ERIC KIM ₿

GROW,
Do you know
What you’re capable of?

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I’m a consumerist, and I love to buy stuff.

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I love spontaneity in photography. Photography is the most fun when it is effortless, and doesn’t require for us to think, or “try.”

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Currently inspired by Salvador Dali. Lessons I’ve learned from him so far:

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‘MISS FIT‘: FILMPOEM by CINDY NGUYEN:

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Inspired by the unconventional, unorthodox, compositions of Richard Avedon. Photos include nudity (NSFW).

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The greatest asset of a street photographer: your two eyes.

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Dear friend,

How do you increase your visual perception, or how you see the world?

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Photography is fucking awesome. Why?

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A timeless portrait is a photo that will age in reverse… get better with time.

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The Leica M9 came out in 2011, wow, it has already been 6 years.

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Why are cameras so expensive– and why spend so much money on cameras, and photography equipment?

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As humans, we will never be satisfied. As creatives, no matter how great a photographer we become, we will never be 100% satisfied with our work. We will always want to achieve better. We want to shoot more. Travel more. Get more social media followers, likes, and prestige.

But how can we ever find satisfaction in our photography, and should we?

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Nowadays we are like cows. We want a life of ease. We want to just live an easy life. We don’t want to work. We just want to sit, and eat. Have sex. Watch sports. Drink beer and alcohol and get high.

What separates us human beings from cows?

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What do you do in a world with no more bad photos?

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Ever since I was a kid, I liked to take shit apart, and put it back together.

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I don’t think you can change the world with photography, but you can change yourself with photography.

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How do you SEE MORE and PERCEIVE MORE in photography?

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Society tells us it is rude to take a photo of someone without their permission. Why?

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To me, the more photos I make, the happier I am.

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IKEBANA: the Japanese art of flower pruning and arrangement.

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A fun idea, what if you want to be ultimate zen in photography? The concept: no camera, no lens.

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“Let us say what we feel, and feel what we say; let speech harmonize with life.” – Seneca

For me, photography is all about self-expression, and shooting with your soul.

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I consider Richard Avedon the best portrait photographer who ever lived (so far).

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Full-frame is overrated in photography. Why?

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What impedes you, or gets in your way in life?

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The most interesting photos to take are photos of people.

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We’re drowning in a sea of images. How do we choose our best photos?

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To never get bored in photography, increase challenge.

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“Nothing in excess” – Solon

It recently occurred to me — everything in excess is horrible for us.

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Unedited visual diary of SAIGON–life with Cindy.

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We buy cameras to look cool. Thus, the proliferation of hipster, old school retro cameras.

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If you’ve ever felt anxious for not going a full day without checking your phone, or accidentally leaving your phone at home… having trouble sleeping, etc, you might be suffering from information overload.

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Tim Wu wrote a book called “The Attention Merchants”— a fascinating expose on social media companies, and how everyone is fighting for your attention, eye balls, and dollars.

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FIAT CURRENCY: our Faith (Fiat) in currency, money, politics, government, economics, and security.

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What are the best lenses or focal lengths for street photography?

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What are the best settings for street photography?

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If you’re rigid, you will break and die.

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What is the best camera for street photography?

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I’m impatient. I hate waiting.

We’re always taught patience is a virtue. But what if that is wrong?

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“Astonish me” – Alexey Brodovitch

Alexey Brodovitch is an individual who has had a MASSIVE influence in the history of photography, design, and much more.

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HAPTIC INDUSTRIES: Creative Tools to Empower You.

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Practical street photography techniques to take your work to the next level:

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Dear friend,

If you’re reading this, you are probably either an aspiring street photographer, or a street photographer with some miles under your belt looking for some inspiration, direction, or motivation.

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‘Know your faults and keep to your wits’ – Horace

Everyone has a different style in photography and life.

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Dear friend,

It is currently 9:19pm and I’m enjoying a nice sencha green tea, and meditating on life here in Saigon.

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What is an image, and why is it important? And how is it related to photography, and how does it affect our personal lives and the society in which we live in?

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IRVING PENN: so good I had to do a Part II on him.

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“He without a past has no future.”

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Dear friend,

Here are some street photography ideas, freshly pressed from STREET NOTES MOBILE EDITION.

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In life, we only have a limited “bandwidth” for doing things.

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Without death, we would not appreciate life.

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In studying the (dead) masters of photography, it is a good reminder – I’m going to die, and so will you. So why waste your life and limited time on planet earth, not making great photos and art?

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LISETTE MODEL: a genius photographer who has influenced so much of photography.

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“Taking a portrait of someone – be it man or woman – starts with a conversation.” – Martine Franck

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Practical tip, try to make CLASSICS with your photos.

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Dear friend, I wanted to write you a letter on the benefit of doing — rather than “thinking.”

Don’t theorize

I see a lot of arm-chair philosophers, thinkers, and academics— who simply analyze, theorize, and think. But many of these individuals do not “do.” They don’t take risks. They don’t have skin in the game. They aren’t adventurers, soldiers, or knights — who put their lives on the line. Rather, they are like sports commentators — watching from the sidelines, and jabbering incessant noise.

What is important in life

Life is all about making decisions, and doing. Theories very rarely hold up for a long period of time. 99% of the scientific theories today probably won’t exist 100 years from now — very much how 99% of scientific theories from 100 years ago aren’t applicable today.

Life is all about trial and error. About doing. About figuring things out by yourself. About breaking things, putting things back together, and re-arranging information, atoms, and molecules.

We learn as we do. Every theory I’ve learned in school, I’ve forgotten. But everything I’ve done by myself, I learn.

Should we ever make a theory?

I think it is much better to create theories after you’ve learned by doing something, instead of following a theory to do something.

To create a diagram, consider the following:

1. Learn by trial and error -> Create Theory

vs

1. Learn theory -> Try to put into practice

The second rarely works. The first usually works much better.

Don’t follow the rules

There is still a lot of truth for you to discover in the world. Why waste time learning what others have learned before you? Try your best to ignore advice, lessons, and theories from the past. Rather, test your own assumptions of reality. Figure out what works for you, and what doesn’t work for you.

After you take a lot of risks, partake in trial-and-error, and make mistakes — then try to create you own theories (after the fact). And then after you’ve spent a lot of time tinkering on your own, then try to read theories from others (and contrast your own theories with the theories of others).

The secret is to venerate and respect the past— but not to be a slave to the past. To be inspired by the great thinkers, doers, and philosophers of the past. But not to be chained by them, and follow them blindly.

Always learn by doing

When in doubt, try it for yourself. If you ever smell bullshit, test out your own assumptions. Find out what works for you.

Always,
Eric

Learn more: Philosophy >

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I don’t think I’m a master photographer (yet), but I do think I am a great photographer. How do you make great photos? Some ideas:

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I love things which are timeless.

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There is nothing to fear, but fear itself.

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Some ways I’ve been able to find more happiness in my photography:

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