los angeles - ERIC KIM ₿

â€œConquer Your Fear of Shooting in The Streetsâ€: Downtown Los Angeles 3-day Introduction to Street Photography Workshop featuring Rinzi Ruiz and Dana Barsuhn (11/1-11/3)

Have you ever walked on the streets and saw a moment that you wanted to capture, but you were too scared to take the photograph? Do you want to become more confident shooting in the streets and learn how to better interact with your subjects? Do you want to meet other street photographers that are as equally passionate about street photography or interested in learning like you?

I am excited to announce I will be teaching my popular “Introduction to Street Photography Workshop” in Downtown Los Angeles (11/1-11/3) with talented LA street photographers Rinzi Ruiz and Dana Barsuhn.

In this action packed 3-day weekend workshop, you will learn the fundamentals of streetÂ photography, how to create visually compelling images, how to conquer your fear of shooting street photography, as well as tips & tricks how to capture “the decisive moment.”

If you are a beginner or intermediate street photographer and you want to take your work to new heights and meet other passionate street photographers, check out more info about the workshop below!

Interview with Mehdi Bouqua, Raw Los Angeles Street Photographer

Eric’s Note: Had a chance to interview my boy Mehdi Bouqua, a street photographer based out of Los Angeles. We met first via the internet, when I came upon his Raw Street Portraits series. We realized that we both lived in Los Angeles, met up, and had a blast hanging out and shooting together. His interest in art first stemmed from street photography and street art, and now he pursues his love of photography through the streets and its surroundings. Did I mention the crazy guy can speak four languages?Â French, English, Arabic and Spanish? Check out theÂ interviewÂ above and some of his images below.

Interview with Rinzi Ruiz, Los Angeles Street Photographer and Painter of Light

Had a chance to interview Rinzi Ruiz, a phenomenal black & white street photographer based in Los Angeles (and one of the alumni of my LA street photography workshop!). I chat with him about his inspirations in street photography, how he finds the light, and advice he has for aspiring street photographers. We also geek out over his new Fujifilm X-Pro 1- and see how it likes it compared to his old Fujifilm X-100.

Shots by Rinzi Ruiz

Follow Rinzi

Website
Flickr
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram: @rinzizen

Which of Rinzi’s shots are your favorite? And if you have any questions for him, leave them below!Â

Behind the Scenes: Street Photography Exhibition at the Downtown LA Art Walk at the Hatakeyama Gallery

Recently at the Downtown LA Art Walk, some of my fellow LA Streettogs and myself showed our work at the Hatakeyama Gallery. Lots of awesome people came out and supported and checked out some of the work by our group.

In the video I use my GoPro video camera to take you behind-the-scenes of the gallery, and right in all the fun! You can also get a sneak-peak on 3 of my photographs from my series: “Dark Skies over Tokyo” (shot with my Leica M6 and film). I will be sharing the full series later on, so stay updated!

LA Streettogs featured:

Read more to see all the pictures from the event!

Call for Photographers: Think Tank Gallery Looking for for 32 Street Photographers in Los Angeles!

Hey streettogs, the Think Tank Gallery in Los Angeles is looking for 32 street photographers for a fascinating project. They will select an undisclosed location, and you will be given 10 days to shoot during October 1st-10th. Those chosen will then have their best 3 images shown in their gallery during the LA Downtown Artwalk on October 13th. If you are interested in participating, shoot an email at youareherethinktank@gmail.com with your 5 best images in JPEG format (resized to 950px wide). This can be a great opportunity to get more exposure for your work and even get featured in an up-coming gallery!

*Deadline to submit is September 15th, 2011

*You don’t need to be from Los Angeles to participate, but you will have to be in Los Angeles during October 1st-10th to participate.

Upcoming Street Photography Workshops in Los Angeles (8/27-8/28) and San Francisco (9/10-9/11) with Eric Kim

My incredibly beautiful and talented girlfriend (and manager) Cindy Nguyen put together this great footage of all the “behind-the-scenes” footage of my previous workshops in the UK, Switzerland, and Los Angeles. Props to her for putting together such a well-made video with cool music to accompany it as well! As a reminder, here is my upcoming workshop schedule:

August

Level 2: Developing Your Own Street Style (Los Angeles)

This workshop is going to be held next Saturday/Sunday so sign up while spots are still open! This workshop will be focused on developing your own street photography style, and we will spend time studying the work of the masters (Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Garry Winogrand, Vivian Maier, and others). We will start off the first day with a portfolio review of everyone who is attending, and everyone will be given certain tasks and assignments to shoot on the streets. It will be a great learning experience for those who consider themselves intermediate to advanced street photographers who want to continue to develop their street photographic vision.

Level: Intermediate-Advanced
Location: Downtown Los Angeles (939 Maple Street, Los Angeles, CA)
Date: August 27-28th
Time: 10am-6pm both days
Open spots: 2/10
*You donâ€™t need to attend the introductory course to apply

Email me at erickimphotography@gmail.com for more information or if you would like to register.

September

Level 1: Conquering Your Fear of Shooting on the Streets (San Francisco)

Rinzi Shooting on the Streets — Rinzi Ruiz Shooting On the Streets

Have some experience in street photography but you are having a hard time figuring out what to shoot or how to get closer to people? Sign up for this workshop where I will teach you great hands-on tips & techniques how to conquer your fear of shooting on the streets. We will understand what makes a great street photograph by looking at the work of influential past and contemporary street photographers. Â The environment will be very collaborative and engaging. Check out reviews by Ibarionex Perello at The Candid Frame and Todd Hatakeyama from Lighting Leica to get a good sense if this workshop is a good fit for you. Also check out photos of myÂ participantsÂ shooting on the streets.

