{"id":341005,"date":"2021-12-01T19:10:51","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T00:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/01\/how-to-become-a-zen-photographer\/"},"modified":"2021-12-01T19:41:06","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T00:41:06","slug":"how-to-become-a-zen-photographer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/01\/how-to-become-a-zen-photographer\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW TO BECOME A ZEN PHOTOGRAPHER."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the biggest reasons I love the Ricoh GR 3 so much is this: I no longer think about cameras, which allows me to just focus on my photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do camera companies want? For you to be perpetually dissatisfied with your camera gear, to keep buying new camera upgrades, and lenses, and other equipment. but this is a huge waste of time. Rather, the most productive think you can do as a Photographer is just focus on making new photos.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. To force yourself not to shoot clich\u00c3\u00a9 photos is in itself a clich\u00c3\u00a9<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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One of the downsides of knowing too much about photography is that you know what a clich\u00c3\u00a9 photo is or isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. But striving to avoid clich\u00c3\u00a9s for the sake of it is in itself a clich\u00c3\u00a9, an idea I got from Daido Moriyama. That is, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re traveling, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be afraid to take the clich\u00c3\u00a9 photo or to go see the clich\u00c3\u00a9 things. Or the clich\u00c3\u00a9 places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never been to Paris before, why wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you go see the Eiffel Tower? Or shoot street photos near the Eiffel tower?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you imagine the child who refuses to draw a smiley face simply because it has been done before? That drawing a smiley face is clich\u00c3\u00a9? no of course not. When we are children, our parents and elders encourage us to try everything. But as we get older, they tell us not to do certain things. Perhaps this is bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go on Camera websites, camera review blogs, camera rumor websites<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re an alcoholic, and you want to stop drinking alcohol, is it a good idea to step in to a liquor store? Probably not. if you want to be wise, avoid that which provokes your interest and distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greatest enemy to Zen in Photography is when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re out shooting pictures, the nagging feeling at the back of your head that somehow a better camera is out there. The best feelings when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re out shooting photos, you think in truly believe that your camera is in fact the superior and supreme camera. I cannot state everyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s preferences, but I really think that a ricoh GR 3 and ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP MARK II will do the trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Zen aesthetics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Less is more, and less is better. To think of your photography pursuits as a means of subtraction, not addition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also, striving to make photos with calm you, relax you, and make you feel more peaceful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Needless to say, social media is anti-Zen for photography. If you want more than your photography, delete your social media accounts, as I deleted my Instagram, and have been 100 times more since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    4. Become more like a child, or a beginner<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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    Child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind, or beginners mind is the goal. To become an expert is often a trap. Why? When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re an expert, you see fewer opportunities, only more limitations. However when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re brand new, everything is possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I still think when I started off in photography, how pure innocent and curious I was. I just shot with my canon digital point-and-shoot camera, and it was my favorite tool that was always with me. Now the Ricoh GR 3 is a modern version of that. also superior than any Leica camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The best camera for a child is a point and shoot snapshot camera. No necessity for them to focus, change exposure, change ISO or any other setting. They just want to point, click, run around and get on with their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      The joy of experimentation is a Zen thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      5. All is fleeting, but it is still meaningful<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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        One of the biggest things I learned from Zen is this: all is fleeting and ephemeral, yet that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t meaningful. For example, our lives are short and fleeting, but it is the shortness and fleeting matter what makes it so valuable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          6. Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think about the single photo too much<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          The American ethos to photography is this: strive to make the most perfect photo, in order to maximize the number of likes and comments you make it on a photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          However from a Zen perspective, all is equal. Every day is equal to every other day, according to Heraclitus, who is essentially a Greek Buddhist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            However for me, I prefer the stream and the flow. If you do not concern yourself too much with any single one photograph, you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a so attached to any one single photograph. This will offer you more opportunities to make new photos, which is the goal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            One of the biggest reasons I love the Ricoh GR 3 so much is this: I no longer think about cameras, which allows me to just focus on my photography. What do camera companies want? For you to be perpetually dissatisfied with your camera gear, to keep buying new camera upgrades, and lenses, and other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":340648,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-341005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/6D5FD84D-843A-4C0C-98A7-66D00BEF2372.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1460&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341005","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=341005"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":341027,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341005\/revisions\/341027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}