Human artist blog / Street photography / Philosophy
Dear friend, I wanted to write you a letter about “Wu-Weiâ€, a Taoist philosophy and concept that I learned from the “Tao Te Ching†(recommend the version by Stephen Mitchell). So let me pose …
I’m still afflicted with GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). I want new shit all the time. I’m always dissatisfied with the technology I have (smartphone, tablet, laptop, camera, espresso machine) as well as my car, …
Dear friend, I want to share some meditations and thoughts that are currently on my mind– and perhaps tell some stories. Thank you for being a good friend and listening :) Okay, so I …
Dear friend, I want to tell you the exciting start of my day today. I want to share with you as vividly how it felt, and what is on my mind. I woke up, …
Read as a Google Doc (feel free to suggest edits), or download and print out the PDF. — I am a slave. I am a slave to others’ opinions of me. I am a slave …
Read as a Google Doc or download as PDF. — There is so much negativity and bullshit out there in modern life. I always hear people bitching and moaning about the difficulties of their …
Read this article as a Google Doc (would love your comments/edits), download and print as a PDF, as an .epub (e-reader), or .mobi (for Kindle). I also recommend reading the original: “On the Shortness of …
Read as a Google Doc or PDF. — Dear Friend, I wanted to share with you some thoughts that are on my mind: The first thing that came to mind: “small is beautiful.†So …
Read as a Google Doc or download the PDF. — Dear friend and fellow streettog, I went to sleep last night, and woke up this morning in beautiful Leeds, England, and suddenly this story …
(You can also read this as a Google Doc, or PDF) Dear friend, I just finished reading a book by Roman philosopher Epictetus, titled “Of Human Freedom.†It got me thinking a lot about …
This article is written by Josh White, originally posted here. The views posted here are his and his alone and may or may not be shared by the website as a whole ;) Disclaimer: …
Recently I got my laptop stolen in Paris from my backpack. It kinda sucked, but the “blessing in disguise†was that I was able to replace my (slightly) aging 11’’ Macbook air (2012 model). …
Dear streettogs, I hope you enjoy a new free ebook: “Zen in the Art of Street Photography.” This is a compilation of all of my favorite articles on Zen, Taoism, Buddhism, gratitude, and other …
I love attention. I hate criticism and negativity. I want everybody to love me, to love my photography, and my writing. Contrary to popular belief, I actually have very thin skin when it comes …
Continuing my series on “Akademie x Lessons in Art and Lifeâ€, I thoroughly enjoyed an essay titled: “Me and Marcuse†by Michelle Grabner. She exposed me to a lot of new ideas that I …
I just finished reading a new book titled: “Becoming Steve Jobsâ€, which is a new biography on the life of Steve Jobs. I also read the other (more famous) Walter Isaacson biography: “Steve Jobsâ€, …
It is inevitable. Sooner or later, someone will give you shit for taking their photograph. No matter how good your intentions are, there will always be someone who will be offended. You can smile, …
The other night here in Chicago, I woke up in the middle of the night. I was tossing and turning (put on the heater too hot at night). In a state of being half-asleep, …
I have been re-reading a lot of stoic philosophy recently, especially “Letters from a Stoic†and “On the Shortness of Life†by Seneca, and “The Meditations†by Marcus Aurelius. One of the biggest things …
I recently finished “Being Mortal†by Atul Gawande. It is one of the most touching books I have ever read this past year. Atul talks about the tension between living long (versus living a …
I ultimately want to be happy. But unfortunately there are a lot of sources of dissatisfaction in my life. There are a lot of things I want to change about my life, and my …
“I am content with few, content with one, content with none at all.†– Seneca, Letters from a Stoic I have a problem. I have really high expectations for myself. I want to become …
I think in photography it is good to have some self-criticism. If you want to be the best photographer you possibly can, you want to be more discerning about your images. You want to …
My mom recently came back from an epic backpacking trip through Nepal for about 28 days. She is an incredible woman. At the age of 59, she was able to withstand the freezing cold, …
I am excited to announce that I finally put together my free ebook: “Letters from a Street Photographer“. This book is much more philosophical in nature– and combines the philosophy of stoicism and street …
Today I turn 27 years old, thank you for all the kind birthday wishes! I am currently in LA for the weekend, visiting some close friends and family for a quick birthday dinner, then …
I just finished a book called “10% happierâ€, which preached the benefits of meditation and mindfulness in everyday life. There is a lot of pain and anxiety from everyday life, and one of the main …
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 …
(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 …
There isn’t a lot of things you can control in street photography. However these are the things you can control:
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
We are insecure. We don’t want people to be brutally honest with us. We like feeling liked. We don’t want to hear the truth, or at least what people really think about us and …
What motivates you in street photography? What is the fuel that keeps you going? Why do you decide to go out and shoot, even though you might be tired, exhausted, or frustrated?
