{"id":49326,"date":"2017-05-04T23:07:51","date_gmt":"2017-05-05T06:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=49326"},"modified":"2017-05-04T23:07:51","modified_gmt":"2017-05-05T06:07:51","slug":"how-to-shoot-with-your-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/04\/how-to-shoot-with-your-blood\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Shoot With Your BLOOD."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cindy<\/p>\n

To me,<\/p>\n

Photography is a meditation on life and death.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I. Why do you make photos?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Whenever I go out and make photos, I ask myself\u00e2\u20ac\u201d am I being true to myself? Am I making photos that are true to me\u00e2\u20ac\u201d my worldview, my perspective, my feelings, and do my photos bleed onto the sensor?<\/p>\n

I remember in the past, I made too many photos caring about others. I made photos that would get a lot of likes on social media. I wanted to just increase the number of likes I got on my photos\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and to compete against my peers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But I forgot to ask myself the most important question:<\/p>\n

\n Why<\/em> do I make photos?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I spent a long time thinking about it. I started to write a lot of Personal Photography<\/a> letters, as letters to you, and letters to myself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I think the secret is this:<\/p>\n

\n Photograph with your blood.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

II: What is in your DNA?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

YOUR BLOOD is what is in your DNA. It is your life experiences. It is your artistic experiences. It is the message you are trying to get across.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The problem with modern society is that we no longer put blood or soul into things we do. In the past, before we did a sacrifice (religious ceremony) we had to draw blood. Even in Wild West movies\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you see how individuals become \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcblood brothers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 by cutting themselves, and binding the blood with others.<\/p>\n

III: Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t censor yourself<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In writing, I try to bleed on the page. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been through a lot of tough shit in life\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and for a long time, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve censored myself. It was because of FEAR\u00e2\u20ac\u201d fear of what others would think of me, and whether others would judge me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Now, I am trying to censor myself less\u00e2\u20ac\u201d to share what is really<\/em> on my mind. I feel that I need courage to speak up for others. I need to speak up for bullshit when I see it\u00e2\u20ac\u201d without fear of what might happen to me. I want to sacrifice myself for the collective.<\/p>\n

IV: Soul photography<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With photography, I try to add my soul<\/a> into the photograph by talking to the strangers I talk to, or trying to inject my emotions into the photos that I make.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For example, if I am feeling shitty and depressed, I might made darker photos\u00e2\u20ac\u201d drawing myself closer to others who I perceive to be solitary and lonely. This is what inspired me to shoot my SUITS<\/a> project and DARK SKIES OVER TOKYO<\/a>. I bled onto the film, and bled onto the digital sensor with those photos.<\/p>\n

\"dark-skies-over-tokyo-silhouette-suit-2012-leica<\/p>\n

With Cindy, I try to make photos that encapsulate our love and life story. The good times, the bad. The joyful, the boring. The sweet, the dark.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ultimately what I want to do with the #cindyproject<\/a> is to inspire and encourage others to start their own Cindy Project<\/a>\u00e2\u20ac\u201d to know that their loved ones are the most important individuals in the world, and they are far more important to document than to travel to foreign places and photograph the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcexotic.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n

V: Your loved ones will die (often before you)<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

My biggest epiphany while living in Hanoi is this \u00e2\u20ac\u201d my life is short and limited, and the time of my loved ones is limited. My mom is early 60\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, and I want to make every moment with her count. Instead of spending more time living abroad\u00e2\u20ac\u201d I would like to be close to her, to Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mom, to Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s family, and my sister. To me, family comes first.<\/p>\n

I used to think that my family was holding me back \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but in truth, I was holding myself back. I have been talking with Cindy more recently about having kids and the future. I am excited. I know that I can do my creative work regardless of where I live. I want to be close to my (two) moms \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and to my family. Because they will die one day (my moms will die before me) so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to waste a single or day of my life. I am not the best\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but I have been trying to call my mom more often, to give her words of love and encouragement. Also to help out my sister Anna become the best version of herself.<\/p>\n

VI: Happiness is being close to family<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

So my ideal concept of raising a family is this: living in Cindy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mom\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house\u00e2\u20ac\u201d and having lots of aunties and grandmothers taking care of our kids. I would much prefer to be living in some boring ass suburban environment with loved ones, than to live in some swanky NYC penthouse apartment\u00e2\u20ac\u201d feeling cold, lonely, and far away from humans.<\/p>\n

VII: I love RISK and FEAR in street photography<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The primary form of photography I love is street photography<\/a>. I love it because it is fucking hard, and scary. You need to take risks, and you need to make yourself vulnerable. Emotionally, spiritually, and physically.<\/p>\n

Whenever I am about to click, I need to muster up my courage<\/a>. To me, street photography is real life training. To help me be more brave<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201d I like to think of myself as a SPARTAN photographer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

My new rule for myself is this:<\/p>\n

\n If I see something that scares me, I must do it.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Applied to my real life,<\/p>\n

\n Whenever I want to do something that scares me, I must do it.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Often what we are scared of are things we want<\/em> to do\u00e2\u20ac\u201d but are too afraid<\/em> to do.<\/p>\n

\"eric<\/p>\n

So I think in life, we can use fear as our guide<\/strong>. Our FEAR<\/a> is our friend\u00e2\u20ac\u201d who tells us how to take more chances in life, to take more risks<\/a>, and not be afraid of death<\/a>.<\/p>\n

VIII: How to bleed more in your photos<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To bleed onto your sensor, here are some tips:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Shoot what is personal<\/a> to you<\/strong>: Photograph your kids, family, parents, loved ones, friends, and others you care about. Only you can make those photos \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not even Google Street View can.<\/li>\n
  2. Use whatever camera<\/strong>: Use your smartphone<\/a>, point and shoot, DSLR \u00e2\u20ac\u201d whatever. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need an expensive pen to bleed onto the page as a writer. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need an expensive helmet to climb Mount Everest. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need expensive shoes to deadlift at the gym. Use whatever is cheap, easy, and compact.<\/li>\n
  3. MEMENTO MORI<\/a><\/strong>: Remember that you will die. Your loved ones will die. Never waste a single moment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Last thought: let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say you want to buy a new camera because you think it will make you a better photographer. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s say that camera is around $1,500 USD. And if you are paid $20 USD an hour, that is 75 hours of your life to buy that one camera. That is almost two work weeks to get a camera.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Rather\u00e2\u20ac\u201d wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you take 2 weeks off work, and just pursue what you are passionate about? What if you only had two weeks left to live\u00e2\u20ac\u201d what would you photograph and what would you not photograph?<\/p>\n

    Even a step further\u00e2\u20ac\u201d consider all that time you are taking to research new cameras you want. How many hours a day do you look at gear review forums or gear blogs? If you spend 10 hours to research a camera, reading reviews, etc\u00e2\u20ac\u201d you are spending $200 of your own time (on top of the camera\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s price) to buy it.<\/p>\n

    I say value your time above all<\/a>. And photograph today like it were your last.<\/p>\n

    Be strong,
    \nEric<\/p>\n

    To find more personal meaning in your photography, pick up a copy of PHOTO JOURNAL: Personal Photography Reflections<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    To me, Photography is a meditation on life and death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49329,"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-49326","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\/2017\/05\/Cindy-Project-Monochrome-1.jpg?fit=4928%2C3264&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49326","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=49326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}