{"id":34914,"date":"2016-12-06T12:00:23","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T20:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=34914"},"modified":"2016-12-12T09:14:30","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T17:14:30","slug":"the-photographer-and-camera-as-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/06\/the-photographer-and-camera-as-one\/","title":{"rendered":"The Photographer and Camera as One"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Garden
Garden Grove, 2016 #cindyproject<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thinking a lot about the perfect camera\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I think it the perfect camera is the one that embeds itself into you.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The best camera is the one where you are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one with your camera\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00e2\u20ac\u201d when the photographer merges with the camera.<\/p>\n

I got this idea from Japanese horse-archery. There is this concept where the rider and the horse become one. The perfect fusion.<\/p>\n

How can you perfectly fuse yourself in your photography with the camera? What is the simplest camera you can use, with the fewest obstructions, fewer superfluous controls, where you can just become \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with your camera?<\/p>\n

Your best camera is your smartphone<\/h2>\n

Honestly for most people, this is probably their smartphone. It is always with you, in your front pocket, and it is easy to photograph with (just pressing one button). You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to fiddle with technical settings, or manual focus. You just point and click.<\/p>\n

I have found the best \u00e2\u20ac\u0153zen\u00e2\u20ac\u009d moments when shooting photography when I merge into the streets. When I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think of myself, or when I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think of my camera.<\/p>\n

That means when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shooting on the streets, you lose a sense of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153self.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d You merge with your camera, and you merge with your environment. You just respond to your environment\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and photograph based on your gut. You follow your intuition, and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t \u00e2\u20ac\u0153force\u00e2\u20ac\u009d yourself to photograph. You just photograph whatever interests you, and you become detached with the results.<\/p>\n

How to become one with your camera<\/h2>\n
\"Busan,
Busan, 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enough of this fluffy philosophy \u00e2\u20ac\u201d here are some practical tips I would give in terms of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153becoming one\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with your camera:<\/p>\n

1. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Set it and forget it\u00e2\u20ac\u009d:<\/h3>\n

Setup your camera to the simplest possible technical settings, so you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to fiddle around with your technical settings when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re shooting.<\/p>\n

The less you need to worry about your technical settings, the more you can be focused on your shooting.<\/p>\n

2. One camera, one lens:<\/h3>\n

I prefer non-interchangeable lens cameras. Why? You have fewer decisions when you go out and shoot. You have a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153creative constraint\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of just one camera, and one lens. And given that constraint, you are forced to be creative and innovate based on your limited gear.<\/p>\n

When you go out and shoot, try to limit yourself to just one camera and one lens. Then you can focus on the shooting, and get into the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153zone.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

3. Walk, slowly:<\/h3>\n

When I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m usually shooting on the streets, I walk too quickly. When I walk quickly, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t notice the things on the street as well. When I focus on walking slower\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I become more \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one with my camera\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one with the streets.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I can better feel the sensation of the concrete under my shoes. I can better notice the small details on the streets. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel as rushed and hurried, which helps me focus more on the shooting process.<\/p>\n

Try to walk consciously slower than you normally do when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re out shooting.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

The goal of photography shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be to have the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d camera. The goal of photography is to have the least obtrusive<\/em> camera. The camera that becomes invisible\u00e2\u20ac\u201d both to the subject, and to you.<\/p>\n

Are you \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one with your camera\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and how are you exploring the world (and yourself) with photography?<\/p>\n

Shoot slowly, and enjoy every step of the way.<\/p>\n

Always,
\nEric<\/p>\n

Learn more: Zen ><\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been thinking a lot about the perfect camera\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I think it the perfect camera is the one that embeds itself into you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34924,"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-34914","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\/2016\/12\/eric-kim-photography-wedding-black-and-white-ricoh-gr-ii-5.jpg?fit=2000%2C1325&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34914","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=34914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}