The other day, for some reason after sleeping at midnight I woke up, wide awake at 4am. Drank a few coffees and did some creative work in the morning, but for the rest of the day I felt like absolute shit and it was one of the most physiologically painful and unpleasant days I’ve experienced in a long time. But I suppose the good that came out of it was realizing:
What I truly desire is more physiological energy, physiological power to pursue my artistic, creative and philosophical ends!
To advance photography for all, not just the privileged few.
Also, to innovate in photography for the sake of opening up new opportunities, new avenues for photographers to express themselves creatively via photography. Also, photography philosophy and entrepreneurship … photography as risk taking, and life living!
What’s Your Higher Mission in Life?
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One of my favorite Nietzsche quotes. A realization —
When I am listening to music (especially with noise cancelling headphones, BOSE QC 35 Mark II), I can actually focus. My mood and physiological energy levels are improved probably 100x, and my delight and joy in life and existence is magnified to an insane degree!
Which makes me think:
Perhaps we should listen to *MORE* great music, to augment our lives and our life experiences?
What we are trying to do as artists is not to give a factual depiction of something, but the *impression* and the *feeling* of something!
For example, with hyper cars … the sensation and impression of speed and dominance, even when it is stationary!
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When should you photograph? I cannot speak for you, but let me speak for myself:
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If you desire to make more “artistic†photos, try to make photos that *don’t* resemble reality!
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Something that philosophers of the past haven’t figured out (for some reason or another):
(more…)To study philosophy or to philosophize about non-utilitarian things is the ultimate luxury.
In life and entrepreneurship, and art… the worst:
To be ignored.
Thus it seems a better position to put yourself is this:
(more…)Create, produce, share, and be yourself insofar much as you cannot be ignored by others!
There are no rules to photography … just guidelines and suggestions. But with all suggestions in life, you can either take it or leave it!
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If you’re in a position in which you’re trapped at home and want to be creative, virtual reality may be a good option for you (Oculus Rift S + Gravity Sketch or Google Tilt Brush) as great avenues to create in 3D!
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I’ve had the privilege of living in many different types of living situations, homes, lifestyles (digital nomad, location independent, etc).
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We talk much about the “hedonic†treadmill (a life in which we are just trying to maximize our base sensual pleasures). Why don’t we ever talk about the social media treadmill — in which we just keep producing things and uploading things to get more likes and followers and social media fame, towards what end?
To create, produce and beget more life! More life via having kids, producing new food and energy, and creating new products and inventions which motivate people to do more, create more and live more!
This is how we Americans view happiness:
If I only owned my own home (big), had a nice luxury car/sports car, had a lot of money in the bank, could buy whatever I want, travel the world, eat really great food, feel no sorrow or sadness, and have “passive income†and stay perfectly content at home I’d be perfectly happy.
The problem with this line of thinking? It is a bovine-like (cow) existence and happiness, while also making our personal happiness *dependent* upon purchasing x, y, z.
Thus the American is a trap to consumerism, workaholicism, desire for travel and exotic sights, base sexual pleasures, novelty and pain-reducing luxuries, and sloth and entertainment.
A more robust form of happiness:
A life in which we produce our own joy and create our own joy via social interactions, physical activity and exercise, arts creation and great entrepreneurship and attempting for epic risk and adventures in life!
Photography is our primary interest and pursuit. But why? Towards what ends?
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What’s our passion? To curate and to purchase and buy things, or to create things?
Why is it that some spaces, environmental and such are more productive for our thinking and artistic creativity?
Perhaps what it means to be human (or what we are biologically engineered for) is for variety, randomness and chance in our environments? This is the hunter gatherer instinct within us?
Lesson: optimize life towards maximal environmental randomness to keep us sharp and awake?
Let us not be fooled and suckered by other petty-minded photographers:
(more…)All photography is creative!
The insanely motivational thought:
(more…)If reality existed simply for the sake of photography … it is worth it!
Technically, any photo you create is “creativeâ€. When we say “creativeâ€, I think what we mean to say is “innovative, unique perspective, artsy, artisticâ€, etc.
