You have much latent energy, potential, and inner-greatness … just willing to express itself. But do you ever let fear of judgement of others get in your way, or prevent you from expressing yourself, sharing your artwork, or just being you?

Last week to pick up a copy of Sean Lotman’s Sunlanders available for a limited time in the HAPTIC SHOP.

VII.

For my last postcard for now I would like to post this image from my photo book, Sunlanders, because it means so much to me as something emblematic of a street photography image. When I was working on the project traveling throughout Japan, I had Robert Frank’s The Americans on my mind. Like Frank, I was a foreigner attempting to interpret my adopted country with photography. Of course, this picture is made slightly in homage to Frank’s cover shot for this book– a passenger on a bus. The light was so good that day that it created a triptych of reflections, including the brick on the passenger’s face. The passenger himself is an everyman, a man in his twenties or thirties with glasses and a flu mask, a man you might see anywhere in Japan but who has come into some poignancy with this light, a poignancy he never knew he had at that moment. I love the tricks light plays on surfaces and mirrors and the good luck the photographer has in occasionally finding and seizing it. And I photographed this on Shijo, a busy thoroughfare in Kyoto where I live, after a long day of walking back and forth, hoping to see something beautiful. The best things happen when you keep on keeping on.

• Postcards from the Darkroom: I
• Postcards from the Darkroom: II
• Postcards from the Darkroom: III
• Postcards from the Darkroom: IV
• Postcards from the Darkroom: V
• Postcards from the Darkroom: VI

Here are some of the simple joys in my life:

Dear friend,

I cordially invite you to the open beta of ARS, an innovative new photography feedback platform, that gives you real, unbiased feedback on your photos from a community of real-life photographers.

What is ARS?

ARS is an innovative platform that gives you the opportunity to get frictionless feedback on your photos.

With a simple ↑ Upvote and ↓ Downvote mechanism, you can share your photos and get real feedback from the community on whether you should “↑Keep” or “Ditch↓” a photo.

Why use ARS?

If you have a photograph that you’re not sure whether you should “↑Keep” or “Ditch↓” — share it on ARS to get real feedback from other members in the community.

ARS thrives on your feedback– which means that you must also give feedback to other users in order to get feedback on your photos.

Follow the golden rule:

Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Provide honest feedback to as many photos as possible and others will do the same for your photos.

How does ARS work?

www.arsbeta.com

1. Signup for ARS with your Google Account. If you have any issues signing up, copy the link and open in a different browser such as Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari on your mobile device or computer.
2. Upload a photo and ↑Upvote and ↓Downvote the photos of others.
3. For every 5 photos you vote on, you can upload 1 more photo for feedback.
4. Have fun: Keep up-voting and down-voting photos to give honest feedback to other photographers.

Signup for ARS Beta Testing >

Let us know what you think!

You are part of an exciting new platform and community and we would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas. Let’s build something amazing together.

For feedback and support, email ArsBetaHelp@gmail.com

Ars Beta: http://arsbeta.com

Story Behind ARS

Over dinner, good friends Eric, Kevin, and Cindy discussed our dream to build a ‘productive’ community to learn photography by giving and receiving real feedback.

We emphasize the word ‘productive’ because we do not want this platform to just be a mindless ‘consumptive’ platform. Late one night Cindy realized that she was wasting her brain power on the meaningless act of scrolling and clicking like/favorite on others’ photos. She realized that there were so many people around the world like her, who had to much to give but the platform was not conducive to channeling that feedback in a productive way.

How is ARS different from Facebook or Instagram?

The existing platforms for photographers to give and receive feedback are limited to Instagram and Facebook. However, photographers never actually receive feedback because how well a photo is “liked”  is dependent on closed social media networks and popularity algorithms. In other words, currently on Instagram and Facebook the photo that you share is not evenly shared to everyone equally.

We – Eric, Kevin, and Cindy – want to change the way photography was shared, seen, and provided feedback. We aspire to revolutionize the photography community by going back to the core of photo making and photo sharing.

Thus, we built ARS. We want to make ART ours again.

Fair feedback on your photos

Your photo will be uploaded and shown to others anonymously. No hidden algorithms based on popularity, your posting time, or your social media networks. Others will vote on your photo honestly and you can use that feedback data to help you learn and understand  whether you want to “keep” or “ditch” a photo.

Learning photography is difficult without a sense of feedback and understanding what makes a good photo. Of course, we should like our own photos, but giving and receiving feedback on our photos is a crucial part of the learning process.

