₿LOG
Thanks a ton to Michael Meinhardt for interviewing me for the “Shooting Street†podcast. We talked about shooting street photography with flash, finding your own style, overcoming boredom, shooting film, photo books, and ideas for the future! Check out the hour-long interview below:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Past episodes to check out:
Eric’s Note: I am excited to announce that I will be teaching another unique 5-day workshop in Calcutta, India with NYC  photographer and master composition teacher Adam Marelli. Adam Marelli has a keen eye for design, composition, and capturing “the decisive moment”. He holds a degree in Sculpture and Photography from New York University and studied at the Barnstone Studios. If you are serious about your street photography, and wanting to take it to the next level – check out this unique workshop opportunity!Â
A night or two ago, my good friend two cute dogs interviewed me via my GoPro camera on a roof-top terrace bar in Istanbul. He asked me some great interview questions about some of the following:
The interview is quite long (around 30 minutes) and a bit noisy (because it was windy) but if you have the time, give it a watch! Also if anyone has any other comments/questions they would like to ask me, leave a comment below!
(Above Photo :Â Alfred Eisenstaedt)
Eric’s Note: I am excited to announce that my good mate Charlie Atkinson will be helping out on the blog (remember the cheater on Digital Rev TV?). Anyways, he is now a reformed man and his heart is really into street photography! Considering that I’m always on the road and traveling – I haven’t been able to keep up with the weekly assignments as well as other features for the community. Please invite him warmly – and keep posted with cool new features he has planned up his sleeve for you guys!
Charlie: First of all I would like to give a huge thank you to Eric for giving me the opportunity to be lucky enough to be part of his sick blog!
So having spoken to Eric over a couple of beers and kebabs we got talking about some good ideas to get the community more involved. One of the ideas is to have more consistent weekly street photography assignments. So for this week, the assignment is “Cliches”. This could be an interesting first assignment as everyone always tries to avoid cliches. Upload your best 1 cliche shot captured between now and this Thursday (NO CHEATING ;) ) to Eric’s Facebook fan page. We will choose the best shots and feature them on the blog on Friday.
Now GO GO GO!
I am currently in Berlin, and about to head out to Amsterdam tomorrow to teach a street photography workshop with Thomas Leuthard. A week afterwards, I will be teaching a 4-day street photography workshop for the Stockholm Photography Week with Fotografiska (the Swedish Photography Museum).
I always try to travel light- and typically carry just my messenger bag and my North Face Recon Backpack. Considering I blog while traveling, I carry more stuff in my messenger bag than I’d like. But to me, it is still relatively light (still trying to find ways to cut down). For those of you streettogs who travel a lot- hopefully my bag shot can help give you some insight on what I just packed for my trip!
Check out more cool bag shots at Japan Camera Hunter.
Any questions about packing to travel for street photography? If so, leave your questions in the comments below!Â
This video was recorded a while back by the Filipino Street Photographers group. Thanks again to Rinzi Ruiz and Jeff Mercader for interviewing me and all the love for my Filipino brothers and sisters back in the Philippines! Watch the video large here.
I will also be hosting a street photography workshop in Manila, Jan 11-13th (Introductory workshop) and Jan 18-20th (Intermediate/Advanced) in 2013. If you would like more information or register, please email Jeff Mercader at jeffren@titaniumsportz.com
Hey streettogs, just got interviewed by the folks over at 500px. They asked me some questions about my approach in street photography, how my work has evolved, as well as my thoughts on some controversial topics. If you got a minute, make sure to check out my feature here!
Thanks to Jen Tse for the interview, and Neil Ta for hooking us up! Â
Photo above by Dana Barsuhn
One of the most important parts about street photography is to only show your best work. Below are some of the best 5 street photographs taken by my Downtown Los Angeles Street Photography Intermediate Course participants. Add them on Flickr, Twitter, 500px, and take a look at their respective websites and let us know whose work you really dig by leaving a comment!
You can also check out a recap of Day 1 and Day 2 of the Downtown LA Intermediate Workshop. Keep reading more to check out all the inspirational images below!
A while back Thomas Leuthard (85mm) put up a blog post on 500px titled “The Best Excuses On the Street.” He came up with a hilarious list of mostly bad (some good) excuses to use when people ask what you are doing. I was inspired by the list and thought I’d take a stab at using a few of them on the streets. I called up my friend Alex Lea and he recorded some footage of me from behind (while I recorded with a GoPro on top of my Leica M9). Yeah I shot the video a while back but didn’t have the chance to edit it until a few days ago ;)
My favorite one that I didn’t mention in the video (but took a stab at Thomas): “You should see Eric Kim, he is a creepy Korean tourist with a Leica M9…”
Although I made this video for fun, I was quite surprised to see that most people reacted somewhat positively to these excuses. Perhaps one could use a lot of these excuses and get away with it. Hope you guys enjoy the video :)
During my Los Angeles Street Photography Workshop, Rinzi Ruiz followed me around and recorded me shooting street photography with my Canon 5D, 24mm f/2.8, YN 560 Flash, and CSLR C-loop and Glidestrap.