But truly speaking … I think creative photography can be anything. To simply create photos, or “photogramsâ€, or photo visual images, or visual art works derived from photos, or even sketching or painting over your photos (analogue or digitally) is “creativeâ€. Applying filters or glitching effects is creative. It’s all creative!
So then what’s the goal? Simple … to just keep iterating your photos creatively, in innovative and new ways. To have fun with it, to never stop switching up your style, growing and evolving as a photographer, visual artist and creative!
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Apparently this was the last words of Goethe. Perhaps this is also a good motto for our lives and photography?
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Use your life and existence as a tool of experimentation … figure out how much joy and thriving you can extract from existence!
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To glitch your photos as fun creatively, and also allows us to re-imagine our photos in a novel way? And also forces the viewer to better focus on the surrealism in our photos?
Similar — applying grain (post processing) to our photos to add additional clarity?
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Free photo motivation on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER >
Dear friend,
Big epiphany:
Let us not be fooled and suckered into thinking we are just mere ‘photographers’ who must capture reality ‘true to life’.
No — we are CREATIVE ARTISTS (visual artists) who enjoy the art and approach/technique of photography as a means of artistic self-expression. It isn’t photography for photography’s sake, but photography as a means to or as a road to artistic flourishing and self-expression / artistic self-outpression!
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The purpose of filters are many. Some ideas:
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No, shooting with filters or applying them afterwards is not “cheating”!
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The great optimistic thought:
(more…)What is the purpose of being alive and of reality? Simple — reality is our play thing in order to visually and creatively thrive and play photographically!
Once you got all the riches in the world or everything you need …then what?
My belief:
The end of life and our lives is artistic creation.
To create things *beyond* ourselves. To create art — manifested however we see fit.
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With photography, you can be creative in a quadrillion different ways!
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Today’s brave new world and society:
The word “street†is originated from “strata†(Latin, for a “paved roadâ€). I suppose in the past, a paved road was only in a public space in the city (polis) in an open space.
But in today’s brave new world and society … a “street†(paved road) can be almost … anywhere (the park, the mall, the beach, indoors or even outdoors! Or even the gym, or inside an apartment or condominium complex?) or even inside a skyscraper!
Imagine street photography in the future … inside space ships (cruise), or even on different planets (Mars street photography?)
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Street photography of people you know … one of the most exciting and innovative ideas which will open up so many new avenues for you!
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Street photography composition … still so much ground which hasn’t been covered or discovered! Some practical ideas:
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I always strive to increase my ‘one rep max‘– this is my primary interest in strength building and powerlifting. However, I don’t always achieve a new one rep max.
So the lesson:
In life, the attempt is far more interesting than the result.
What I mean:
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The more pride you have in your self, and the more pride you exhibit, the better:
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Before asking yourself or others whether they like your work or not, ask yourself whether you like your own work or not, and then you must position yourself in such a way that you are *proud* of yourself and your work. Pride is not a vice; it’s a virtue. The more pride you have in yourself, your art works and anything you create the better!
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Epiphany:
Rather than complaining and bemoaning the facts of life, best to work with nature and physics in our favor.
For example, I’m currently living in this massive 4-story home and most of the home is cold … besides the top top floor (heat rises). Also, the top floor has the most natural light. The bottom “lobby†floor is insanely dark (no natural light) and even installing 5-6 lights, it is still dark and depressing. So my realization:
Why was I wasting time downstairs, trying to warm up the space when I could have just stayed upstairs the whole time and striving to enhance the upstairs?
So taking all my lights and nice furniture and bringing it upstairs instead!
So I suppose from a general and metaphorical sense, it means flowing *with* the river (in your benefit) than against it!
For some reason, it seems I am more motivated to shoot monochrome than color. Why?
Perhaps because with monochrome, everything just looks more interesting and abstracted? Considering we don’t see the world in monochrome!
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Photos which enact an effect upon the emotions or mood of yourself or your viewer… this is an ‘effective’ photo. Photos which enact an effect is the goal.
