Where do you get the desire or the will to make photos?

Dear friend,
Are you a winner, or a loser?
Are you a whiner, or a chooser?
Do you let your abusers
Take advantage of you?
Or do you break free
And rip your skin off the super glue?

Life ain’t fair… are you gonna sit, mope, and complain, or do something about it?

There is no “final destination” for your photography or art.

The world is a confusing place. My theory：we make photos to try to understand the world.

What we want in life is knowledge, NOT information.

Photo zen
How do you shoot unlimited inspiration,
Again and again?

To be honest, 90% of the hardest part of photography workshops is actually getting people to sign up.

Person A: “Nice photo! What did you shoot it on?”
Person B: “I shot it on a very expensive camera.”
Person A: “Oh yeah! I can totally see the color rendition, sharpness, corner sharpness, and the bokeh!”
Person B: “Haha just kidding. I shot it on my phone.”

One thing I realize that we are lacking today is imagination.

Photography is all about the frame— what you include INSIDE the frame, and what you EXCLUDE from the frame.

Why teach workshops?

Fear fucks us up in our photography. It paralyzes us.

Why is it that we always try to over-complicate things?

Just live your life
Ain’t nobody built like you

Why is it that many of us hoard?

Why be confident?

To be a ‘smith’ is an old word– to be an artisan.

Technology has killed the viewfinder.

Practical advice: let your market find you, don’t find your market.

“Just set your price and live your life”- JAY Z

Pricing your photographic services is like black magic. Honestly, there is no answer. You just gotta have faith in yourself, and set your price, and see how the market responds.

Dear friend,

How do you live without fear? Let me give you some advice, that has helped steer me into the clear.

When it comes to street photography, sometimes your subject will ask you: “What are you doing?” Do you know how to respond?

Dear friend,

If you want to make a ‘career’ out of teaching photography workshops, let me try to give you straight-up useful knowledge– information I wish someone told me.

FUCK PERFECTION,
rather make your own imperfect art… based on your perceptions.

Not look different with your clothes or exterior appearance, but how you SEE and PERCEIVE the world.

Why do you make photos?

Let me give you some thoughts on what I think is the purpose of human life:

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

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

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

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

‘MISS FIT‘: FILMPOEM by CINDY NGUYEN:

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

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

Dear friend,

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

Photography is fucking awesome. Why?

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

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

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

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?

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?

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

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

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

How do you SEE MORE and PERCEIVE MORE in photography?

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

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

IKEBANA: the Japanese art of flower pruning and arrangement.

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

“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.

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

Full-frame is overrated in photography. Why?

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

The most interesting photos to take are photos of people.

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

To never get bored in photography, increase challenge.

“Nothing in excess” – Solon

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