I enjoyed the experience and this time aimed my flash aiming upwards from a low angle (while crouching down). As you can see through the video, a lot of people were very friendly (as long as I smiled and said “thank you” or that I liked something they were wearing). A few people objected and gave me weird looks (as you can see) but I am pleased with a few of the resulting images.
In addition, the workshop was a ton of fun, and you can see my previous footage talking about Day 1, Day 2, and the best street photographs my students took.
Also check out my upcoming street photography workshops in LA and San Francisco.
What do you think of this approach and the pictures I got? Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below!
Kanye West is one of my inspirations in life.
Day 2 of the LA Street Photography workshop was a huge success and I am so sad it is already over! We spent a good time during the day editing our images and post-processing them with Lightroom 3 and Silver Efex Pro, and everyone got some great images! I am still in the process of editing all the images and videos, so please be patient as they get ready ;)
Also I am accepting sign-ups for my Intermediate Street Photography course on August 27-28th–so please shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com for more info!
Update: Just uploaded photos of the workshop–read more to see them all!
Although I have lived in LA for many years, I have never been to Vegas before. Deciding to go to Vegas was a random idea, but suddenly it happened. I packed my bag with my street photography gear and headed out Monday morning. I just got here and was able to do some street photography. I’m still pretty inebriated and was barely able to process these images I took during the day. I was able to get a few night street photographs (but ended up going clubbing and kept my camera at home). Hope to do some more street photography with flash tomorrow night–but in the meanwhile read more to check out my photos!
Today I hit the streets of Santa Monica and the beach armed with my new YN-560 Speedlight Flash and wireless transmitter. It is a new setup that I have been trying out, which seems to be far better than using a chord for my street photography with flash. Not only is the kit extremely cheap (only $67 for the flash and $20 for the wireless transmitter) but it works well and gives me great images! Screw buying a Canon Speedlite 580EX II for around $500. Having shot with it in Santa Monica today, I have been extremely pleased. Read more to see all the pictures I took.
Anyways I also have 4 more spots open for my July 30-31st street photography workshop in Hollywood, Los Angeles! It is going to be a ton of fun meeting other street photographers, shooting together in the streets, while also getting helpful critique and learning new techniques. Please email me at erickimphotography@gmail.com if you want more details or would like to sign up!
It has officially been 7 days since I got laid off my job and decided to pursue street photography full-time. Things have been hectic with me working 15-hour days on this blog, booking participants for my workshop, managing my social media networks, and going out and networking! Today I was fortunate enough to meet with Todd over at Lighting Leica and he was able to hook it up with an awesome flash (and wireless trigger) which I plan on using for my flash street photography. Stay posted for an in-depth review later.
Tonight I was also able to meet up with avant-garde Leica photographer Thorsten Overgaard and had a ton of fun chatting with him and shooting portraits of him with my flash. The guy is super-chill, down to the earth, and did I mention–well dressed? Watch the video above to hear more about my highlights and also read more to see the fun pictures I took as well!
I also still have 3 spots open for my Los Angeles street photography workshop July 30-31st, so please shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com if you would like to hear more details! Hurry, spots are running out ;)
Many of you guys loved watching my Leica M9 POV video as well as my Leica M9 Viewfinder video so I decided to make another one (this time editing in shots!) I also tried adding in a soundtrack (RJD2 Ghostwriter) to make the video more upbeat and fun. Sorry if my voice is a bit muffled in the video, as I’m still new to video editing and I’m getting the hang of it :)
Hope you enjoy the video! Read more to see the images I took.
It was 4 days ago when I announced that I got laid-off my previous job and decided to pursue street photography full-time. The last few days have been pretty hectic, with me working 15 hour days (from 8am-midnight) everyday. Some of the things that have kept me busy is writing blog posts, recording videos of me shooting street photography, writing interviews, and getting people to sign up for my street photography workshop in LA on July 30-31st (email me at erickimphotography@gmail.com if you want more details).
Although the process has been stressful, it is exhilarating to work for myself and being able to do what I truly love. Not everyone out there has the opportunity that I do– and I sincerely thank everyone in the community for their never-ending support, suggestions, and love. Whenever I doubt myself and think that things won’t work out, you pull me back up on my toes.
