Dear friend,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year’s from me and Cindy in Marseille!

Happy Holidays from the HAPTIC family. We are excited to announce the following new products in our HAPTIC shop:

If you want more bold colors, integrate both red and green into your pictures.

Directed, Concept, Produced, Poetry by Cindy Nguyen
It’s simple, really. We like to pause, look around, and think about life. We made this to invite you to join us in conversation about what is important/not and to ask why/why not?
With end of the year festivities, we took a moment to pause and reflect. In this moment of quiet meditation, we converse honestly about life, gratitude, and redefining expectations around ‘success’ and the artistic process.
Happy Holidays from Cindy & Eric. We wish you a new year of hope, honesty, and rediscovering your inner child.
Sounds by
Haruka Nakamura – Arne
SoulChef – Hello
J Dilla – So Far To Go
Blazo – Brisk Yellow
Que Sera – Wax Tailor
Marseille, the city
Tokyo, the city

33 Inspirational Photography New Year’s Resolutions and Assignment Ideas
Cindy Nguyen: “I made a film about my soulmate and creative partner. It is an intimate conversation about creating art, embracing change, and holding onto childlike wonder. I hope the film offers a moment to contemplate on the beauty and impermanence of life.”
Directed, Produced, Concept, Poetry by Cindy Nguyen
Artist interview with Eric Kim
Marseille, 2017

Dear friend,
The reason I love street photography is to harness the spirit of the “flâneur†— or the person who walks aimlessly, with grace, and doesn’t have a final destination in mind.

Studying the work of Rene Magritte and the surrealists has given me a new-found appreciation for the masterful photos of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Good way of living: automate the unimportant things in your life, to give focus to what is truly important in your life.

Dear friend,
I think I have discovered the secret to happiness and photography — and I want to share this secret with you.

In this essay, I will attempt to define art, and explain why I believe it to be essential in being human.

Dear friend,
As the new year is coming up, here are some new years resolutions we can apply to our photography:

Dear friend,
I want to use this opportunity for me to count my blessings, and also thank you.

HAPTIC presents the Ultimate Beginner’s Guide for Street Photography Series — visualizations of essential photography lessons and tips by ANNETTE KIM. Annette researched, synthesized, and visualized the key lessons to present to you a fun, easy to read VISUALIZATION of photography fundamentals.

To be more creative, and to learn how to have more child-like delight in photography, LOOK UP!

Surrealism is a classic technique we can use in our street photography.

If you don’t love what you photograph — why photograph it?

If we return to our beginners or child-like mind in photography, when we started off before concepts or rules, there is no such thing as ‘genre’ within photography.

Dear friend,
Do you remember when you first started photography, and how fun and childlike it was?

What is the purpose of art and photography? My idea: to create optimism, hope, excitement, and positivity for the viewer, and for society as a whole.

One of the best compositions you can apply to your compositions: triangles.

Let us delve deeper into composition, this time with the “Golden triangleâ€, also known as the “Golden sectionâ€, or the “Golden rectangleâ€.

One of the ways our mind sees: we chunk together related pieces of information, and just see one piece. This helps simplify our vision:

Matisse is currently my muse, with his minimalist compositions, his playful use of form and color, and his masterful cutouts.

If you want inspiration for your photography compositions, here are some examples from my work that hopefully can give you some fresh new ideas:

Inspiration from one of the old-school masters, Edward Weston:

Dear friend,
Cindy and I just arrived here in Marseille, in the south of France, and will be here for the next month working on creative projects like new videos, blog posts, and other information to empower you.

Sergio Larrain: one of the greatest composition masters in photography.

Cindy Nguyen: “I made a film about my soulmate and creative partner. It is an intimate conversation about creating art, embracing change, and holding onto childlike wonder. I hope the film offers a moment to contemplate on the beauty and impermanence of life.”
Directed, Produced, Concept, Poetry by Cindy Nguyen
Artist interview with Eric Kim
Marseille, 2017

Inspirational quotes in French/English, from the master: Henri Cartier-Bresson

Some of my favorite compositions from Henri Cartier-Bresson, some of his less known works.

Conquer your fears and meet new peers in London, NYC, Kyoto, and Tokyo in 2018:

Trigger your creative spirit with PHOTO JOURNAL.

One fun visual pun or joke you can play — overlap the subjects face with something else, to make a surreal street photograph.
















































































































Dear friend,
If you’re feeling a bit lost with your photography or life– here are some heart-to-heart advice:

Henri Cartier-Bresson was the master of photography composition.

I’m super inspired by Johannes Vermeer — his compositions, and photographic vision.

If you’re thinking of a gift for the street photographer in your life, or buying yourself a gift this holiday season, HAPTIC INDUSTRIES x ERIC KIM have you covered:

Dear friend,
I don’t just see street photography as a genre of photography — I see street photography as a way of life.

The secret to being a happier and more successful photographer: be more self centered.

This is an inversion of the popular saying by Chase Jarvis, “The best camera is the one you have with you.†I think the opposite is in fact, more truthful.

Practical street photography tips to apply when you’re shooting on the steeets.

To conquer and overcome the shitty feelings you might have in life, photography is one of the ultimate solutions.

To live a more fulfilling life, conquer your fears in life, and meet new peers.

Vincent van Gogh didn’t sell a single painting in his life — does that make him “unsuccessfulâ€.

Dear friend,
Here is a list of all my travel clothing and equipment, hacks, and practical insights I wish I knew when I started traveling and shooting photos.