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Street photography as courage. Photography philosophy as embodied life. A living archive by ERIC KIM.
At Gulf Photo Plus, as a part of the “Street Photography Series” in November in Dubai, I gave a free talk on street photography yesterday (11/24/2014). The title of my presentation was: “10 Lessons …
Disclaimer: I was given a free Fujifilm X100T for this review. It is a beautiful Sunday here in Dubai, and it is my day off “workâ€. I arrived last Wednesday from London after 2 …
Recently for my trip to Stockholm, London, and Dubai I brought along my Hasselblad 501c and 80mm lens (and about 20 rolls of Kodak Portra 400 120 film). I had been shooting a lot …
The streettogs academy page is growing and bustling as we continue with our 6th assignment. To those who joined and have been there since the 1st assignment, thank you all! Our editor’s choice for …
There is no better time in history to be a self-published photographer. There are so many great options out there— like Blurb (print on demand), and even getting books printed in China (it seems …
Our assignment no. 5 themed “Fear” came at an excellent timing. The Halloween period was ripe with opportunities on how to show our theme and it manifested well with the entries for this assignment. …
In Vietnam I recently learned a saying, “Cai kho lo cai khon†which means: from difficulty, emerges the wise. (Note I didn’t include diacritics). Another saying in Vietnamese (can’t remember it) is “The resourceful …
I recently picked up a copy of “Photographers’ Sketchbooks“, an excellent book written by Stephen McLaren (co-author of “Street Photography Nowâ€) and Bryan Formhals (founder of LPV magazine and the popular Tumblr: Photographs on …
Check out this fun little interview I did with Ola Billmont in Stockholm. We talk about where he is with his street photography, his projects, and a little tour of his sweet apartment! Related …
(A.g.’s notes: Out of the 4 Assignments we have finished over at Streettogs Academy group, Arnold Despi got into the Honorable Mentions list 3 times. He is a very active photographer always shooting and …
Here at the Photographer’s Gallery in London, I recently picked up “The Photobook: A History Volume III†by Martin Parr and Gerry Badger. I’d heard about the book before (the previous 2 volumes) but …
In Stockholm I had the chance to catch up with Damien Vignol, a street photographer who has traveled through Europe, Asia, and now is in Stockholm. See my past interview with Damien here, and …
The best camera in street photography is the most expensive one. If I gave myself advice in street photography if I started all over again I would tell myself, “Eric, buy yourself the most …
I always think about the meaning of life— and you can probably notice that this blog has become heavily philosophy-based the last few months. This is due to the fact that I have been …
I am teaching a two-day crash-course in street photography in Stockholm the next two days, and here is the presentation I am giving to my class. It is a collection of images from great …
(Originally written October 24th, 2014) I am being a little over-dramatic— but I recently had a near-death experience. It was another normal day. I was simply writing for my blog, drinking coffee, and just …
I recently was listening to a podcast interview with Tony Robbins (on the “Tim Ferris Showâ€) and was struck by something Tony said: progress is happiness. As you guys are probably well-aware of, I …
(A.g.’s note: I asked some of the folks over at Streettogs Academy what part of their street photography they want to improve on. One of the many things that popped up was people are …
I recently read a quote that went something like this: “If everyone knew how much suffering there was in the world, and how much pain, anxiety, and sadness that their enemies had (and also …
There isn’t a lot of things you can control in street photography. However these are the things you can control:
I currently wrote an article titled: “Advice for Aspiring Full-Time Photographers†which had a lot of interest. I have also been connecting a lot of young photographers lately (high school and college students)— and …
Tied into the previous chapter on how to live a happy life– I also encourage trying to live a purposeful life. What is the difference between a happy life and a purposeful life? I …
For this chapter I want to focus on a section which I think is important for everyone in life: learning how to be happy, fulfilled, and content with your street photography (and your personal …