Also if you are interested in supporting me and the blog, please considering purchasing a shirt in my store! (yes I ship internationally!)
I had a question for you guys: What other features/interviews/blog posts would you like to see more on my site? I swear to try my hardest to give what you want! :)
First of all, thank everybody so much for their love and support in lieu of my recent layoff at my job (and my new beginning as a full-time street photographer). I read all of your comments on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and my blog and was truly overwhelmed with gratitude. It is great that you guys have my back, which gives me a ton of confidence to live out this crazy dream!
Also I am still accepting participants for my introductory street photography workshop July 30-31st. If you are interested, please shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com. Continue reading to see more images from my first day being a full-time street photographer!
Yesterday on my Facebook fan page, I asked you to submit your best self-portraits of yourself with your camera. I got an overwhelming response, and thanks to everyone who was brave enough to upload their images! I chose the most fascinating self-portraits out of the bunch and included them here! Hope you guys don’t mind ;)
Long story short, I recently got laid off my job and now I am doing what I have always wanted to do–pursue my street photography full-time! I just wanted to personally thank everyone out there for giving me all this love and support through the last year. I couldn’t have made it so far without you guys. <3 Some of you may be curious how I plan on doing street photography full-time. Hopefully I will be able to make a living by selling shirts, through advertisements and sponsorships, and also by doing street photography workshops in LA and all around the world.
(I am teaching an introductory street photography workshop in LA July 30-31st, so please email me at erickimphotography@gmail.com if you’re interested).
Considering I also will do street photography full-time, stay updated for this blog. I really plan on ramping up the content I produce, including more interviews, videos, how-to-guides, and other goodies. Thank you guys again so much for the love and support– you guys rock :)
Any words of encouragement or advice you can give me in being a full-time street photographer? Please leave a comment below :)
Tonight I had the fun of shooting flash street photography in Hollywood with Daniel Schaeffer. At first I was a bit worried about shooting street photography in Hollywood (because of all the characters), but I had a very pleasant time. Few people objected to me using flash, and I got some pretty interesting images as well.
Also I am pleased to announce that on July 30-31st, I am teaching an introductory street photography workshop at the 4th Street Gallery in Hollywood. Shoot me an email at erickimphotography@gmail.com for more details, and read more to see my flash images!
A question I often get asked is whether or not street photography needs to include people. It was a topic that fascinated me, so I even posted it to my Facebook fan page for the community to discuss. I have talked to many street photographers about this, and the vast majority of the consensus is that street photography doesn’t necessarily have to include people. However if street photography doesn’t have to include people, how can we differentiate those types of images from any other genre of photography?
Simply put, I feel that effective street photographs without people show the uncanny of everyday life, while showing remnants of humanity. Keep reading to see how you can effectively shoot street photographs without people in it.
Often times as street photographers, we are too focused on capturing what is right before our eyes, rather than looking up and especially down. Capturing shadows is a wonderful way to open up your eyes to things which are around you, and give the viewer a sense of the surreal. If you are interested in understanding how you can better capture compelling shadows in your street photography, read on!
Many of you have asked me to record videos of myself shooting street photography. After a trip to Best Buy and picking up a GoPro HD 960 Videocamera, I rigged up an interesting POV camera to my Leica M9. Check out the video and let me know what you think. Read more to see some of the photos as well!
On the day of the Leica Magnum Paris event, I had the huge pleasure of meeting Bruce Gilden. After the official product announcements of the Leica M9-P and the 21mm f/3.5 Elmarit lens, I headed upstairs for some small appetizers and some wine. After chatting it up with some fellow photographers and bloggers from the event, I spotted Bruce from the corner of my eye. My hands got clammy, and I could feel the adrenaline flowing through my body. It was my hero—Bruce Gilden in person! I knew that I had to talk to him.
The second he was about to pass my left shoulder, I politely leaned in and asked, “Excuse me, are you Bruce Gilden?†He then said with a grin in his scruffy Brooklyn accent, “Yeah I’m Bruce Gilden—who are you?†I then introduced myself that I was a street photographer and blogger from Los Angeles and that I was a huge fan of his work. He then told me, “Oh—I think I know who you are.†My blood froze. How could someone like Bruce Gilden know who I was? I then asked him how he knew me and he told me, “Yeah a guy named Charlie in my workshop told me about you. He said to keep my eyes open for this overly enthusiastic Asian guy.†I then grinned and started to chat with him.