BETA Testing

This is beta version one, with the simple act of just voting “keep” or “ditch.” We have big dreams for ARS, but also want to keep the beta version simple, because the simple feedback of “keep” or “ditch” is valuable information for photographers to learn and improve their photography and help other photographer’s understand their photos along the way.

Let’s learn and grow together as a photography community.

Eric, Kevin, and Cindy

February 19, 2018
http://arsbeta.com

ARS, Be Part of the Movement

We’re still iterating, improving, and experimenting. Join us by beta testing ARS and provide feedback to email ArsBetaHelp@gmail.com

ARS =

• MAKING ART, OURS
• ART REALIZATION SYSTEM
• AUTHENTIC RATING SYSTEM
• ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA
• A ROAD TO SEEING
• ART REVOLUTION SOCIETY

We have big dreams, and so do you!

(Update March 24, 2018):

On Cindy’s 30th birthday (February 19, 2018) we had an extremely successful beta launch. We received hundreds of e-mails from excited and enthusiastic users providing valuable feedback and suggestions of features to implement to improve community and user experience.

We have so many big moonshot dreams and visions to build up ARS as a revolutionary community of photography, photo sharing, and learning!

Currently we are looking for

• Front-end developer to produce a mobile version of ARS for iPhone and Android
• Investors and collaborators
• Ambitious, self-driven visionaries who aren’t afraid of Nay-Sayers

Please contact us with your 1) Resume and work experience 2) Innovative big moonshot ideas or collaborations with the subject heading: “ARS Work” at  ArsBetaHelp@gmail.com

FAQ

Q. I received a “403” Error Message from Google.

A. Copy the link www.arsbeta.com and open it in a new browser such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, on both your mobile device and computer. Do not open the link in an embedded mobile browser such as Facebook Messenger or e-mail app.

Q. I do not have a Google account.

A. Currently our beta version only supports Google login. We apologize for the inconvenience and plan to implement more login options in the future.

Q. What are the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for using this service and uploading my photos?

A. Here are the full Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and Community Guidelines.

Q. I have another issue or feedback I want to share to improve ARS.

A. We welcome all feedback, ideas, responses. Please let us know what you think and send Eric, Kevin, and Cindy an email at ArsBetaHelp@gmail.com  If you have a technical issue, please send us detailed information on how that issue occurred (including device, browser, specific steps) so we could work to solve the issue as quickly as possible.

Q. I received an “Internal Server Error” on the signup page.

A. Currently our beta version can only handle ASCII characters (no diacritics, accent marks, non-Roman characters). We apologize for the inconvenience at this time.

Early Reviews of ARS

• “The simplicity is actually the strength of this new idea.”- Daniel Mitchell: Eric Kim’s ARS
• “ARS might just give people back a small platform to share their work away from the billionaires’ playgrounds. And for that, I have a lot of hope.”- Simeon Smith: Human Nature- Some first thoughts on ARS Beta

Dear friend,

A little mini-epiphany: to feel more happiness, human flourishing, and joy in life– seek to NEVER STOP CREATING (making stuff), instead of seeking to obtain more stuff.

My theory: life is all about striving for more. More power, more influence, more impact.

If you want to make better photos while traveling, here are some practical tips:

Dear friend,

I want to reflect with you some life lessons I’ve learned while living abroad and on the road for the last 2 years.

Dear friend,

I am currently writing these lines in (cold) Boston — a city which is incredibly beautiful, historic, and has fascinating juxtapositions.

One interesting thing I’ve noticed in a lot of street photographers which debilitates them from shooting street photography: the feeling of guilt of photographing a stranger without their permission, the feeling of guilt that they are “bothering” or “upsetting” their subjects, and the feeling of guilt that what they’re doing is inherently wrong or “evil”.

If you’re looking for photographic inspiration, shoot in these different places:

What is self-confidence, why is self-confidence important, and how can we become more self-confident?

Creative dynamite
overcome your pain and strife
keep flying high; creative kite
be excited for the future, its all joy no bite

Creative flight,
this shit is tight
and rife with hope and opportunity
never feel fear; just make art and do it fluidly
make art like a child, stupidly
and foolishly.

Creative wheel,
Keep your axles spinning
perpetual motion

Keep streaming with the digital ocean.

ERIC

POETRY

• KILL EK
• ROOTS.
• MURALS.
• Keep Sailing

Dear friend, one of the secrets of ‘true’ happiness in life: focus on your own ‘creative flourishing’.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you must seek growth over everything else.

