Dear friend,
Basic idea:
There is no such thing as good or bad photography; all photography is good photography.

Dear friend,
Basic idea:
There is no such thing as good or bad photography; all photography is good photography.

Conquer today
Disregard the fray, and the asses that beat and bray
Stay hot and relax in your own shade

It’s evident that being stronger is better than being weaker. But how do we get stronger?

Dear friend,
A thought —
What if we didn’t make our personal happiness the aim and goal of our lives. What would we pursue instead?

Dear friend,
A thought inspired by Peter Thiel:
Let us avoid incremental gains (5-10% gains). Instead– let us seek to make 10x improvements (making something 10x better than the competition, or making something totally new).

Another great (and fun) film by Akira Kurosawa: YOJIMBO:

IKURU by Akira Kurosawa — a masterpiece of a film:

The only way to advance as a photographer is via constructive critiques. Critiques which tell you why your photograph works (or doesn’t work).

The two co-founders (who made Instagram the great platform it is today) have just left (apparently over disagreements with Facebook).
What does that mean for us photographers? Let us start to build our own platforms!

John Wick: I can’t believe I haven’t seen this film until now! Probably one of the best action movies I’ve ever watched. I love the action, cinematography, color palettes, and of course– the ultimate badass Keanu Reeves:

Dear friend,
A practical thought:
Let’s upgrade our stuff, only when the gains of the upgrade are 10x better (something totally brand new, revolutionary, etc).

Dear friend,
A basic idea:
In life, pursue/possess/create what you LOVE — not just what you “like”.

After deleting my Instagram about a year+ ago, and not using social media anymore (post-like society in photography), I’ve discovered some new truths in photography:

What is the point of photography? To create forever; until your dying day.

Dear friend,
I wanted to write some personal thoughts on willpower. Specifically —

Ghost in the shell (original anime) is so epic and phenomenal:

Dear fellow streettogs,
If you ever find street photography difficult, scary, or hard– don’t fret. It is precisely the difficulty of street photography which makes it fun and rewarding.
Let me explain:

Simple idea:
Let’s seek to make beautiful photos, according to our own aesthetic tastes and judgement!

The Melancholy of Finality: Why is it that we always enjoy the process of doing/making/creating something — more so than the final result?

Love the elegant compositions of Bruno Barbey from Magnum:

Dear friend,
If you need some inspiration in your street photography; here is some ideas I offer:

Dear friend,
I want to share some thoughts with you on ‘inspiration’. Specifically —

Composition in photography is this:
To construct, to build, prepare, and put together/arrange an image.

A tip from my friend Alexander Morgan:
For inspiration or ideas to make better photography compositions, let us study comic books.

Dear friend,
A simple idea:
There are no rights or wrongs in photography. Seek to make perfect photos for yourself. And never forget– there are no rules in photography!

Dear friend,
We are currently living in an insane world. There has never been a time in history where our minds and senses have been hijacked to the extent they are now. Let me explain.

What is photography? Why is it important? Let me synthesize why I love photography, how I define photography– and why photography is essential for society:

Dear friend,
A thought:
Employ every moment to the maximum in becoming you.
What does that mean? Let me explain:

Dear friend,
I’ve been living on the road with Cindy the last 2.5 years; “location independent”, “digital nomadically“, professional house squatting, couch surfing, or intermittent living; whatever you want to call it. What have I learned since then? A simple idea:
Never settle down.

Don’t mind if people like your photos or not. Make photos for “autotelic” reasons (make photos as an end in itself, and for yourself!)

Dear friend,
Why is procrastination seen as a disease that needs to be “cured†or overcome?

Archilochus: one of my new favorite philosopher+poet+warriors:

Photos look best when they look unreal. “Realistic” photos are boring to look at!

Dear friend,
A philosophical idea I’ve been contemplating is on “human augmentation”:
How can we augment ourselves (increase our physical and mental strength), should we augment ourselves, and what are the ramifications of human augmentation?