A video recap of the Leica Magnum Paris event last Tuesday. Guess who you see 30 seconds in ;)
Today was one hell of a day. It was the official Leica Magnum Paris event, and I was able to attend as a VIP attendee. I was able to meet Naseem (Political blogger), Magnus Froderberg (Photography magazine chief editor on Sweden), Cristina Garcia Rodero (Magnum Photographer), William Yan (Street Style Photographer), Thorsten (Overgaard.dk), Brett (Leica Workshop Photographer), Peter McCollough (SF Street Photographer), Jean-Jacques Viau (Leica Internet Head), Oliver Bachmann (Leica Camera Switzerland Head), and my beloved Bruce Gilden (Magnum Photographer). Did I also mention I met and took a photo with Elliott Erwitt? Watch the video below to read more about my day, and also make sure to check out the photos I took during the event as well!
For day 3 in Paris, I had another grand day shooting street photography with the Leica M9 and 35mm f/1.4 Summilux. Unfortunately I woke up super late (at 2:00PM in the afternoon) but still had a great day for shooting. The weather was a bit overcast and gloomy, but it was perfect in terms of lighting for street photography. Read more to see my video recap of the day (and hear the story of the old angry Parisian man who grabbed my arm) as well as see some of my best images.
I just had my first full day of shooting street photography with the Leica M9 and the 35mm f/1.4 Summilux in Paris. The streets here are truly amazing, and the Leica M9 was definitely a great partner to help me capture memorable moments. I am proud to say that I had a very great crop of photos today and had the chance to meet the famous Yanidel— make sure to read more and watch my video below and look at my images!
I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting a street photography exhibition this Saturday, June 4th, 2011 from 5:00-7:00pm at the Long Hai Restaurant in Tustin, CA. Join me as I share some of my finest black and white street photography from all around the world including Paris, Seoul, London, as well as Los Angeles Click here to RSVP on Facebook.
Admission is free, and complimentary drinks and appetizers from Long Hai Restaurant will be served.
Also, I will be raffling off all of of my images to help fund-raise for the Sukhee Chung Photography foundation. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Phoenix High photography class I am teaching to underprivileged high school students in Los Angeles. Tickets are $5 a piece, and there is no limit how many you can buy. You can watch a video I did about the class here.
I would love it if you could make it (if you are in the Los Angeles region!)
Street Photography from Daniel Seo on Vimeo.
I am excited to present a mini-documentary that my talented friend and film producer Daniel Seo put together. It was a quite intense project that took us an entire day to shoot (from 6AM to 11PM at night). I am very proud of how Daniel was able to put together my vision of street photography through his production and editing.
If you want to find more of how Daniel works, please check out his blog and check out his Facebook fan page.
Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment below! I would love to hear your feedback.
During my time in Beirut, Lebanon– I was fortunate enough to meet some of the nicest and most fascinating people in the world. Not only were the people extremely cordial here, but they actually liked getting their photos taken (compare this to Los Angeles and New York). Regardless of the fact that I was a blatant tourist (I was probably one of the only few Asians in the city), people were genuinely interested about my life story and why I was “gracing” their presence by visiting Beirut, Lebanon. Considering the fact that everybody there is trilingual (speaks English, French, and Arabic), it was extremely easy to converse with everybody I met.
I will forever remember Beirut, Lebanon for not only having some of the friendliest people in the world, but also for being extremely photo-friendly as well. Considering that there are practically no laws against street photography (except taking photos of military personnel and embassy buildings), it is truly the street photographers’ dream city.
If you are an avid street photographer and looking for a new place to travel to, definitely check out Beirut. When you go there, say hi to all the people in the street and tell them that “Eric says hi.”
Hey everybody!
After having the time of my life teaching my Street Photography 101 workshop in Beirut, Lebanon with Thomas Leuthard, I thought that I’d spread the love to those of you who couldn’t make it! In alignment with my ideas on open source photography, I will be providing all of my slides as well as my outline to those who are interested. Feel free to use this information in any way you’d like–but all I ask is credit back to myself or to Thomas Leuthard (for his slides). I hope you guys enjoy and spread the love as well!
If you are interested in having me lead a street photography workshop in your city, please shoot me an email to erickimphotography@gmail.com. You can also contact Thomas Leuthard at photography@leuthard.ch.
Street Photography 101 Slideshare Link
In holding to my mantra of open source photography, I have decided to give away all of my presets that I use in my street photography for Lightroom 3 for FREE. Feel free to share these presets with anybody/everybody you know.
Lately I have been trying to contact a bunch of Los Angeles art magazines to have them feature my work. One of the magazines that contacted me back was Juxtapoz magazine. I was lucky enough to get featured as their “pic of the day” on their site. Hopefully one day I could get featured in their paper-back magazine. Below is a screenshot of their site.
