I made some new High Contrast Lightroom CC (Creative Cloud) presets: this time high-contrast to be applied to my RICOH GR III (high contrast JPEG photos) in order to add even more contrast.
These should work quite well for JPEG monochrome images. I have yet test them on RAW images, but check them out and play with them, remix them, and give them a go:
It seems as a society we are striving towards “regularity”, “homeostasis”, predictability, and normality.
Are these virtues that we truly desire for ourselves; or are they beneath us?
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When we want ‘happiness’ — what is it exactly that we want?
My theory:
The best happiness is physiological happiness.
What is ‘physiological happiness’? Let me explain:
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To be “economical” means to “wisely allocate your resources”. These resources include your time, life, energy, money, manpower, etc.
Why is having the ability to wisely allocate your resources important?
Because:
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For us to make leaps and bounds in our photography and philosophy, don’t waste your energies on morals and ethics.
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After thinking a long time for a good definition for “virtue”, I think I got a good one:
Human greatness and magnanimity.
Generally we will call it “manliness” (but I want to take the notion further which also applies to women).
Why virtue? Let me explain:
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Something which interests me:
What motivates us to photograph?
Meaning:
Practical thoughts:
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What I truly desire in my life:
What’s interesting about these things: they are 100% dependent on myself. Perhaps this are the best life goals to have? To battle with physics, time, and effort/willpower instead of public opinion.
As photographers, what are we truly lacking, and what do we really need and desire?
My thought:
(more…)We are lacking the strength, motivation, or the wisdom to encourage ourselves to go out and shoot new photos, with extreme joy and delight.
So this is interesting to me:
Society scorns us when we have ‘weak willpower’. When we don’t have strong enough willpower to resist temptations, eating junk food, etc.
We are taught, “If you train yourself to have enough willpower, you can do, prevent, and achieve anything!”
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There is no ultimate truth, right or wrong.
Thus your task:
(more…)Assert your own personal truth and opinions.
Calligraphy (Zen Brush 2 app on iPad) has transformed my visual artistic life. Now I have another mode of artistic self expression and creation. I can BOTH make photos AND make calligraphs from my mind.
I encourage all photographers and visual artists to experiment with calligraphy — a whole brave new world awaits you!
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A realization:
We must think deeply on what we desire to become, in terms of our character, our personality, our body, and our mind.
More focus on self development of our body and mind, less concern for externals.
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Pure beauty is perhaps in the chaotic, random, and uneven:
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Ideas to make new street photos with more force, energy, and dynamism.
(more…)Listen on ERIC KIM PODCAST
A thought:
Many of us suffer distress because we feel like we’re “misunderstood” in our photography, art, or life.
But what if we should strive for the opposite; to strive to NOT be understood. Perhaps this is what makes us more enigmatic, interesting, and helps us succeed in life?
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First sent to ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER:
Dear streettogs,
Hope you’re doing well! I just wanted to send you a quick email, with some quick turbo thoughts on how to re-spark your passion for photography. Practical tips to get you going in your photography again! Here are the basic ideas:
When you design things, you impute your personal aesthetics, ethics, and philosophy into your designs:
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A thought:
Don’t worry too much about how “good” you are as a photographer (comparing yourself to others). Instead, just focus on making your own photos.
Less interest in the photos of others (even of the great master photographers). Ultimately your focus as a photographer is to make your own images, NOT to become anyone else.
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As a photographer you’re a visual experimenter. Your camera is the visual hammer — hammering out, and sculpting reality to your own desires!
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A thought:
Many of us desire fancy things like fancy sports cars, fancy clothes, fancy homes, fancy watches, accessories, cameras, devices, etc.
But what if instead of desiring these objects (totems of power), we instead decided to turn our own bodies into the things desired?
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A thought:
We must think in terms of possibility (physics, first principles) not probability (being “realistic”).
Anyone can live a basic, comfortable, and mediocre life by simply following orders, being industrious, and listening to the rules. But if it is your ambition for a new type of elevation in life, you must think in terms of what’s possible (governed by the law of physics).
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I think “skillâ€in photography is a bit overrated. More fun and interesting to keep going out to shoot, experimenting, and letting randomness, chance, and chaos work in your favor!
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I’ve religiously been intermittent fasting the last 2+ years (no breakfast and lunch, only dinner) with great success. A new level of energy, focus, and strength has been unlocked within myself.
Also a new discovery:
I’m actually stronger when powerlifting and in a fasted state.
Why is this so? My theory:
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It ain’t a matter of being a “good” or “bad” photographer; it’s a matter of having fun in photography!
Some practical tips to help motivate you in your photography:
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When studying the etymology for the word “beautiful”, it essentially means “good”.
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An essay about morals and ethics in street photography. Essentially my point is this:
(more…)To think too much about morals and ethics in street photography is counter-productive.
Inspiration after looking at the “skateboard†skeleton frame of Tesla:
(more…)The beauty of emptiness and negative space.
After grappling a long time with philosophy, I’ve discovered that art and philosophy is perhaps the supreme fields of study. Furthermore for us to not worry about living a “moral” or “ethical” life, but an artistic life.
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Something fun I’ve been doing:
Select monochrome photos I like then turn them into abstract illustration-images.
What is the benefit of this?
Something I’ve realized about photos, art, images, and design:
What is most important is the dynamic energy the image sparks!
My current muses:
Why be “healthy� What does that even mean? How do you measure “health�
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Perhaps this should be our adage as photographers:
Shoot it or lose it.
This means that our fitness as photographers relies on us shooting on a daily basis. Like exercising on a daily basis, or eating on a daily basis, being creative and artistic on a daily basis.
Like good Aristotle said — we perfect ourself and skills through our habits. So if we make shooting new photos (all day, everyday) our habit, certainly we can reach perfection in our photography!
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Shoot in black and white, select a photo you like, apply extreme contrast (curves), inverse the image, Gaussian blur it, inverse it some more, then fill in and paint in the image:
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I move, I groove to my own tune
I’m the first mover, the air cleaver, the movement needer.
I love to dance. I’ve light feet. Protein heavy, fed with meat.
Smile and greet, soft bed sheets. Tidy and neat, yet chaotic and heavy.
Steady with my artistic production, steadfast and strong.
Life is short, art is long!
ERIC
If we think that happiness (eudaimonia according to Aristotle) is legitimate (happiness as human thriving), perhaps our happiness as photographer-artists is “photographic thrivingâ€.
This means:
So the practical question:
(more…)How do we thrive as photographers?
More impressive saving money… or more impressive getting more bang for the buck.
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To produce and make stuff as 1000x more fun than simply consuming, being passive, being “entertained”, and buying new things.
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Just finished reading “The Poetics” by Aristotle (loved it) and came across this idea from him regarding poetry and art. He states that poets attempt the following in their stories (in terms of their presentation):
Which makes me think: we as photographers also have a poetic sense. And the question is with our photography do we desire to show reality how it is (objective reality), how we think it to be (our personal perception of reality), or how we think it should be (our philosophy)?
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A simple idea:
Perhaps to live a better life, we should never do the same thing two days in a row?
For example:
Variety is what makes us stronger, happier, healthier, and more epic?
In praise of more variety, randomness, chance, and recovery in life.
Towards a philosophy of aesthetics in photography: do you strive to capture the world as more beautiful, the same, or worse in your photos?
In other words:
My personal ambition is to deify existence and life through my photos. That my photos show and signal and inspire the viewer to think and feel:
Wow, I’m so insanely grateful to be alive!
Now, how do we do this? Some thoughts:
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My thought:
The best photos are simple, direct, and don’t need much detail.
What’s important? A compositional gesture and movement, strong subject, and strong contrast.
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Motivation means to “set into motionâ€.
My questions:
What if your impulsive behaviors were the correct behaviors?
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Visual Experiment: Keep on Increasing Contrast, Gaussian Blur, and Inversing the Photo
A fun experiment I’ve been doing in Procreate on my iPad:
Choose a photo I like, then keep adding contrast, Gaussian blur, and inversing the photo and seeing what happens to the image.
This is what happened:
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Photography is a highly physical activity: walking, running, squatting, lunging, walking up stairs, moving our bodies, moving our hands, arms, eyes. Why has nobody pursued a philosophy towards the physiology of photography yet?
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Do you live a hard life out of guilt, or because you find a harder life more fun?
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The Purely Selfish Person would Never Criticize anyone Else
To criticize others less, become more selfish:
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Don’t let the actions and behaviors of others affect your self-ego.
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My current goal — mastering my own metabolism.
What does this mean? For me to have hyperabundant energy and thriving power all day. These are some things I’ve learned thus far:
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I often feel nostalgia for the past. But what if this is a sign of degeneration? Or perhaps when I long for my nostalgic past, I’m bored of myself, or I don’t have much going on? Because if you’re on the “up and upâ€, why would you long for the past?
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