Dear friend, I’m one of the very few blessed people in the world who does what they love for a living.

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Most of us live in fear— fear of not being able to pay the rent, fear of not feeding ourselves, or fear of not providing for our families.

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One of the ideas I’m constantly obsessed about is innovation.

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In a famous essay, “Software is eating the world” — internet pioneer Marc Andreessen professed that the future of technology was software, not hardware.

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When I was a kid, I loved to tinker.

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Have you ever felt stressed, shitty, and overwhelmed with life — and went out with a walk with your camera, and instantly felt much better?

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One of the most challenging things in photography is to choose our best photos.

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I remember when I was growing up — and was wondering whether I should follow my passion for a living or not.

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I am excited to share my new book: “Street Photography Contact Sheets Volume II” — a behind-the-scene looks to some of my best (recent) street photos.

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I have been testing the Olympus Pen F and Olympus 17mm f/1.8 lens in Dalat, Vietnam for the last few days, and I am blown away.

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We all know the feeling— when we haven’t done something for a while, we become “rusty.”

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You never know when you will die — why risk the chance of dying when you’re doing something you don’t want to do?

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In photography and life — less is more, when it comes to your projects.

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I see negative space as a fascinating concept— both photographically and philosophically.

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We are always told to photograph everyday.

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I’ve been recently inspired by the Roman poet— Horace, who gave a lot of practical advice to other poets in “Ars Poetica” (the art of poetry):

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One of the factors which makes or breaks a photograph is the eye contact.

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I consider “urban landscapes” as a sub-genre of street photography.

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Photo Journal is your new Personal Photography handbook to make your photography more personally meaningful:

• Purchase Photo Journal (Amazon USA) >
• Purchase Photo Journal (International) >

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Nobody knows how to live— but we know exactly how we shouldn’t live.

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What is the difference between a “so-so” photograph, and a great photograph?

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Dear streettogs, if you’ve ever wanted to read the entire library of “Learn From the Masters of Photography” download it as a free PDF or ePub below:

• PDF Download (35mb)
• .ePub Download (2.2mb)

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It is a pleasure to share my new book “Zen Photography” with you.

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Dear friend, when do you feel fulfillment in your photography?

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Dear friends, here is my current portfolio as of 2016– feel free to share, re-distribute, and re-mix these photos as you’d like:

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Dear friend, it is hard to figure out who to photograph for.

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I’m a huge fan of “tinkering” — just playing around, figuring out how things work, breaking things, and learning along the way.

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Dear friend, you’ve accomplished great things in life— yet you want more.

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What brings you joy in photography, and why do you take photos?

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“The fool adds one thing a day. The wise man removes one thing a day.” – Lao Tzu

For me, the most important trait for success in today’s world (and in the future world) is having the ability to focus.

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Dear friend,

I want to write you a letter on the importance of dreaming big, and failing big.

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One of the first things I learned as a blogger is to write “evergreen content” — blog posts that will be relevant forever.

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I’m currently drinking a (strong) cup of black coffee and I just had a thought about technology— how the best technology is the subtractive one, not the one that adds to our lives.

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Only show your best work.

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I’ve just re-read “Thinking Fast, and Slow” — essentially the bible of personal psychology, and how our brains work (sometimes ‘irriationally’).

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How do you make better photos? Make photos that you would like to look at.

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I was always skeptical view of Apple products.

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If you’re new to photography, consider this your free guide:

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When I started photography, I wanted to learn practical tips that could make me a better photographer.

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Dear friend, this short handbook on how to make a living with blogging is my gift to you.

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Here are my behind-the-scenes contact sheets of the #cindyproject:

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If you’re looking for photo books to inspire you during these holidays, here are some of my personal recommendations:

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Dear friend, don’t worry about the voices of the critics out there— rather, listen to the voice of your own inner-critic.

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The point of a lot of modern religion, spirituality, and art is to relieve suffering— rather than adding complication and stress to our life.

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I love to travel, experience new cultures, try new foods, meet new people, and of course— taking photos while I’m traveling.

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I feel the ultimate power is conquering yourself— not in conquering others.

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This concept is a Taoist one— whenever you try to force things, you will fail.

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I’ve been thinking a lot about the perfect camera— I think it the perfect camera is the one that embeds itself into you.

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Everything on planet earth requires growth, or we die.

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Economy: the art of avoiding unnecessary expenditure.

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Dear friend, I wanted to share an idea with you — the importance of provoking people with your photography.

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Every time you click the shutter, you are making an “attempt” to make a good photograph.

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Dear friend,

I am writing you this book “Street Photography” to encapsulate everything I have learned about street photography in the last 10 years.

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Chu Viet Ha: one of the most epic street photographers, with his use of layers, color, and surrealism:

Interview with CHU VIET HA:

Chu Viet Ha is one of my best friends in Hanoi, and also one of my favorite contemporary street photographers.

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I’ve become a bit of a hermit recently — spending less time on social media, the internet, and socializing.

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In baseball and life, is better to get one home run, instead of two doubles.

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All of us were born for a great destiny — what is yours?

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In stocks and trading, there is something called a “stop loss” — where you pre-determine that you will exit a position (if the value of a stock drops below a certain point).

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When we are children — we create the rules of the games we create.

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Dear friend, if you want offline access to everything I’ve written as text files, download them for free below:

• All Articles (Dropbox)
• All Articles (Google Drive)
• All Articles (Direct Download)

If you want to access more, see all free downloads >

Nowadays in street photography, it is popular to add lots of layers, subjects, and complexity to your frame.

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Dear friend, we are always told less is more — but at what point is too little too little?

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Dear friend, I want to give you a practical piece of advice when it comes to shooting street photography — don’t think about composition.

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If you’re hungry to learn, download all books (153MB):

• Download all books (Dropbox)
• Download all books (Google Drive)
• Download all books (Direct)

For more resources, see all downloads >

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I’m a big fan of Zen/Taoist, Eastern philosophy.

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Dear friend,

For those of you who follow this blog — you know that I am a big fan of “stoic” philosophy — essentially how to be a badass in today’s unpredictable, chaotic, and insane world.

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Dear friend, “Photography” is my 10-year culmination in my journey of photography.

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If you’re looking for an epic trip of a lifetime, don’t miss out on my upcoming week-long Hanoi to Sapa Travel Street Photography Experience (Feb 8-13, 2017):

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Dear friend, I want to show you some of my behind-the-scene “contact sheets” from Tokyo — to show you how I got some of my favorite shots:

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