The New ERIC KIM PORTFOLIO BAG: Create, travel, be prepared for every photography adventure EVERYDAY.

Dear friend,

A philosophical question — why be noticed?

Never stop shooting:

Dear friend,

A practical idea for you: if you want to shoot more, don’t baby your gear. Instead, give yourself permission to use and abuse your gear!

Your life is short. Why not pursue your passion?

What is your personal street photography philosophy? It’s different for everyone; discover it for yourself.

Elevate yourself and your own inner-wealth. Play the cards you’ve been dealt; but be clever and be sly. Don’t be shy, you got great potential, my friend. Self-mend your broken heart; stay bright, today is a fresh new start!

Continuation of PART 1. Battleship Potemkin, an epic film from 1925– apparently Stanley Kubrick would watch the films of Sergei Eisenstein on loop. Watch it here.

Continue reading Part 2: Battleship Potemkin Film Cinematography Composition

Why do we wait to get “discovered” by others? Why not just self-publish, and publish ourselves?

Some simple photography tips and ideas for you to start shooting more!

I have a passion for pictures; all pictures! Paintings, photos, illustrations, graphic design, typography, sculpture; any visual art and all art in general!

A realization while at the gym: photography must be fun, or else it isn’t worthwhile.

Personal sketches of Leonardo da Vinci — trying to better analyze and digest his paintings:

Two years ago, Eric and I (Cindy Nguyen) got married and officially launched HAPTIC INDUSTRIES with STREET NOTES and THE CITY OF ANGELS. Now HAPTIC is now in its terrible twos. We’re terribly excited to keep making art, building community, and sharing our love for education. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for the love and inspiration to keep experimenting!

You never know whether you will make a good photo or not before you shoot it. Thus to me it only makes sense that you must just shoot a lot; and the more you shoot, the luckier you will get!

Simple is elegant. Here are some (super) simple street photography tips to integrate into your shooting:

Dear friend,

A very basic idea– what we truly desire as artists is “creative freedom” — to create what we desire without anyone else preventing us from doing it!

Some personal lessons I’ve learned while studying Stanley Kubrick’s early photography collection:

Dear friend,

I believe one of our tasks as humans is to progress. To improve. To advance, and for us to visibly see our own progress, and actually be proud of our progress!

But how do we know we are advancing or progressing in our photography, art, and life? Some personal ideas:

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Placate yourself, disregard your wealth
Keep careful eye over your health, stay strong and stand tall; don’t stay knelt.

“A backward glance can always lift the heart.” – Dante (The Divine Comedy)

We are often told to “count our blessings” to find more happiness, joy, and satisfaction in life. I would say it’s more effective to “consider all the people who are less fortunate than us, people dying of disease, enduring war, and exile.”

Dear friend,

A realization I had: if it weren’t for my scars and suffering and difficulty in the past, I wouldn’t have become as strong as I am today.

Never stop shooting. No matter how boring or uninteresting you feel like your life is; there’s always something to shoot! Some practical ideas to always stay inspired to shoot:

Dear friend,

Do you respect yourself? Meaning– do you trust yourself? Do you consult your own conscience before consulting others? Can you look back into your own soul, and truly see and understand your own thinking and intentions? Do you have high regard, consideration, and do you trust in yourself?

Dear friend,

This is an attempt (an essay/assay) into making a comprehensive (yet simple) manual to street photography composition. It will be based on my personal experiences, turned into theory.

Let’s begin.

Personal studies of the dynamic, elegant, and epic compositions of Raphael:

Treat your phone like a pencil; take fun, and quick visual sketches of whatever you see, constantly workout your visual muscles!

Dear friend,

A practical tip to speed up your photography workflow: use the ‘thumbnail test’. Look at your photos as small thumbnails (contact sheets) to more quickly and efficiently choose your best photos!

Dear friend,

I believe we should seek this duality in life– to be BOTH social AND solitary. Or in Kendrick Lamar’s words, an “anti-social extrovert.”

Dear friend,

Welcome to PHOTOLOSOPHY! The course is organized numerically. Feel free to skip around, and there is no real order you need to go.

For more dynamic street photography, shoot head-on!

Battleship Potemkin, an epic film from 1925– apparently Stanley Kubrick would watch the films of Sergei Eisenstein on loop. Watch it here.

Dear friend,

As a photographer you’re an artist. Never let anyone else tell you otherwise.

To me, powerlifting and deadlifting is my zen meditation. Not only that, but powerlifting and deadlifting has taught me — I have no limits.

One of the best compositions we can integrate into our photos is the “arabesque”, which is an elegant curve shape. But in Cindy’s words, the idea of a “squiggly line” is easier to remember and more sticky.

A technique I like in street photography is the ‘decapitation technique’– literally cutting the head off your subjects (or just showing their limbs):

Dear friend,

A random thought I had this morning– what if we never blamed anyone else, but ourself? To me, this would be one of the most empowering sentiments. Why? It means that we have 100% control over our lives, and it is silly for us to blame anyone else!

Let’s say you have an “uninteresting” life. If so, is it still worth photographing? I say yes!

Dear friend,

I want to share why I personally photograph.

My favorite compositions of Henri Cartier-Bresson:

Claude Monet: I love his colors, and his personal writings. Here are some practical lessons I’ve learned from him:

To make better photos, strive to achieve this aesthetic: simple and elegant.

Josef Koudelka: one of my photographic heros.

Have pride in your pictures! Don’t expect others to praise you for your photos. Praise yourself and your own images!

Some of my personal favorite color pictures:

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To me, life isn’t fun, interesting, or rewarding without risk!

To be honest, you cannot control whether you make a good photo or not. However you can control your ability to take risks, and be brazen!

Hey streettogs,

I want to congratulate everyone who contributed and participated in STREET CLUB: Summer School 2018— for your meaningful feedback, your pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, and this empowering community we have built together!

Simple tips to take better monochrome pictures. All pictures shot on RICOH GR II, with ERIC KIM MONOCHROME preset:

Dear friend,

A philosophical question I was pondering while lying in bed this morning–

“What kind of photos will last, and what kind of photos will not?”

In ancient Greek times (according to Homer in the Iliad, and Nietzche confirms this), warriors only desired fame, glory, and to immortalize their name. They didn’t really care for riches or power, they essentially desired immortal fame.

Now the question I have is this:

Is fame a good thing, and if so, how can we achieve it?

Garry Winogrand: genius street photography composition master.

There’s all this doomsday talk lately how AI (artificial intelligence) is going to kill and destroy us, and steal our jobs. I think this is silly. To me, I see artificial intelligence as just another benefit to humanity; hopefully something that helps simplify our lives, and help us focus more on artistic creation!

The more I theorize about photography and art, the more I’m starting to realize — art and photography isn’t about depicting some visual “truthfulness” of reality. Instead, it’s painting and presenting our own version of reality with others!

A simple photography composition tip: tilt your camera (Dutch angle)!

One of my passions is composition — why? It’s a fun visual exercise and game!

Some of my favorite photos:

Before we seek to make good photos, we must first seek to live a good life!

Practical tips on making better street photographs:

Color photography is great. Why? Let me share:

Dear friend,

Just wanted to give you a little life update– from the LA Suburbs (specifically, Little Saigon in Orange County):

Dear friend,

I make my living teaching workshops helping others conquer their fears. To me, fear isn’t something to be destroyed, but harnessed in a positive way.

Dear friend, use any (and every) opportunity to photograph!

“Ars longa, vita brevis.” – Seneca

Dear friend,

Our lives are short. Why waste it accumulating superfluous stuff, aiming to receive acclaim from others? I propose we should seek to make great art; art that pleases and amuses us, and art that can inspire future generations!

“He who feared that he would not succeed sat still.” – Horace

The secret of success? Simple: Don’t sit still!

Guy Le Querrec; genius.

Don’t seek to make “better” photos, seek to make more personally-significant photos!

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