Human artist blog / Street photography / Philosophy
I am excited to announce that I finally put together my free ebook: “Letters from a Street Photographer“. This book is much more philosophical in nature– and combines the philosophy of stoicism and street …
“A bible for photographers†– Clement Cheroux Wow— where do I even begin? I would say that “The Decisive Moment†by Cartier-Bresson is one of the most beautiful photo books I have ever handled— …
All systems go as our Space assignment wraps up! Thank you again to Kirk Lothian for the interesting idea and letting me play with Space and Star Trek Puns like nothing else! Let’s lift off …
I’ve just put together this list of street photography aphorisms, heuristics, and sayings. This is a distillation of all of my current thoughts and philosophies on street photography. Many of these sayings and ideas …
Update: I re-edited this book with new images and design / April, 2016 Hey streettogs, I am excited to announce that I’ve finally published my free e-book: “Street Photography 101“. If you’re new to street …
There is no doubt that we are in an age where information on the web is fast and oftentimes free but despite that, we can’t discount the value of books. This tangible medium has …
My friend Todd Hatakeyama recently gave me a superbly refreshing book titled: “The 5 Elements of Effective Thinkingâ€. It is a basic primer on how to think more effectively when solving problems– and can …
(A.g.’s note/Disclaimer: The following are the notes I have jotted down during the Angkor Photo Festival last Nov. 28-Dec. 6, 2014. I have organized my thoughts and the lessons so that it would be …
Dear streettogs, I am really excited to share that I have (another) free e-book for you guys (because I love you) titled: “The Street Photography Project Manual” The concept behind the e-book was this: …
Hey streettogs, I just finished writing a little mini e-book titled: “The Social Media Blackbook for Photographers“. I have been thinking about distilling a lot of my thoughts on social media and photography– and I …
Today I turn 27 years old, thank you for all the kind birthday wishes! I am currently in LA for the weekend, visiting some close friends and family for a quick birthday dinner, then …
In this video presentation I share compositional techniques to make better street photographs (diagonals, figure-to-ground, curves, leading lines, framing). You can see all the slides for this presentation here. Articles on Street Photography Composition …
As a part of my on-going “Ask Eric Kim” series– here is a question I have from Darren Hoyland from my Facebook fan page: Darren Hoyland: How [do you]Â keep yourself motivated whilst out on …
I am a big fan and believer of “heuristics” (or rules of thumb). I was first introduced to the idea of “heuristics” from Nassim Taleb (in his book “Antifragile“) and later more from Gerd Gigerenzer …
In this video lecture above, I share some practical tips, thoughts, and philosophies about being “invisible when shooting street photography. You can check out the slides here. If you want to learn how to …
This morning on the way to the gym, I was listening to the newest podcast episode of “Invisibilia†(a new NPR podcast on cognitive and behavioral science) and they had an episode titled “Fearlessâ€. …
Cheers to another Streettogs Academy Assignment done and let’s continue the voyage with the Assignment from editor’s choice, Kirk Lothian. Here’s a hint to what it is: It should make us boldly go where no …
All photographs copyrighted by the estate of Harry Callahan. You can download this article for free as a .docx, PDF, or Google Doc. I recently came upon the work of Harry Callahan from a …
Another two weeks, another assignment done over at streettogs academy! Sam Trachsel gave us Opposites as a theme for this assignment! Let’s look at how the members of the group interpreted the theme!