Level: Introductory
Location: San Francisco (55 Dolores Street, San Francisco, CA)
Date: September 10-11th
Time: 10am-6pm both days
Open spots:Â 5/10
Leica will be there to demo their cameras/lenses (a great time to test out a Leica M9!)

Email me at erickimphotography@gmail.com for more information or if you would like to register. Also feel free to check out my workshops page.

Also check out more of Cindy’s videos at http://vimeo.com/thelittlewave

6 Inspirational Street Photography Essays from my Los Angeles Workshop Participants

Ibarionex Perello, from his “Shadows” essay

For my Introduction to Street Photography Workshop in Los Angeles, I assigned all my students to go out on the 2nd day and shoot a consecutive street photography essay. They chose themes such as shadows, hands, tattoos, shadows, and even tourists.

If you would like more information about my upcoming workshops in Los Angeles on 8/28-8/29 or in San Francisco on 9/10-9/11 check out my workshops page or email me at erickimphotography@gmail.com

Keep reading to check out the rest of the inspirational images and essays.

Student Photos: LA Workshop 2011

Shot by Rinzi Ruiz. Phenomenal light!

For the first day of my introductory street photography workshop, I was very impressed to see all the great photos everyone took! We were able to edit/post-process each of the photos with one another using Lightroom 3 and Silver Efex Pro, and the results look great. Read more to check out all of the photos!

LA Street Photography Workshop: Day 2 (Friendship, photography, and community)

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!

LA Street Photography Workshop: Day 1 (Street Photography Fun + Leica Orgy)

I am glad to announce that my first day of the street photography workshop was a huge success! Everything went off without a hitch, and the workshop has been great so far! We had a wonderful group of participants for the workshop and great food (courtesy of my mom and younger sister). Not only did we have a great time discussing about street photography and learning tips and techniques for the street, we were able to go out and test some Leica gear when we went shooting.

Many of the participants were able to test out Leica cameras such as the Leica M9, Leica X1, Leica D-Lux 5, and I had the great pleasure of playing with the Leica S2. All I have to say it is a beautiful camera (although a behemoth). The image-quality is unparalleled (it’s hard to tell on the web) and felt solid in my hands. It isn’t an ideal camera for street photography and was difficult to use in the streets, but it was fun.

====================================================================

Also I am going to have my next Intermediate Street Photography Workshop in Los Angeles on August 27-28th. Please email me at erickimphotography@gmail.com if you’re interested or would like more details!

====================================================================

Read more to check out the photos I took during the workshop with the Leica S2 and my Canon 5D with flash!

LA Street Photography Workshop: Day 0 (Getting Prepared)

Tomorrow is the day I am teaching my street photography workshop in LA and I wanted to let everyone know thanks so much for the help, support, and love you have given me. If it weren’t for you guys, I wouldn’t have been able to spread the news and made this workshop a success (at least in getting people to sign up!). I have been very fortunate that my entire family has been helping me, including my mom and sister who are making all the meals, and my girlfriend/manager Cindy who helped me with all the logistical details.

Today on the car ride to the 4th Floor Gallery to do some last-minute things, I had a very insightful conversation with my mom about being humble. She told me that regardless of what I do I should remember to stay humble and be truly grateful for the help I have been getting from everyone. It really struck me to the heart, and I thought about all that has happened within the last year. Within a year I was able to teach a street photography workshop in Lebanon, the UK, Switzerland and meet passionate street photographers like Thomas Leuthard, Charlie Kirk, Damien Rayuela, and many others. Not only that, but Leica has also flown me to Paris where I met Bruce Gilden, Elliott Erwitt, and many other influencers.

Therefore I wanted to re-iterate thank you again for everything you have given me. This quote that I got from my friend and street artist Jacob Patterson truly resonates with me:

â€œYou donâ€™t owe your audience your art; you owe your audience your life.â€ -Howard Bloom

Wish me luck for tomorrow and will keep you updated with how everything goes :)

New Beginnings Day 1: Street Photography in Downtown LA with Flash and Art Walk

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!

5 Tips How to Take Raw Street Portraits

Mehdi Bouqua

Recently I came upon the work of Los Angeles street photographer Medhi Bouqua. He takes incredible portraits of the people of Los Angeles, and I asked him to give me some of his insights about shooting these raw street portraits.

Medhi: It all began with the street and its surroundings: The Architecture, The street Lights,The cold Concrete, The bright sun, The people walking up and down, The poor, The rich, the young and the old. Street photography has taught me to never hold back from any subject that captures my eyes.Â I shoot my Raw Portraits as close up shots to capture the emotion, strength, struggle and beauty of people, with both my 35mm Nikon to print and my Rebel Xs Canon to share on the web, I use Natural lighting, no Flash and no reflectors.

I thought it would also be a great opportunity for me to give you some great tips about shooting raw street portraits, while using Medhi’s photos as examples. Read on and learn more.

“The Conductor” – Framed

Inspiration from:Â Temujine.com

Jacob Patterson Street Portraits

Jacob Patterson, Artist. Take three

My full-series of Jacob Patterson, a Los Angeles based artist who specializes in graffiti, shoes, and street art. A truly amazing and inspirational artist and person. I look forward in collaborating with him more in the future.

I got in contact with Jacob, and he gave me a tour of the “ThinkTank” in Downtown Los Angeles, an art warehouse he is currently building up with fellow artists. We talked, chilled, grabbed a burrito (thanks Jacob!) and I told him that I would snap him a few photos before he left. This is the product of literally 5-10 minutes of shooting.

Check out his sites:

YouTube -Â Tumblr –Twitter