hidden visual architecture of things.

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As artists what do we seek? We seek maximal creativity. Physiological power overwhelming, a blissful drunken Dionysian art-creation flow, and to just focus on your artistic creation and nothing else.

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Creative photography is the goal. This means:

Seeing fewer boundaries between different ways of self expression though photography, staying inspired and motivated in your photography, and to always be shooting.

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When it comes to photography, we must consider the subject, the subject matter of our photos, and how and why we photograph them.

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Art… the future potentiality of making new art, discovering new art, or our curiosity in pursuing new art works … this is the great stimulus, hope, motivator and optimism in life!

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What we are going for isn’t precise visual depiction, but a visual gist and impression. A visual impression:

What does the general visual movement, gist, and feeling … how does it embed itself into your own visual memory?

For example some Hokusai visual impressions I sketched in iPad and Procreate and some of my own images:

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A good way to live life: only pursue that which interests you, and don’t pursue anything which doesn’t interest you.

Tell your own story and stories through your photos. Your photos and your photography is the medium (media) in which you communicate yourself.

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Some thoughts on media:

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Whenever I hear the concept of a “content creator” thrown around, I see it as a disparaging remark/insulting. Certainly when people say “I love the content you put out!” it is generally meant in a positive way. However … what we create isn’t mere “content”. I see “content” like the anonymous pink chicken nugget toothpaste sludge — not good.

I’ve also heard photographers justify their Instagram behavior by saying:

You must feed the beast (social media treadmill machine).

A subtle reframing:

See yourself as a PHOTO creator, and a substance creator … not just a “content creator”.

Or even more simply put, see yourself as a creator.

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Some simple street photography assignments to get you going:

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A word or concept which does not yet exist:

A ‘simplicisist’.

We have the term ‘minimalist’ in our modern vocabulary, but not ‘simplicicist’. Certainly the word ain’t as catchy, but I think the term is more accurate. Why?

It isn’t minimalism we are seeking, but it is the optimal simplicity we are seeking.

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MUSE by KIM: the apex strap.

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The art of editing your photos is the art of image selection; how to know which of your photos are the best and which photos to choose. Some thoughts:

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For a long time, I always thought minimalism was the goal. Now I’m starting to realize that minimalism ain’t the goal, and it is a trap. Too many of us millenials fall victim to the “minimalism for minimalism sake” or “minimalism as a form of elite virtue-signaling”.

What the true goal is optimal simplicity. To choose the option(s) in life which are maximally simple and easy for you, in order to augment what you truly care for in your life, whether it be arts creation, creativity, time with friends and family, entrepreneurial ventures, etc.

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In an interview Peter Thiel said of Elon Musk:

Elon Musk is not a good role model, as he is too difficult to emulate.

But when I think deeper about it:

Why strive to emulate others? Why not strive to just emulate yourself?

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