ERIC KIM
PHOTO

The eternal return — what would you want to practice forever, for fun?

My only definition of failure: Being a coward in [x]. What is success? Courage. Acting courageously, and not obtaining your desired consequences isn’t “failure”. It is just practical information you can use to tinker, …

My definition of financial independence: To no longer be a slave to money as a way to self-value yourself, your worth, or your progress in life.

An ethical thought: When it comes to interacting with others — there are times in which your “selfless” actions are actually very self-interested. And other times when your “selfish” actions are actually quite selfless …

Street photography gives me a reason to live! To thrive! To explore, to make art, and to share.

Some composition studies of my own photos: PDF (208MB): PDF Download (Dropbox) > PDF Download (Google Drive) >

I consider myself one of the greatest bloggers of all-time. Why? I grew up with blogging (started blogging since age 16, in high school, with Xanga). I can type 150+ words per minute I …

If Henri Cartier-Bresson started photography today, would he have shot with a digital Leica M10? Or a RICOH GR III? I think he would have chosen the RICOH. Some thoughts:

A new street photography lesson: When shooting multiple subjects or even single subjects, put space between your subjects (or space between the subject and the background).

Belief in travel, new experiences, new sights, freedom, art, joy, and love:

With art, aesthetics and life: Cultivate your own taste. Don’t let others superimpose their tastes upon you!

The best photography is of human beings:

One of my current life goals: Live to be 140 years old, in hyper-health. How can we do this? Let me share some ideas:

PDF Downloads (300mb): Dropbox Download > Google Drive Download >

A thought: I am happiest when my metabolism is strong!

Also you can download at: Dropbox (61MB) > Google Drive >

Richard Avedon— one of the masters of photography, and one of my personal favorites. Free PDF downloads below: Dropbox (390MB) PDF Download > Google Drive (390MB) PDF Download > See all the photos below:

Pursue a photography project of something you actually care about. There’s no right or wrong approaches or techniques in photo projects; only authentic or inauthentic. Authentic: you actually care for the project. Inauthentic: you …

Color makes people more real; monochrome makes people more abstract.

AVEDON as one of the geniuses of composition:

Ignore what society or “experts” tell you “what is good for you”. Instead, focus on spending much time with yourself, your own thoughts, and to meditate to yourself: What do I really want for …

On the cult of productivity:

Heavy cameras are the WORST thing for your artistic thriving as a photographer.

Futurism— belief in movement, dynamism, evolution, dynamic energy— that the future is bright, exciting, and epic! Futurism in photography means EXTREME OPTIMISM.

How important is ‘image quality’ (aesthetics) of a photograph to make it a great photo?

Something very curious to me: Why did HCB give up photography? Some of my theories:

Why photograph, interact, or talk with strangers? Some ideas:

Classic compositions reverberate throughout time:

Avedon as more of a genius than people realize:

Why I might like Richard Avedon over Henri Cartier-Bresson: Avedon as more confident, humanistic. Avedon as realizing the ultimate beauty is the human and human form. HCB thought it was geometry, surrealism. Avedon as …

A realization: My only regret in my photo life is this — not having the courage to share photos which I thought others wouldn’t like. Photos which I liked, but photos which I was …

If you cannot write code, build value by writing (blogging). Share information, knowledge, and your personal life journey. Idea from Naval Ravikant (founder of anglelist).

Steve Jobs’ vision has been realized: The iPad is truly a magical device for photographers, visual artists, creative types, readers, writers — essentially everyone.

Art x humanist photos. This is why I consider Henri Cartier-Bresson and Josef Koudelka so successful — they both blended artistic photos that centered on humanity.

Great Josef Koudelka compositions:

What I’ve discovered in my life: When I succeed, it ain’t that big of a deal. When I fail, it ain’t that big of a deal either.

Nietzsche is my best friend, guide, mentor, and hype-man. Nietzsche is probably the most life affirming person. Second is probably Kanye. Anyways, here are some of my favorite quotes from Nietzsche, and why it …

A fun play from the Nietzsche quote: “Without music, life would be a mistake.” Assuming photography is your primary art-form, a life without photography (your art) isn’t a life worth living.

What makes street photography so fun and interesting? The hormonal rush we get from it!

How do you stay inspired and motivated to photograph until you’re (beyond) 120 years old? Simple: Enjoy the process.

Get free photography inspiration on ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER > Happy Monday friends! I just wanted to send you some quick inspiration, tips, and ideas.

In some regards, I think that Henri Cartier-Bresson is highly UNDERRATED. By looking through ~5,000+ of his photos, here are some under-known photos I analyzed, and the elegant arabesque (curve) compositions I uncovered: PDF …

We all have this romantic notion of the photographer: nomadic and wandering, lightweight, simple lifestyle— extreme delight in making beautiful images. Where does this notion come from, and is it a good one? Or …

Some of my personal favorite compositions from Henri Cartier-Bresson, from some of his lesser-known photos (found on magnumphotos.com website).

Color is only fun when it’s unrealistic, exaggerated and extreme! HYPER CHROMA:

When I was getting my feet wet in photography and street photography, I came across the Leica camera (the camera that Henri Cartier-Bresson globe-trotted with). I was confused. Why is the Leica M camera …

When in doubt, shoot ‘bad’ photos!

The photos you shoot today will become the history of tomorrow.

As photographer-artists, what is it we are hungry for, and what we are searching for?

We all obviously like money, and desire money. But for what? Do we want money to buy things? Do we want money to simply give us a ‘basic income‘ for basics of living (paying …

A thought today: What percentage of us is biological and genetics, and what percentage of us is socialization?

A useful heuristic: Study the masters of the masters you admire, in order to learn deeper.

When people say, “the camera doesn’t matter”, what they really mean to say is: Your skill as a photographer doesn’t increase proportionally with the expense of your camera. For example having a $10,000 camera …

To ‘entertain’ literally means “to hold the attention” [of x]. Many of us like to be ‘entertained’ (by others). Generally speaking, entertainment is seen as a passive act. My thoughts and questions: Why do …

You don’t take a photo, you make it (Ansel Adams)

Is your desire to spend more time with yourself and with your own thoughts, or to escape yourself and your own thoughts?

Dear friend, If you want to make great photographs while elevating your photographic skills, technique, and artistic vision, I cordially invite you to my upcoming NEW ORLEANS Street Photography Experience (Feb 29-30th, 2020). O …

Without art, there is no life.

The eternal joy of creation (and destruction), just like Heractlius‘ child — continually building sand-castles, only to break them down again, or let them wash back into the ocean!

In a world with Uber, and in a future of electric self-driving cars — what are cars for? Which cars are the best, and for what?

It isn’t about how good you are as an artist, all that matters is the quantum of creative courage you got!

Of course genetics exists. But the problem about believing too much in genetics is this: We tend to believe that our future and fate is determined by our genetics. And that our genetics overpower …

A realization: More effective to train for strength (powerlifting) and gain muscle as a consequence, than to strive to maximize muscle growth.

If you need the ultimate everyday “daily driver”, “daily carry”, and want to be inspired and motivated everyday to shoot new photos, RICOH GR III x ERIC KIM is the answer.

To buy stuff doesn’t take skill. It’s boring. More fun, challenging, interesting and dangering to create, innovate, and produce. In praise of “producerism”, not consumerism.

I think film will be around forever, and I’m very grateful for my experiences shooting film. But at this point moving forward, “electric” (digital) cameras are the future.