Nobody gives a shit about your photos (except yourself). Sometimes I get frustrated and confused why I take photos. I think ultimately I take photos because I want my photos to influence, affect, and …
I recently came across a funny phrase: “FOMOâ€. It stands for “fear of missing outâ€. Nowadays, “FOMO†is ubiquitous in digital life. We always feel like we are missing out– that someone is doing …
I just checked out of my hotel in Seoul, and was on my way to the subway. I had a bunch of bags I had to carry, and ended up missing two potential street …
Dear Eric, You are 18 years old. You just got a point and shoot digital camera from Mom as a high school graduation present. You are super excited, as you never had a camera …
One of the best pieces of advice I got on writing is the importance of writing without editing. Which means, turn off the inner-censor in your mind and write freely. What or who is …
I have often read that life is a journey, not a destination. Meaning that we all have goals in life. But the happiest moments aren’t when we reach our goals. Rather, life is a …
Photos in this article are from my on-going “Only in America” series. I’m currently reading a lovely book titled: “A Philosopher’s Notes: On optimal living, creating an authentically awesome life and other such goodness.” …
“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.â€Â ― Andy …
One question I am asked a lot is how I make a living in street photography, and questions about selling prints, and making money. To start off, I am blessed enough to make a …
I feel one of the most important traits to become a better street photographer is first identifying what makes great street photography. This means having good taste. A quote from Ira Glass from NPR …
I am a big fan of Nassim Taleb and his concept of the “barbell theory” which he derives from his book: “Antifragile” (one of my top 3 favorite books). The concept of the “barbell …
I recently finished reading “The Snowball“, a biography on the life of Warren Buffett, one of the most successful investors of all time. One inspirational thing I got from the book was how Buffett …
Life is too short to do shit you don’t like doing. I know a lot of people who work in jobs they absolutely hate, stay in relationships they don’t enjoy, and force themselves to …
I think I can speak on behalf of all of us that we all want to be happy. In some shape, way, or form. Over the years I have thought a lot about happiness. …
Today I turn 26 years old. Life has been one hell of a ride so far. When I was a kid, I had no idea I would be where I am today– with the …
Photos in this article are outtakes/shots I am considering from my on-going “Suits” project. One of the things I love most about street photography is how open and democratic it is. Anybody with any …
Photos in this article are from my Gallo Boxing Series in Michigan. You can see all the GoPro POV videos on YouTube here. “To try to please everybody is to please nobody” – Publilius …
Photos in this article are from my road trip from Michigan to California. One thing I hate about the modern world is our addiction to speed. We want everything to be done faster, more …
Eric’s Note: This guest article is written by A.G DeMesa— a street photographer based in Manila. A.G.: What is street photography for me? Surely it isn’t the mundane. Nothing gets more mundane than a …
The other night before I went to sleep, I was reading a book on my iPad and then wanted to post an inspirational quote onto Facebook. So I logged into Facebook, shared the quote– …
The last two weeks I have spent in Istanbul with my good friend Charlie Kirk. I first met Charlie around two years ago in Paris– and since then we have shot together, had good …
When I first started this blog, I wrote about the idea of “open source photography.†To sum up the idea, I wanted to make a personal vow to always keep the information on this blog …
“You don’t eat to be “the best” taster the world, don’t take a stroll to be “the best” stroller in the world, don’t push buttons in an elevator to be the best button pusher …
One of the articles I read a while ago (and recently re-read) was the “Top 5 Regrets of the Dying.” To sum up, a nurse who took care of the elderly and dying kept …
I was sitting at home with my girlfriend Cindy, and I suddenly got a call from my cousin overseas. After two bouts of heart attacks while he was in the hospital, he passed away …
One book that has deeply influenced me the last few months is: “A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy.” The book is a great introduction to the philosophy of …
Serendipity. One of the most beautiful things about street photography. Stumbling upon something totally unexpected, but so intrinsically unique and beautiful it cannot be put into words. All of your sensations tingling, giving all …