{"id":39685,"date":"2017-02-19T14:01:28","date_gmt":"2017-02-19T22:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?page_id=39685"},"modified":"2017-02-19T14:10:55","modified_gmt":"2017-02-19T22:10:55","slug":"how-i-motivate-myself-to-make-photos","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/how-i-motivate-myself-to-make-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Motivate Myself to Make Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"eric
About to leave our apartment in Hanoi \/ Macro photo of Cindy’s hand.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have a hard time motivating myself to take photos. This is what works for me:<\/p>\n

1. Wear my camera like a bracelet<\/h2>\n
\"eric
Bored in the elevator, taking selfies \/ Hanoi, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am currently shooting on the Ricoh GR II camera<\/a>. One of the ways I find more inspiration to shoot is to wear it like its a bracelet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example, I keep on a wrist strap, and whenever I leave the apartment or the house I always keep it strapped, to my wrist, like a bracelet. Or like a watch.<\/p>\n

What I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve discovered for me is this: the biggest resistance I have in my photography is just having my camera in my hand<\/strong>. Therefore, the more often I have my camera in my hand, ready, the more likely I am to shoot.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also found that by having a camera in my hand, I see more photo opportunities. This is because I feel the weight of my camera in my hand, which triggers some part of my brain to see the world differently. To look for photos.<\/p>\n

2. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t turn on my phone<\/h2>\n
\"Album
Album Cover from Pusha T<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I love the smartphone, in terms of how it has empowered people. But I also hate it, because it has turned us into digital slaves, with a ball-and-chain, which keeps us tied to notifications, vibrations, and updates.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve found the biggest problem of having a smartphone is that I am no longer bored. Whenever I face an uncomfortable social situation, it is easy for me to just take out my phone, and escape into my alternate reality.<\/p>\n

\"eric
Some interesting patterns on the ground walking to dinner, about to meet some friends \/ Hanoi, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not only that, but I feel boredom is what stirs creativity. For example, nowadays I try to keep my phone off as much as possible. I get bored more often. I get bored as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m waiting for Cindy to get ready to leave the house. I get bored when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m waiting for the bus. I get bored when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sitting around in a restaurant or a cafe with nothing to do.<\/p>\n

But in these moments of boredom, I try to find myself ways to entertain myself. And often, that means taking photos.<\/p>\n

For example, the other day I was waiting for Cindy to pack up her things before leaving our apartment. Imagine me standing at the door of our apartment, looking around, and once again\u00e2\u20ac\u201d feeling bored. I then looked around myself, if there was anything interesting to photograph. I noticed the number \u00e2\u20ac\u02dc5\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 on the inside of the door. I put my camera in macro mode, and shot that with a flash. I photographed random shapes and forms around me. I knew they weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t interesting photos, but they kept me entertained. And looking at these photos, I actually like them quite a bit. I would have never taken these photos had I not allowed myself to become bored.<\/p>\n

3. Treat my loved ones like it were their last day on earth<\/h2>\n
\"eric
A nice stairwell with leading lines, at the top floor of the Lotte Building in Hanoi \/ Cindy telling me to hurry up silly. 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another\u00c2\u00a0is this \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I try to treat my loved ones like it were their last day on earth.<\/p>\n

Which means, I imagine them dying tomorrow. Or perhaps I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never see them tomorrow, or ever again.<\/p>\n

Then, I try to photograph them like it was the last moment I had with them. I try to capture their soul in my image, perhaps for the fear of them dying. Or maybe the idea that by making a photo of them, I will feel more connected with them, and more appreciate of them.<\/p>\n

I know with Cindy, I often fall into anger, frustration, impatience, and other negative emotions. But whenever I consider that today might be her last (or my last), these feelings quickly evaporate. Why would I feel resentment in my heart to whom I love the most, if today were their last day on earth?<\/p>\n

Therefore, I photograph her with all my heart, soul, and every fiber of my being. I know she will be my main \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcphoto project\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for my entire life. Because when she dies, or I die \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I want to leave some sort of document of our love together. And I hope this will help inspire and motivate others to document their loved ones.<\/p>\n

4. Gratitude of life<\/h2>\n
\"eric
Walking to Cindy’s archive, noticed some shadows on the ground, shot -1 exposure compensation\u00c2\u00a0\/ Hanoi, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These are things that work for me. Try them out for yourself, and see if they can help stir motivate you to make photos.<\/p>\n

But ultimately, I feel that art is about giving a damn of being alive in the world. Art is to find beauty in everything. Art is to find beauty in the mundane, and what better tool to use than a camera, which is simple to use, and always with us?<\/p>\n

We can be artists with our smartphones, with a microphone, with our bodies, with a chisel, with paints and brushes\u00e2\u20ac\u201d anything. The most important thing is that we put our soul in the art we create, and not give a damn of what anybody else may think.<\/p>\n

5. We all have an inner-genius that guides us<\/h2>\n
\"eric
While waiting, bored, by the elevator — noticed this fly \/ My apartment, Hanoi, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ultimately, I also see that we all have an \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcinner-genius\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not that we<\/em> are geniuses. But we are all appointed an inner-genius (like a guardian angel), which helps guide us each step of our creative journey. Even as I type these words, I have no idea where they are coming from. It is a distillation of all my life experiences, the amazing individuals I have met, and the masters of art that have guided me along the way.<\/p>\n

But to sum up, I think death is the ultimate motivator. If I were to live forever, I would have no motivation to drive me. It is perhaps the fear of death, or perhaps the idea that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to waste my life<\/strong> (credit to Cindy for this idea). I think that my life is the most precious thing that God has given me, so why waste any moment?<\/p>\n

Always,
\nEric<\/p>\n

\n

Motivation Articles<\/h2>\n
\"eric
Shot from my taxi \/ Hanoi, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Re-inspire yourself:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Wear Your Camera Like a Necklace or Bracelet<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Have Your Photos Come to You<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. How to Level Up in Your Photography<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. How Not to Give a Fuck of What Others Think of You<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. How to Overcome Procrastination in Your Photography<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. How to Reinspire Your Photography<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. What is Your Mission in Photography and Life?<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. How to Overcome Photographer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Block<\/a><\/li>\n
  9. Be a Photographer Now<\/a><\/li>\n
  10. How to Overcome Boredom with Photography<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    See all\u00c2\u00a0Motivation Articles ><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I have a hard time motivating myself to take photos. This is what works for me: 1. Wear my camera like a bracelet I am currently shooting on the Ricoh GR II camera. One \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38934,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-39685","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/39685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}