(A.g.’s Note: Today we have Clifton Barker chatting down with his friend and award winning photographer, Tavepong Pratoomwong from Thailand. Have a laugh and enjoy this one! Interview by Clifton Barker. All photos are by …
I just finished a book called “10% happierâ€, which preached the benefits of meditation and mindfulness in everyday life. There is a lot of pain and anxiety from everyday life, and one of the main …
It is that time of the year again— to make resolutions for the new year. In 2014, I wrote a post, “40 Street Photography Resolutions Ideas for 2014†and I also wrote a post …
Hey streettogs, to continue with my “Ask Eric Kimâ€Â series (any questions you had about street photography, business, marketing, social media, etc.) I put a question out on Facebook regarding what questions you had (so I could try my …
I recently read a book titled: “How Google Works†and came across the “10x principle†that Google apparently follows. The idea is quite simple, elegant, and powerful: to be successful in any field, …
Thank you to Fujifilm Vietnam and Gin Tran for putting together this feature of me shooting street photography in Saigon this summer. I hope the tips I share in this video can help you …
Everyone seems antsy and excited for the next assignment. So I’ll be quick and not do my usual introduction this time and head straight to it! Here is what Streettogs Academy 6 editor’s choice, …
In an effort to be more helpful, I am going to start putting together more video lectures and features for YouTube. In this presentation, I give some practical advice how to overcome your fears …
If you’re like me– you deal with moments of “uninspiration”. There are days that you want to go out and shoot, but there is some sort of “resistance†which holds you back. What …
Street photography is one of the most difficult forms of photography out there. Not only do you have to rapidly compose, frame, and approach strangers— but you have to do so with the risk …
All photos copyrighted by Alex Webb / Magnum Photos. You can pick up a copy of “The Suffering of Light” on Amazon here. After my month-long trip abroad in Stockholm, London, and Dubai I …
(Editor’s Note: Today’s guest post and photographs are by Switzerland based street photographer Hakim Boulouiz. Enjoy!) Hakim: One of the first lessons in photography has to do with the famous quote from photographer and …
Here we are once again with the results and analysis! Things have been going fine in the group as I have recently posted new policies and updated the criteria to further clear the mission/vision …
Hohoho, Merry (upcoming) holidays streettogs. If you weren’t sure what to ask for the holidays this year, I have compiled this list of street photography books to ask Santa (or your friends, family, significant other) for. …
In “The War of Artâ€, the author Stephen Pressfield talks about “The Resistance†— and how it is the biggest obstacle to all of our artistic pursuits and endeavors. We can encounter “The Resistance†…
As this article is very long, I recommend reading this by saving it to Pocket or Instapaper. All photos in this article are copyrighted by Henri Cartier Bresson / Magnum Photos. I recently picked up a copy …
I recommend reading this article by saving it to Pocket, Instapaper. All images in this article are copyrighted by Josef Koudelka and Magnum Photos. “Exiles” by Josef Koudelka is one of the must-buy books …
Now on it’s 10th year, the Angkor Photo Festival has always been a great showcase of photography in the Asian region. This year, they keep doing what they do best by giving everyone the …
Josef Koudelka is one of my favorite photographers of all-time. I love how he has been able to craft his life around photographing only what he wanted to photograph, how he is able to …
At Gulf Photo Plus, as a part of the “Street Photography Series” in November in Dubai, I gave a free talk on street photography yesterday (11/24/2014). The title of my presentation was: “10 Lessons …
The streettogs academy page is growing and bustling as we continue with our 6th assignment. To those who joined and have been there since the 1st assignment, thank you all! Our editor’s choice for …
There is no better time in history to be a self-published photographer. There are so many great options out there— like Blurb (print on demand), and even getting books printed in China (it seems …
Our assignment no. 5 themed “Fear” came at an excellent timing. The Halloween period was ripe with opportunities on how to show our theme and it manifested well with the entries for this assignment. …
I recently picked up a copy of “Photographers’ Sketchbooks“, an excellent book written by Stephen McLaren (co-author of “Street Photography Nowâ€) and Bryan Formhals (founder of LPV magazine and the popular Tumblr: Photographs on …
(A.g.’s notes: Out of the 4 Assignments we have finished over at Streettogs Academy group, Arnold Despi got into the Honorable Mentions list 3 times. He is a very active photographer always shooting and …