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What is it that I desire? More energy, more physiological power (what we tend to think about “inspiration” or “motivation”).
Inspiration and motivation for the muscles and mind and body, in order to do anything you desire! The body as the proper starting point! Good stimuli for the body includes open air, walking, weight lifting, social stimulation, light, hot-cold contrasts, and randomness and variety in environment and schedule!
When we think that we want to be “happy†or to become “happierâ€, or to augment our “happiness  I think what we really mean to say is to augment our joyfulness, cheerfulness, and sense of well-being and over-abundant joy.
What’s the difference? Some thoughts:
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If we believe that the purpose of life isn’t “happiness†or to be “happyâ€â€” then the thought:
Perhaps the purpose is to become more effective … to enact more change and impact upon the domains you care for.
For example as an entrepreneur, your goal is to maximize how effective you are in creating x, y, z and doing x, y, z.
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When it comes to the pure essence and form of photography, we must return back to monochrome:
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A thought while walking around today:
Once you no longer make money-acquisition the purpose of your life … then what?
It seems based on people I know and have observed … people then focus on philosophy, meaning of life stuff, existentialism, poetry, arts creation, photography, travel, etc.
Then the thought:
Photography is one of the ultimate privileges afforded to us mortals.
To have the privilege to walk around, see, witness, observe, analyze and make photos … isn’t this an insanely great privilege?
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In photography, let us consider the two subjects at hand:
Certainly both are important. The best photo as the photo that has a perfect hybrid between both notions! Beautiful form and forms, and also a powerful, impactful and moving idea or ideas in our photos!
First sent on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER
Dear friend,
Wanted to send you a quick message on Thanksgiving. Lots to be thankful for and joyful for!
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Epiphany during one rep max attempt deadlifts:
Mental focus is overrated. It’s all about physical focus.
To focus my “mind” (body) to prepare myself and hype myself up and adrenaline boost myself to even *attempt* a new and foreign one rep max deadlift requires the elimination as many distractions as possible. No music, no recording myself (this throws me off), and no chit chat between sets (takes me a long time to focus).
Focus on physical focus … perhaps a new frontier?
The mistake we often make:
We strive to become excellent and to excel in things which society says is good (productivity, wealth generation, industriousness, etc).
But perhaps a better road to virtue and our personal thriving is instead to focus on becoming excellent in that which we actually like and love and are passionate about, rather than what society says is “good for us”.
Following in the footsteps of good old Aristotle:
It seems simple … if we desire to excel in a given field or activity, we must habitually practice it … for fun, self interest and desire for growth and depth and profundity.
Not to “force†yourself to perform certain habits against your own will, but to follow these habits from a source of pride and desire to excel?
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Certainly filters are good in photography. However I’ve also found a great joy in shooting with no filter — just intelligent auto (iA) mode on Lumix G9 camera. And the benefit of shooting small JPEG — less friction. Less future worries about storage, quicker transfer and upload times, and ability to shoot more carelessly! To enjoy shooting for the sake of shooting!
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For creating, RICOH GR III as very capable; in praise of shooting 1080p on RICOH GR III in video mode at 60fps. Lots of new potential when shooting macro video!
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To cross-pollinate and find inspiration in *everything* and anything … isn’t this the goal?
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Anything you do that can physically move you (go outdoors and walk, etc) is good.
Then beyond that, creating art works that physically move you and others!
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To actualize yourself … to fulfill your potential. This is self-actualization, and a noble goal.
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To be motivated means having the bodily or the physiological power or desire to move, do things and attempt things. So the Aristotelian thought:
What is the prime mover, or the first mover which motivates us to do … anything?
A thought:
In today’s world, in which function is soooo easily fulfilled by cheap goods (made in China) available at Walmart, Amazon, Dollar Tree, etc… perhaps the future is pure aesthetics, for the sake of aesthetics and beauty?
And if we are truly honest with ourselves… who buys anything consumerist related for the function? To live a modern life is soooo easy. Now, beauty, shapes, forms, aesthetics, philosophy, ethics and approach reigns supreme.
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