HOW TO SEE is your personal visual acuity manual to learn to “SEE” composition, color, and “read” (evaluate) the elements of a good photograph.

Don’t think; just shoot!

Practical, fun, and creative photography assignments to reinspire you:

To make better compositions, don’t center your subjects. To make your compositions more dynamic, put your subjects off to the side.

What is the first driver– what is the initial spark which causes us to move, or do stuff in life?

Why be simple photographer?

Dear friend,

The antidote to nihilism or pessimism in life is to ACT — to do something (self-directed) that fulfills our own inner curiosities, or our own inner creative motives.

How can we live without optimism? Optimism is the elixir of life!

You can make epic night and winter street photographs, just remember to go out and shoot!

It is my theory that we all have a creative instinct, but we allow our inner critic (or outside critics) to prevent ourselves from self-expression.

The secret of living a happy life is to live a purposeful life.

Postcards from the Darkroom Series

Some more fun philosophizing — a photographer is all about making fictions with his or her photos; altering and transforming reality with their camera.

One of the most challenging things in the wintertime is to overcome the feeling of depression, gloom, and to discover inspiration and motivation to make photos, explore, find joy and optimism, and make art.

Dear friend,

If you want to succeed as an entrepreneur — realize, INFLUENCE is the most important thing to cultivate.

Dear friend,

I’m currently the most prolific I’ve ever been in photography– shooting hundreds of photographs a day of just random stuff. I feel fantastic, and want to share this joy with you — how I have been able to shoot photographs everyday, and find joy and beauty in the mundane, everyday.

Cindy posed this question to me, “What do you do once all of your dreams in life are realized?”

I just turned 30 years old — here are some personal life lessons I’ve learned so far:

STREET HUNT is your personal guide to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, and to embark on new, exciting, and fun street photography adventures!

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci

One of the greatest joys of being alive is having the opportunity to talk, engage, and interact with other humans.

Adventure awaits! CHOOSE YOUR OWN PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURE is your unique opportunity to find inspiration through helpful photography assignments catered to you.

What is social media, why use social media, and what are practical strategies we can implement?

Download your free and exclusive PDF guide: “How to Monetize Your Photography” by ANNETTE KIM.

What is fear in street photography, and how can we conquer and overcome it?

Dear friend,

What holds us down and holds us back in life? Often our fear of failure that is self imposed by ourselves.

What is entrepreneurship? To me, it is taking risks for the sake of the collective of humanity, and discovering knowledge, wisdom, and utility for our fellow human beings.

As I write these lines from my laptop, while standing (with laptop on top of a microwave in the Airbnb kitchen of our apartment in Lisbon), we are preparing our last day with our moms.

First sent out to ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER

My mom, Cindy’s mom, Cindy and I had a phenomenal time here in Lisbon — enjoying the absolutely delicious spicy frango chicken, and also the epic home-cooking that our moms have been doing for us.

Every day, our moms (while Cindy and I are usually still in bed), go to the local Lisbon farmers market, buys fresh groceries, fresh meats (most chicken/pork being around 1-2 euros for a kilogram (2 pounds)), and also go on little expeditions with one another.

Cindy and I have been working on some really cool video projects while in Marseille, and while here in Lisbon, we have been spending time interviewing our moms (Cindy did a video project titled: “The Undeniable Force of Kho Khan“), and I’ve been philosophizing a lot on why Street Photography is Empowerment.

Also Cindy and I worked together (for countless hours, and with endless espressos) perfecting our new book: “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Street Photography” — thank all of you who picked up a copy. It has been a fun challenge distilling all of my knowledge in street photography, and writing a personal, honest, and practical/philosophical guide to street photography.

Traveling with (both) our moms

Some people ask — “How is it like traveling with both your moms?” To answer shortly: awesome. Having double-mom power is the biggest blessing — Cindy and I love our time talking with them, learning more about our childhood, and also about their personal goals/ambitions in life.

For example, I have been teaching my mom how to start her own photography blog in Korean– both on her Chromebook and on her phone. Cindy has been empowering her mom to take photos, create slideshows using the free ‘Quik’ app in the Google Play store, and also how to crop/create her own profile pictures.