Here at the Photographer’s Gallery in London, I recently picked up “The Photobook: A History Volume III†by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger. I’d heard about the book before (the previous 2 volumes) but …
I am teaching a two-day crash-course in street photography in Stockholm the next two days, and here is the presentation I am giving to my class. It is a collection of images from great …
(A.g.’s note: I asked some of the folks over at Streettogs Academy what part of their street photography they want to improve on. One of the many things that popped up was people are …
I recently read a quote that went something like this: “If everyone knew how much suffering there was in the world, and how much pain, anxiety, and sadness that their enemies had (and also …
I currently wrote an article titled: “Advice for Aspiring Full-Time Photographers†which had a lot of interest. I have also been connecting a lot of young photographers lately (high school and college students)— and …
The recently concluded Assignment No. 4 yielded a lot of great and creative executions which you can view again here. Thanks again to everyone who joined and to Bertrand Domas who gave us …
Recently I gave a short 2-hour presentation on street photography at one of the photography clubs at UC Berkeley. It was great being surrounded by students again– with all of the energy, enthusiasm, and …
I’m sure that at one point in our lives as photographers shooting the streets, there was a time that we get asked to explain what street photography is. When I was starting out, I …
I’m not 100% sure how I stumbled upon the book: “Minutes to Midnight†by Trent Parke. But when I did— I was blown away by Trent Parke’s incredible story-telling, visuals, and vision. It inspired …
Press release for Fotoistanbul: Welcome to a new era of the photography festival in Turkey. We are bridging the gap between east and west, classic and modern, master and student, making Istanbul the regional …
A.g.’s Note: Here we have another guest post from Sven Kraeuter. He previously shared to us a story of his interesting encounter while shooting medium format film. He’s back sharing his experience during a …
You can see the original article I wrote on David Alan Harvey here. I just finished a week-long workshop with David Alan Harvey as a part of the Provincetown Magnum Days event. I have …
Recently I had the great pleasure of being accepted as a scholarship student (under 30) for the Magnum workshop in Provincetown, Massachusetts with David Alan Harvey. Unfortunately David got stuck in Paris en route, …
Thank you to all the street photographers who are keeping our Streettogs Academy Facebook page a very nice and active community. Thank you for all of your participation and to Jomel “Dada Bear” Bartolome …
I’m currently re-reading “Antifragile†by Nassim Taleb, one of my favorite authors. One of the views he has on life is to trust to trust disconfirmation over confirmation, and that much of happiness in …
I am currently in Melbourne, and about to head back home to the states after being abroad for nearly 3 months. A travel itinerary I had:
Street photography is the most difficult type of photography out there. There is so little we can control, and it takes a lot of courage and confidence to shoot in the streets.
(A.g.’s note:Â Some of the photographs in the article are for mature audiences only. Viewer discretion is advised. Words by A.g. De Mesa. Interview and questions by Eric Kim. All photographs are the respected copyright …
I am really excited to share that Henri Cartier-Bresson’s “The Decisive Moment” in addition to “Exiles” by Josef Koudelka is going to be reprinted. These are two of the greatest street photography books published in …
A.g.’s note: Here’s a guest post for Sven Kraeuter that was originally posted in his blog. He shares to us an encounter he had while shooting around his neighborhood with a medium format camera that …
Recently I hooked up with my buddy Vishal from Hong Kong (he runs Camera Film Photo) and he hooked it up with some Rollei Digibase CN200 film. I was quite excited about the film (as …
Seoul, South Korea. This article is written by Josh White, originally posted here. Josh: More fish. After spending the previous weekend in Busan I found it hard to get away from the couple of …
If you want to read two cute dog’s deliberately controversial (yet incredibly insightful) tips on street photography, read more:
We are insecure. We don’t want people to be brutally honest with us. We like feeling liked. We don’t want to hear the truth, or at least what people really think about us and …
Thank you again to everyone who participated in our 2nd Assignment and to everyone who is making Streettogs Academy Facebook Group a nice place to find good people and good photography. I got to …
I’m currently on the skyliner, on the way to the narita airport to Hong Kong and wanted to share some reflections of my trip. For those of you who have never been to Tokyo, …