Dear friend,

I want to write you a letter about the lessons I’ve learned after shooting pretty much all the expensive cameras out there.

LIBERATION TIME: film and poem by Cindy A. Nguyen:

Never complain in life— just find solutions.

‘Don’t worry about looking good— worry about achieving your goals.’ – Ray Dalio

A lot of us care more about looking good, rather than winning.

The Fujifilm X100F — the F stands for Fucking Fast// and Fucking Awesome.

Dear friend,

I think one of the biggest things that holds us back in our photography and art is this quest for perfection.

Super inspired by these Bankok/Thailand based street photographers– from STREET PHOTO THAILAND:

Leica M10 — stripping away the superfluous.

The golden rule: do unto others as you want others to do unto you.

Some tips on how to make more money in photography, based on my personal experiences:

I have a dream — that when I die at 99 years old, to be mentally 1 year old.

STRONGER
your endurance can last longer

Im writing this while I’m in the front seat of a taxi cab in Bangkok, on the way to the airport, about to see the love of my life (Cindy) after 4 days away.

Dear friend,

What does it mean to be a streettog?

Dear friend,

I want to write you some words of encouragement if you’re dealing with depression.

Dear friend,

I want to give you some of my personal thoughts on the new Fujifilm GFX 50s (digital medium-format) and the Fujinon 63mm f/2.8 lens.

“Just do it.” – Nike

The only way to become a better photographer is to shoot photos; there are no shortcuts.

Dear friend,

Here are some practical applications for street photography (in real life):

Just touched down in Bangkok for the Monogram Asia 8×8 Street Photography Event, and sat down with my buddy BIGHEADTACO — where we talk about philosophy, street photography, and life.

Nowadays everyone lacks confidence. We lack confidence in expressing ourselves. We lack confidence in taking photos of strangers. We lack confidence in publishing our work, and promoting ourselves. We are afraid of being judged, criticized, and made fun of.

Dear friend,

I’ve really been into ancient Greek and Roman Mythology as of late— because I feel all the lessons are timeless about what it means to be a human.

How you can become Neo (the one):

I just finished watching the movie “FURY” with Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, and Shia LaBeouf (produced by my friend Bill Block) and was blown away (warning, spoiler alerts ahead):

Dear friend,

I will share with you a secret on how to become rich — for free.

I have a big ego— and it is hard for me to say sorry.

I feel video games can teach us a lot about real life.

What is happiness?

Dear friend,

I believe in active leisure in life— rather than just ‘entertaining ourselves to death.’

Eric — if you bought that new Leica, you would realize your potential.

Dear friend,

If you’re reading this — you might be considering whether to go to photography or art school.

Dear friend,

I want to write you a letter about why I write:

New articles:

• Equipment »
• Cinematography »
• The Art of Photography »
• Motivation »
• Soul Photography »
• Composition »
• Personal Photography »

If you’re new, start here:

1. Street Photography 101
2. The Art of Street Photography
3. Free Photography Bootcamp
4. Personal Photography »
5. Personal Philosophy »
6. Zen Philosophy »
7. Stoicism »

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“I build the cars I like. If people wished to buy them, well, that could possibly be arranged.” Ettore Bugatti

It is impossible to know whether others will like your photos or not.

I’ve been ‘tracing’ my favorite Edward Hopper paintings to better understand light, composition, color, and form:

Lamborghini MERCY
our souls be so thirsty
for something true and real
and worthy to become me.

My current mood-board:

Dear friend,

I had this thought recently — nothing unlimited is good, and nothing good is unlimited.

This is a list of my personal favorite equipment in photography, computers, and life (as of 2017):

Dear friend,

I want to share why I fast (or why I don’t eat breakfast or lunch).

Dear friend,

A concept I want to share with you in photography: “The regret minimization framework.”

Dear friend,

Here are some lies that were spoon-fed me in photography, and I will debunk them for you:

SUITS: Print Hardcover Book

Invest in SUITS, Hardcover Print Edition I on Amazon >

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Dear friend, I am proud to share my first PDF photography book with you: SUITS:

Dear friend,

I spend a lot of time making YouTube videos — but why do I do it?

I admit– I’m a lazy photographer.

I’ve always loved the proportions of the classic ‘e30’ BMW 320i.

Dear Eric,

You are 12 years old. Here is some advice I would give you.

Continuing with our epic series on AKIRA (see PART I of AKIRA if you missed out):

Dear friend,

I just learned something interesting today— to be a ‘poet’ means just to be a ‘maker.’

Dear friend,

I just watched AKIRA (1988 Japanese Anime) and my mind is blown.

I just watched Batman: The Dark Knight (the older one) — and was blown away.

Dear Eric,

You are 18 years old— here is some words of wisdom I would drop on you:

Dear friend,

I just watched Dr. Strange— and man, I was blown away. I was blown away with the morals of the movie (the idea of living for something greater than yourself), the visuals (surreal as fuck), and the cinematography was fantastic.

Dear friend,

Never let anyone critique your photos— especially if they’re not a photographer.

What if, you lived the rest of your life in Hanoi, Vietnam?

Dear friend,

I think street photography is better at bringing you happiness than taking medication or going on a fancy vacation — here is why:

If you’re lacking inspiration to shoot others– shoot yourself.

Dear friend,

I think the reason why street photography is fun is because it is risky.

Here are some street portraits I like, and I will explain why I like them:

HOPE IS DOPE
HOPE IS DOPE

When your haters keep beating on you, keep bouncing off the ROPES

When we are beginner photographers— we want to go “pro”.

Dear friend,

I believe in religious tolerance.

Dear friend,

What is success in photography and life?

Lately I’ve been reading a lot of haiku poetry — and one of the concepts that inspires me the most is the concept of spontaneity.

Dear friend,

I wanted to write you a letter on love and photography:

Using Photoshop to make cubist photos (inspired by Pablo Picasso):

I have a 25% rule for myself— whenever I feel exhausted, finished, or can’t do any more, I try to push myself 25% more than what I think my “limit” is.

Dear friend,

You have the power to become a hero.

Dear friend,

Here are some tips on how to make good photos:

Super inspired by the compositions and cinematography (and surprisingly the story-line of the movie: “Suicide Squad”: