{"id":28693,"date":"2016-04-21T02:00:34","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T09:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=28693"},"modified":"2016-04-20T11:16:11","modified_gmt":"2016-04-20T18:16:11","slug":"photography-is-a-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/21\/photography-is-a-bridge\/","title":{"rendered":"Photography is a Bridge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fort
Fort Bragg, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I wanted to share a thought with you: that rather than focusing on photography, we should focus on having a fulfilling, passionate, and fully-engaging life.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Photography isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the point<\/h2>\n
\"Paris,
Paris, 2015 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I started photography, I loved it because it helped me be more curious and observant of the world around me. Photography helped me be more grateful to the natural beauty around me, and gave me a reason to be more adventurous.<\/p>\n

However the problem is as time went on, I became more focused on making nice photos, rather than enjoying the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153beauty in the mundane.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I got caught up in the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153social media treadmill\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d trying to get more followers, more likes, and more comments. I became less concerned about enjoying the world around me, and more about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153how can I get that next photo that will hit \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcexplore\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 on Flickr?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Times haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t changed so much 10 years ago and now. If anything, we have become more anxious with social media nowadays. Instagram is like crack (except perhaps more addictive). I am still not immune to it\u00e2\u20ac\u201d whenever I get fewer likes than I think I expect, I feel kind of crappy.<\/p>\n

The best antidote has been taking a break from Instagram\u00e2\u20ac\u201d literally uninstalling it from your phone. If you find yourself too caught up in the social media treadmill, just do a 1-week \u00e2\u20ac\u0153social media fast\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (uninstall all social media apps from your phone, and then when you get back on social media, you will be refreshed and have a healthier relationship with it).<\/p>\n

Photography isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the goal<\/h2>\n
\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This also makes me think about photography as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bridge.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Photography should be a tool that helps us enhance<\/em> our lives, helps improve<\/em> our lives, and helps us appreciate<\/em> our lives more.<\/p>\n

Why is photography a bridge? Well, photography is a bridge that helps us reach the other side of the river\u00e2\u20ac\u201d to become a more happy, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153enlightened\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, or appreciative human being.<\/p>\n

For me, photography has been a bridge that helped transform me from a timid person, to a more courageous and confident person. Photography has helped me bridge connections in my life. I have met some of my best friends through photography, and I am eternally grateful for that.<\/p>\n

What will matter at the end of our lives?<\/h2>\n
\"Kettleman
Kettleman City, 2015 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My good friend Josh White says it well: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153At the end of our lives, we aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to give a shit about any of the photos we made, but we will be appreciative of the friends we created along the way.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

Similarly I would say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t strive to make photos, I strive to make connections<\/em>.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d These connections can be with strangers on the streets, connections in the photography-community, and a connection with my own surroundings.<\/p>\n

Burn the bridges<\/h2>\n
\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We should only use a bridge as long as it is useful. We shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t become attached to the bridge\u00e2\u20ac\u201d once it has served its purpose, we no longer need it. We should be able to burn the bridge, and feel no more remorse. After all, if your goal is to cross the river, and you have successfully crossed the river, why do you ever need to go backwards<\/em> to the previous side of the river?<\/p>\n

There are certain bridges I want to burn in photography. I am appreciative of all the years I shot film, because it was a bridge to help me better appreciate modern digital photography. Furthermore, film was a bridge that helped me slow down, meditate upon my images, let my photos sit and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153marinate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for a long time, and for me to enjoy the process more.<\/p>\n

I also feel that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153street photography\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has been a bridge for me in photography\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it was a genre of photography that helped me build my personal confidence and courage, and helped me understand my real passion in photography\u00e2\u20ac\u201d to interact with strangers, to connect with my friends and friends closer, and to capture the soul of another person through an image.<\/p>\n

When I started photography, I initially used black-and-white as a bridge, because I felt color looked aesthetically ugly, and black-and-white just looked more classic and beautiful. After about 3 years of shooting color film (Kodak Portra 400), I feel I appreciate monochrome photography more.<\/p>\n

Monochrome is for me\u00e2\u20ac\u201d an aesthetic and philosophical thing. Monochrome helps simplify the scene, remove complexity, and add<\/em> meaning and emotion to a scene. I also feel that monochrome is like chess\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it takes a minute to learn, but a lifetime to master. The deeper I go into black and white, the more I am learning about the beauty of the minimalism and sublime nature of it. And to make a truly beautiful monochrome image is one of the most difficult things\u00e2\u20ac\u201d which I will never master in my lifetime, but still strive towards.<\/p>\n

Social media was also a bridge for me. It helped connect me with new friends, helped guide me when I was starting off, and helped me build my own personal confidence in myself and photography. Nowadays I still post to social media, but no longer feel a burning need<\/em> to post to social media. If I retired for social media for the rest of my life, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think I would feel any regrets or like I was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153missing out\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on anything. Social media is like a luxury\u00e2\u20ac\u201d nice to have, but not necessary in photography.<\/p>\n

Appreciation<\/h2>\n
\"Berkeley,
Berkeley, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Photography has also been a bridge for me to become more appreciate of the small things in life\u00e2\u20ac\u201d the beauty of the tree in the sun, the beauty of the crashing sound of water at the beach, to the smile of a stranger, to the lovely moment of a loved one.<\/p>\n

I appreciate modern digital technology\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and especially the democratization of photography with smartphones. Nowadays, I could honestly say that I feel no \u00e2\u20ac\u0153GAS\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (gear acquisition syndrome<\/a>). I am content with my simple Ricoh GR II digital camera, and it is more than enough for what I need. And honestly if I started photography all over again in today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world, I would probably just stick with an iPhone.<\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look back<\/h2>\n
\"Garden
Garden Grove, 2015 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Once you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve crossed your personal bridge in photography, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look back. Always look forward. Try to create new work, push your limits, and see what creative beasts are wishing to be uncaged.<\/p>\n

Always be appreciative of what photography has given us\u00e2\u20ac\u201d life, encouragement, passion, enthusiasm, friends, and beauty in the mundane.<\/p>\n

Go forth and make beautiful art,
\nEric<\/p>\n

Wednesday, April 20, 2016 @ 11:07am \/\/ UC Berkeley<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear friend, I wanted to share a thought with you: that rather than focusing on photography, we should focus on having a fulfilling, passionate, and fully-engaging life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"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=28693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}