I’ll admit it. I’m incredibly jealous. Whenever I see my close friends, other photographers, family, or anyone else doing “successful†things– I feel a tinge of jealousy. In the back of my head– I …
The recently concluded Assignment No. 4 yielded a lot of great and creative executions which you can view again here. Thanks again to everyone who joined and to Bertrand Domas who gave us …
Recently I gave a short 2-hour presentation on street photography at one of the photography clubs at UC Berkeley. It was great being surrounded by students again– with all of the energy, enthusiasm, and …
One of my biggest beliefs in life is in transparency. Whenever I learn something potentially useful or insightful– I don’t want to simply hoard the information to myself. Rather, I want to share it …
There are so many distractions out there. We live in an age where it is almost impossible not to be distracted. Our phones are constantly buzzing. We see thousands of advertisements a day that …
I’m sure that at one point in our lives as photographers shooting the streets, there was a time that we get asked to explain what street photography is. When I was starting out, I …
Assignment No. 4 has probably the most number of beautiful images I’ve seen in an assignment. There were plenty of great photographs that adhered to our theme of “Strong Light” as well some creative …
It was an absolutely incredible weekend teaching the Intermediate/Advanced Street Photography Workshop in San Francisco. We had folks come from all over: Seattle, Texas, Zurich, Tokyo, and all over the Bay Area in California. …
This is Part 2/2 of my chapter on How to Deal with Negative Criticism. Read Part 1 on How to Deal With Negative Criticism.
We all want to make a memorable street photograph. An image that burns inside our memory. An image that touches our heart and touches our soul. We want that image to be epic, energetic, …
For this chapter in my on-going “Letters from a Street Photographer†book, I wanted to write a topic that I am very familiar with– how to deal with negative criticism (and thrive and benefit …
This is Chapter 1 on a series of blog posts I will do on the philosophy of Stoicism, and how I relate it to street photography. I draw upon the book: “On the Shortness …
I have been a long-time admirer of the philosophies of Zen Buddhism, Taoism, and Stoicism. In-fact, I have gained more insights about photography from these philosophies (than I have from any book on photographic …
Life is short and limited. We only have so many days to live. We only have so many zeroes in our bank accounts. We all want to live happy, productive lives. We want happiness …
All photos copyrighted by Mary Ellen Mark. I remember when I first saw the work of Mary Ellen Mark, I was blown away. Her work had such a deep sense of love and empathy …
Hey Scandinavian (and European) streettogs– I am excited to share that I am hosting an intimate 2-day Introduction to Street Photography Workshop in Stockholm limited to 6 students (October 29-30th, 2014). I know it …
I’m not 100% sure how I stumbled upon the book: “Minutes to Midnight†by Trent Parke. But when I did— I was blown away by Trent Parke’s incredible story-telling, visuals, and vision. It inspired …
All photographs included in this article are copyrighted by Dan Winters. My good friend Bill Reeves recently bought me a copy of “Road to Seeing†by Dan Winters. I’ve always known Dan Winters as …
I’m currently reading a book titled: “Happiness by Design: Change What You Do, Not How You Thinkâ€. In the book, the author defines happiness as being primarly composed of two things: pleasure and purpose. …
Press release for Fotoistanbul: Welcome to a new era of the photography festival in Turkey. We are bridging the gap between east and west, classic and modern, master and student, making Istanbul the regional …
Richard Avedon isn’t a street photographer— nor did he consider himself one. However, he did shoot street photography in his life, in Italy, New York, Santa Monica, and more. I was particularly drawn to …
A.g.’s Note: Here we have another guest post from Sven Kraeuter. He previously shared to us a story of his interesting encounter while shooting medium format film. He’s back sharing his experience during a …
I’ve had the photographic week of my life in Provincetown with Magnum last week. I wanted to use this opportunity to reflect on some of my thoughts and experiences– and I will try my …