10 Life Epiphanies

Also some life epiphanies I’ve had:

1. I prefer home-cooked food, rather than going out to fancy restaurants
2. Walking is very important for my mental health — I’ve been spending more time to just go on walks with my camera (RICOH GR II x ERIC KIM NECK STRAP).
3. There is never an ‘optimal’ time to publish or do anything. The secret is to just make the best out of everyday — and those little acts will snowball massively over time.
4. In photography, I love shooting high-contrast JPEG color (positive film preset on RICOH GR II), program mode, shooting while walking, and just shooting snapshots. Enjoying the joy of everyday photography.
5. The best photographer is the cheerful photographer.
6. Better to post your own photos to your own photography blog, than post it on social media.
7. Photography and art is about self-expression.
8. Street photography is surrealism.
9. Key to a happy life: Living a DYNAMIC (not static) life.
10. Monetizing your passion for photography won’t cause you to lose your passion.

Next Stops: London, NYC, Los Angeles, Kyoto, Tokyo

Tonight we are leaving to the airport at 3am, and then heading to (hopefully warm) London.

We are crashing with our friends Simon & Lisa, and I’m teaching a London Conquer Your Fears in Street Photography Workshop this weekend.

I am also super excited that my sister ANNETTE is joining us for a new London HAPTIC Internship, where we are all going to work on some super exciting art projects for you!

Also upcoming is my 30th birthday — on Jan 31st. I hope to use this opportunity to reflect on my life, my values, and my future direction as well.

Then what is next?

• In NYC I am doing a Conquer Your Fears Workshop Feb 21-22nd, then also a NYC Dynamic Street Photography Composition Workshop (Feb 24-25th). If you’re interested in a returning-student discount or a special bundled discount, contact my workshops manager at
  neilta@gmail.com
• March 31 I am teaching a Downtown LA / Conquer Your Fears in Street Photography and will hopefully spend some good quality time with Cindy’s family in the OC.
• May, I am teaching a KYOTO-UJI / Zen Creative Photography Experience (May 2-5), and also a TOKYO / Travel Street Photography Experience (May 9-13th).

Then for the rest of the year? Not quite sure. but life is all about the ride.

Thank you

As always, thank you so much for supporting my journey with Cindy, and for your never-ending encouragement and support. None of this would be possible without you.

Gratefully,
ERIC

Stay updated with ERIC KIM NEWSLETTER

After a month of traveling with our moms and working on some secret projects, Eric and I (Cindy) proudly announce the reopening of the HAPTIC shop with the launch of the new ERIC KIM NECK STRAP.

After 2 years of prototyping, HAPTIC INDUSTRIES is proud to announce the new minimal, elegant, and strong ERIC KIM Neck Strap.

Cindy here: This is the last week and assignment for the free STREET CLUB WINTER SCHOOL in the Eric Kim Forum! Participate in the photo assignments and provide constructive feedback on other’s photos.

On January 31 (Eric’s birthday!) he will do a video review of all the photos submitted in Street Club and pick two winners for the grand prizes 1) Best photo and 2) Best Critique. From now until January 30, submit your photos and critiques to any of the week’s assignments.

This special feature post was written by Berlin street photographer Oliver Krumes. Check out his work here.

Negative core beliefs hold us back from many things in life – such as finally quitting an unsatisfactory job to pursue  working, for example, as a photographer or leaving an unhealthy relationship to  seek the love of your life. I have come to realize that negative core beliefs have even affected my biggest passion: photography.

Dear friend,

If you want to use photography as a tool of empowerment for yourself, this book is for you.

Why is street photography so great? To me, it is all about self-empowerment.

Here are my top 30 street photography tips to get you shooting on the streets:

In Photography Entrepreneurship 101, we have covered how to make money from photography– but we haven’t quite covered should you try to make a full-time living from your photographic passion?

Dear friend,

One of the best joys in photography is having the opportunity to express yourself.

Dear friend,

Why is it so hard for us to stay inspired in photography? This is something that has challenged me for a long time — and I think I’ve discovered some of the solutions and secrets for myself. I hope some of my experiences can also help empower you.

In this post we will cover practical tips and guidelines on how to shoot better portrait photos. You will learn how to interact and guide your subject, and reveal their soul with you lens.

One of the reasons why I love street photography: it is the ultimate form of self-therapy– for my mind, my well-being, my mental health, and my overall optimism and positivity towards life.

Dear friend,

To advertise my new book: “Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mastering Street Photography“, here is a list of practical and philosophical tips on street photography, which I hope can empower you to take your street photography to the next level:

Dear friend,

I am very excited to share my new book with you: Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Street Photography — your new personal primer to mastering the fundamentals of street photography, conquering your fears, and taking your street photography to the next level.

Photography is not possible without composition– don’t miss out on these 5 essential photography composition tips:

Dear friend,

If you want to find more joy, happiness, and fulfillment in your photography and life — I recommend ‘Everyday Photography’: