ERIC KIM
PHOTO

Don’t do anything in life you don’t care about. And in terms of living your life, only do and pursue things you care about. Go back to your 16 year old self, in terms …

What makes a genius? I don’t believe that certain individuals are born genetically different from us, “born” to be geniuses. No–a genius is simply someone with monster-like courage, a relentless vision, and someone who …

When I was 20 years old, I discovered this camera called ‘Leica’. It was fascinating to me (Henri Cartier-Bresson shot with it, and many of the masters). I had all these romantic notions of …

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A simple thought: When making life choices, let your own fun-meter gauge your direction. For example: Only do what is fun and interesting to you. Never do what is boring, uninteresting, or ‘meh’ to …

A thought: Perhaps we should think of the phone less as a camera, more of a productivity device. Have the phone as a mini mobile computer, and your RICOH GR III as your standalone …

Whenever I meet people who are “Marxist”, super anti capitalist or anti system, yet watch Netflix, shop at Whole Foods, and order stuff on Amazon, I get super suspicious.

Personal reflections:

One of the cameras which is truly great is the older Leica M9. To me, it’s far more interesting, sexy, and beautiful than the newer Leica M240, and even the newest Leica M10.

Darker, stronger, more solid, simpler, and deeper black monochromes:

Of course you can photograph anything and everything. But here are some practical ideas:

In order to become more productive, maximize your physical and physiological strength.

Shooting for yourself, of yourself. Feeding your ego is good. Ego literally means “self”. Don’t you respect, admire, and desire to glorify yourself?

Heraclitus notion: You are always different, and the river is always different! This means: You can keep repeating the same thing over and over again, and not repeat yourself, because you and the circumstances …

At this point, I feel like a mini-master in street photography. Here is the advice I will give you on your personal journey:

My ongoing photography project on AMERICA — my home, my love, my country:

In photography we need a motivation, a spark, a DRIVE to make a photograph. But what if there isn’t anything interesting to photograph? What if we aren’t motivated to make photos? Should we “force” …

The most important and only person to impress and surpass — yourself.

Seems like the same camera — with cosmetic and UI/UX differences:

My heuristic of whether a good is luxury or not: If they call it “luxury”, it isn’t luxury. For example:

Stereotype: a commonly held belief about a certain group of people. Racism: belief in the inferiority of ability in a certain group or race of people. For example, “Asian people are good at math” …

Susan Sontag’s “On Photography” is one of the worst texts you can ever assign to an aspiring photographer, photography student, photography beginner, or lover of photography. My critique: I think Susan Sontag hates photography.

A realization: Almost all photography is street photography.

Advice I wish I could have given myself, if I rebooted my entire street photography journey all over again:

The beauty of Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600 with yellow filter:

Photos you didn’t like in the past often get better with time. To really get to know how you really feel about your photos, let them sit and marinate for a while. For example …

Long story short, iPhone Pro and noir is great. No third party apps— just the default iPhone Pro shooting in Noir filter mode, and later with some processing in the built-in Photos app:

Why I love monochrome:

To make more dynamic and interesting street photographs, shoot layers:

Before you travel to a new city for photography, how do you know whether to shoot color or black and white? My practical ideas:

What is your personal street photography philosophy?

I see myself more of a ‘sociologist with a camera’ than a ‘photographer’ or even a ‘street photographer’. This is another angle in street photography: you’re a sociologist with a camera!

Photograph as if you were to live forever!

Practical ideas:

Yes.

What is the point of photography and art? My thought: To make sublime (great) photos, which inspire and uplift the souls of future photographers.

Nietzsche was staunchly anti-vegatarian. And I’m sure if he were alive today, he would be (even more) staunchly anti-vegan. An interesting thing he said in one of his books were about philosophers having ignorance …

The word habit comes from the word custom, which comes from the notion of setting your own path or way (suesco in Latin).

Seek LEGENDLegendaryTarry your own way LEGENDARYYou’re on the quest to become yourselfWhat path have you been dealt?Which way will you go, when you don’t know which way is right? The right way is through …

To build upon FILM 101: I wanted to review Kodak Portra 400, my favorite 35mm color film:

We cannot deny: Tokyo is one of the apex cities for street photography in the world.

Osaka as also a great place to travel, street photography, and living! Compared to Kyoto, more “gritty”, more influence of hip hop culture, and the people are more ‘down to earth’ and warmer. Kyoto …

Kyoto — the ultimate city in terms of street photography, aesthetics, food, and living:

In a world where all cameras are good cameras, and we all have the tools of creation — what now? My vision: Photography has truly become an even playing field — it’s all about …

Do we believe in democratic photography — photography for all— photography for the masses? Photography that anyone, regardless of socio-economic class can access?

Fashion as in human clothing for humans as superior than sports cars, luxury cars, fancy homes, etc:

I make my living teaching street photography workshops how to conquer your fears in street photography and life. Why? Because fearlessness is one of the most important traits in life to get what you …

I’m in a funny position: I’m maximally happy, but it doesn’t really do anything for me. I’m hyper healthy, hyper strong, and hyper happy. But it seems that to simply maximize my personal happiness …

An inquiry: Does photography CAUSE us to become happier, or do we shoot photos as a result of our happiness? A working theory: Perhaps it is better to focus on our personal happiness (physiological …

The purpose of photography composition isn’t an end in itself. Meaning, composition is a tool to glorify and honor what you consider beautiful. For example, I’d prefer a photo with weak composition (and strong …

As photographer-artists we signal what we love and admire by photographing it. Channel your love and admiration by photographing what you love, what you’re impressed by, or what puts a smile on your face!

Pain isn’t bad, it’s one of our wisest and most valuable instruments. The basic notion; let pain guide you. Pain will help you adjust your form, approach, technique, philosophy, and way of living.

Is there an ideal body proportion? Obviously there are some body proportions which are superior than others, but there probably isn’t an “ultimate”apex of body proportions. Some examinations:

In life, willpower is everything:

Ain’t no upsides without downsides:

It seems this is the best way to live life and become successful in any domain of life: Only do what you want to do, never do what you don’t want to do.

What triggers us to make a photograph? My thoughts: Faces Gestures Movement Texture Patterns Action Tones Colors Food Shapes Graphics

I am convinced: There is no right or wrong way to shoot street photography. It is ‘all good’! The goal: Shoot in accordance with your own personal aesthetics and ethics.

What makes street photography more interesting or challenging than other forms of photography or art?

I’m currently living the best life right now. I don’t recall a time I’ve been happier (I’m even happier and stronger now than I was in Vietnam, which my prior apex). Some thoughts and …

In life’s action-packed RPG, remember– you’re the hero!

Insomnia: one of the worst afflictions facing us in modern times. My thought: I believe that we digital moderns have MORE insomnia than we did in the past. Why and what is the culprit? …

We glorify and generate athletes and sports players in modern (and ancient) society. Why not give the same due respect and power to artist-athletes?

MAX OUTLAST OUT Last inning and no runs on the plateYou’re the last one hitting, nobody else can take over your place MAX OUTASS OUTAlways full effort, never halfBetter to go big and fail …

Simpler compositions are better because: They are stronger They are more adaptable (all good compositions work well on all screen sizes, even smaller screens like phones) Thus our quest: Never stop our endless quest …

The best way to change the world: Determine and identify your #1 greatest strength and skill, then apply maximum force and effort towards it! Now the tricky thing— how can we identify our greatest …