You can see the original article I wrote on David Alan Harvey here. I just finished a week-long workshop with David Alan Harvey as a part of the Provincetown Magnum Days event. I have …
Recently I had the great pleasure of being accepted as a scholarship student (under 30) for the Magnum workshop in Provincetown, Massachusetts with David Alan Harvey. Unfortunately David got stuck in Paris en route, …
The legend Bruce Davidson was in town for the Magnum Days in Provincetown, and did a slideshow of his best images and some of the great stories behind them. If you want to learn …
I had an absolutely phenomenal time at the Magnum Days workshop and slideshow in Provincetown this week. Below are some of the video slideshows of each teacher’s students– I was really impressed by everyone’s …
I met Kile Brewer at the Magnum workshop here in Provincetown. He is a 24-year old working photo-journalist, who attended the University of Missouri’s Journalism program. He was one of the under-30 scholarship winners, …
Just got up my notes for David Alan Harvey’s Magnum Workshop. Check it out and the video presentations/critiques below! Day 3: David Alan Harvey Magnum Workshop Notes
Today David Alan Harvey just arrived from France, and I had one last morning session with Constantine Manos. Below are my notes and video critique recordings: Day 3: Constantine Manos Evernote Notes Also check …
Thank you to all the street photographers who are keeping our Streettogs Academy Facebook page a very nice and active community. Thank you for all of your participation and to Jomel “Dada Bear” Bartolome …
Today I went for a lovely 6am walk with Karl Edwards in Provincetown. Karl Edwards is a street photographer based in Toronto, and is also doing the Magnum workshop with Constantine Manos. We have …
Having some fun shooting portraits with Quoc and Kile in Provincetown with Heather Bruce, a local painter here. We met her at a local bar at night, shared her life story, and showed us …
As always, thank you to everyone who participated in our Assignment No. 3. Special thanks goes to our editor’s choice Jomel Bartolome a.k.a. Dada Bear for picking this very interesting and challenging assignment for. …
Dana Danzel, a drag queen at a bar. I approached and asked her if I could take a few photos. I loved her personality, and blue accents. Shot a roll of Kodak Portra 400 …
I’m currently re-reading “Antifragile†by Nassim Taleb, one of my favorite authors. One of the views he has on life is to trust to trust disconfirmation over confirmation, and that much of happiness in …
I am currently in Melbourne, and about to head back home to the states after being abroad for nearly 3 months. A travel itinerary I had:
Street photography is the most difficult type of photography out there. There is so little we can control, and it takes a lot of courage and confidence to shoot in the streets.
Huge thanks to Gary Tyson and Vishal S from Camera Film Photo for putting together this interview video and questions while I was in Hong Kong. We talk about my fears in street photography, …
I am often frustrated with my photography. Sometimes I will prowl the streets for hours, without getting any decent shots. Sometimes I ask myself, “what is the point of all of thisâ€â€“ does it …
We often have tons of excuses in life. We don’t have enough time. We don’t have enough money. We don’t have the opportunities to do what we love. I always make tons of excuses …
(A.g.’s note:Â Some of the photographs in the article are for mature audiences only. Viewer discretion is advised. Words by A.g. De Mesa. Interview and questions by Eric Kim. All photographs are the respected copyright …
I am really excited to share that Henri Cartier-Bresson’s “The Decisive Moment” in addition to “Exiles” by Josef Koudelka is going to be reprinted. These are two of the greatest street photography books published in …
A.g.’s note: Here’s a guest post for Sven Kraeuter that was originally posted in his blog. He shares to us an encounter he had while shooting around his neighborhood with a medium format camera that …
I know a lot of street photographers who have gotten into film recently, and have recently invested in film Leicas (specifically Leica m6’s). I wanted to write this guide to share everything I personally …
Sean Lotman is a street photographer based in Kyoto. I recently met up with him in Kyoto and he showed me his beautiful 8×10 color darkroom prints. I was amazed by the colors, poetry, …
To learn more about Bruce Gilden, I recommend reading: “5 Lessons Bruce Gilden Has Taught Me About Street Photography” and “An Afternoon with Bruce Gilden“.