Success: advancing towards what you desire to achieve in life:

Montreal: Shot on Lumix G9, RAW + ERIC KIM MONOCHROME 1600 Preset:

To succeed as an entrepreneur, seek to fill a vacuum or void:

Conquer today
Disregard the fray, and the asses that beat and bray
Stay hot and relax in your own shade

Rise high
Fly wise
Undo your ties
To the earth; disregard your birth
Realize your own self-worth

It’s evident that being stronger is better than being weaker. But how do we get stronger?

Dear friend,

Simple idea:

Focus on yourself.

Believe in yourself
You’re strong, dope, and full of hope

Dear friend,

A thought —

What if we didn’t make our personal happiness the aim and goal of our lives. What would we pursue instead?

Only shoot street photography if it is fun for you!

Dear friend,

Simple question:

Do you love photography?

Can we see optimism in pessimistic photos? I think so!

Dear friend,

Basic idea: the best camera is the simplest camera.

Dear friend,

A basic idea:

Let us feel no guilt in street photography.

Dear friend,

A thought inspired by Peter Thiel:

Let us avoid incremental gains (5-10% gains). Instead– let us seek to make 10x improvements (making something 10x better than the competition, or making something totally new).

Simple street photography tips:

Dear friend,

If you’re seeking inspiration, seek it from within yourself:

Simple photos are the best photos:

Dear friend,

A basic idea:

Let’s strive to make simple photos.

Another great (and fun) film by Akira Kurosawa: YOJIMBO:

IKURU by Akira Kurosawa — a masterpiece of a film:

The only way to advance as a photographer is via constructive critiques. Critiques which tell you why your photograph works (or doesn’t work).

Dear friend,

Some practical thoughts on ‘creating yourself’:

The two co-founders (who made Instagram the great platform it is today) have just left (apparently over disagreements with Facebook).

What does that mean for us photographers? Let us start to build our own platforms!

What makes a good composition? My idea:

A non-static (dynamic) composition.

John Wick: I can’t believe I haven’t seen this film until now! Probably one of the best action movies I’ve ever watched. I love the action, cinematography, color palettes, and of course– the ultimate badass Keanu Reeves:

Dear friend,

A practical thought:

Let’s upgrade our stuff, only when the gains of the upgrade are 10x better (something totally brand new, revolutionary, etc).

Dear friend,

A basic idea:

In life, pursue/possess/create what you LOVE — not just what you “like”.

After deleting my Instagram about a year+ ago, and not using social media anymore (post-like society in photography), I’ve discovered some new truths in photography:

What is the point of photography? To create forever; until your dying day.

Like a child, let’s take our play very seriously.

Dear friend,

I wanted to write some personal thoughts on willpower. Specifically —

1. What is “willpower”?
2. How do we get more “willpower”?
3. Why is willpower important?

As photographer-artists, we all strive to make beautiful photos. But how do we do it?

Dear friend,

A thought —

Let us avoid pettiness (smallness) in life.

Ghost in the shell (original anime) is so epic and phenomenal:

Dear friend,

A practical idea–

Competition is good. The best competition? Self-competition.

Life isn’t fair
But don’t you despair

Dear fellow streettogs,

If you ever find street photography difficult, scary, or hard– don’t fret. It is precisely the difficulty of street photography which makes it fun and rewarding.

Let me explain:

Simple idea:

Let’s seek to make beautiful photos, according to our own aesthetic tastes and judgement!

The Melancholy of Finality: Why is it that we always enjoy the process of doing/making/creating something — more so than the final result?

What makes a great photo? By how profound it is — or deep.

When is weight good… and when is it bad?

Love the elegant compositions of Bruno Barbey from Magnum:

Dear friend,

If you need some inspiration in your street photography; here is some ideas I offer:

Dear friend,

I want to share some thoughts with you on ‘inspiration’. Specifically —

1. What is inspiration?
2. Why is inspiration important?
3. How can we get inspired?

When in doubt, live more dangerously:

I am me, no need to be anyone but yourself.

Composition in photography is this:

To construct, to build, prepare, and put together/arrange an image.

A tip from my friend Alexander Morgan:

For inspiration or ideas to make better photography compositions, let us study comic books.

Dear friend,

Guilt is bad, shame is good. Let me explain:

Dear friend,

A practical tip in life:

When in doubt, optimize for lightness.

Dear friend,

An idea:

Life is about kinesis (movement).

Let me explain:

Dear friend,

A simple idea:

There are no rights or wrongs in photography. Seek to make perfect photos for yourself. And never forget– there are no rules in photography!

Dear friend,

We are currently living in an insane world. There has never been a time in history where our minds and senses have been hijacked to the extent they are now. Let me explain.

What is photography? Why is it important? Let me synthesize why I love photography, how I define photography– and why photography is essential for society:

A thought:

Success is nothing — it’s about endurance.

Endurance is simply “not dying”:

Dear friend,

A thought:

Employ every moment to the maximum in becoming you.

What does that mean? Let me explain:

Venture new seas,
Do you feel the favorable breeze?

Dear friend,

I’ve been living on the road with Cindy the last 2.5 years; “location independent”, “digital nomadically“, professional house squatting, couch surfing, or intermittent living; whatever you want to call it. What have I learned since then? A simple idea:

Never settle down.

Don’t mind if people like your photos or not. Make photos for “autotelic” reasons (make photos as an end in itself, and for yourself!)

Dear friend,

Why is procrastination seen as a disease that needs to be “cured” or overcome?

Archilochus: one of my new favorite philosopher+poet+warriors:

Final cinematography lessons from Citizen Kane:

Photos look best when they look unreal. “Realistic” photos are boring to look at!

Dear friend,

A philosophical idea I’ve been contemplating is on “human augmentation”:

How can we augment ourselves (increase our physical and mental strength), should we augment ourselves, and what are the ramifications of human augmentation?

Basic ideas:

My buddy Steve Jobs taught me:

You can shape, mold, and poke life!

In other words,

You can put a dent in the universe!

What’s scarce today? The ability to think by ourselves, for ourselves, without consulting Google, without asking others or commentators for their opinion. Do we even know what our own opinion is?

Continuation from Part 3:

Dear friend,

Some personal life goals which has helped give me more direction and purpose in life;

Seek truth, knowledge, and beauty!