{"id":64950,"date":"2017-09-02T22:38:30","date_gmt":"2017-09-03T05:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=64950"},"modified":"2017-09-02T22:39:30","modified_gmt":"2017-09-03T05:39:30","slug":"there-is-no-truth-in-photography-all-is-allowed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/02\/there-is-no-truth-in-photography-all-is-allowed\/","title":{"rendered":"There is No Truth in Photography; All is Allowed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cindy
Kyoto, 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

Never let no pretentious photographer or artist or teacher force you how to make or present pictures.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

MASTERS First Edition Book<\/a><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MASTERS Volume I<\/a> is your essential photography primer– to push your photography education to the next level.<\/p>\n

\n

OPEN SOURCE<\/h2>\n

DOWNLOAD PDF: No truth in photography; all is allowed<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPHY PHILOSOPHY 101<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ultimately, you have complete autonomy on how and why you make pictures.<\/p>\n

1. Learn from the masters, then pave your own path<\/h2>\n
\"Boy
Boy lying in bed of flowers in movie, Seven Samurai by Kurosawa<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First of all, I think it is good to study the masters of photography<\/a>. Why? We all need a strong foundation to start off with… in terms of our visual literacy. Before we learn how to write, we take grammar and writing classes. But once we want to make poetry, we throw all the rules out of the window.<\/p>\n

\"\"
KUROSAWA x KIM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a photographer poet. You make visual poems. So it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good to learn the visual lexicon and vocabulary of pictures, but once you have mastered the fundamentals… fuck all the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153rules\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

2. Why don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we have visual faith in ourselves?<\/h2>\n
\"Pensive
Tokyo, 2011.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For myself, I know that I was a slave to the thoughts of other photographers and artists for too long. I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bold or strong enough to follow my own voice and inner conviction as an artist.<\/p>\n

\"Salary
Salary men drinking. Tokyo, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I do know that once I was able to master the ideas of the masters who came before me… I realized\u00e2\u20ac\u201d they were just normal humans like me and you. And that they weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t perfect. In fact, a lot of them made a lot of bad pictures, you just don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see them. Because they have been edited out by time, or edited out by \u00e2\u20ac\u0153professional\u00e2\u20ac\u009d book editors. Many masters of photography had pretty shitty family and personal lives, with a lot of inner drama. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t envy them. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t envy any other photographer. I only follow myself how, my vision, and my stubborn artistic aesthetics.<\/p>\n

\"DARK
DARK SKIES OVER TOKYO<\/a> \/ Man with umbrella.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Always be skeptical to the teachings and ideas of others<\/h2>\n
\"Man
Tokyo, 2011.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I want you to always be skeptical. Be skeptical of ERIC KIM and all these other bloggers<\/a>, folks on the internet, etc. Always be skeptical of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153teachers\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in photography and art. Many of them teach out of spite and resentment\u00e2\u20ac\u201d because they were \u00e2\u20ac\u0153failed artists\u00e2\u20ac\u009d who needed to teach to make a living. Or they just feel bitter that they weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t able to make a living purely from their pictures. They see teaching as an unwholesome, dirty thing they gotta do in order to put food on the table and pay rent.<\/p>\n

\"Woman
Woman in elevator. Tokyo, 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4. There are no ultimate rules or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153truth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d about photography<\/h2>\n
\"Contact
Contact sheet. Tokyo eye, 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are no rules in photography. Only tips, suggestions, and ideas.<\/p>\n

\"Tokyo
Tokyo eye. DARK SKIES OVER TOKYO<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There has not been any ultimate \u00e2\u20ac\u0153truth\u00e2\u20ac\u009d about photography or art which has been discovered. There are some visual explorers who have paved the path for us, and we must learn what they learned. But we cannot be satisfied. Because they discovered (some) of the truth for themselves… but you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t found the truth of photography for YOURSELF.<\/p>\n

\"Beam
Beam of light. Tokyo, 2011.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

5. Never stop visually exploring<\/h2>\n
\"Man
Man with grimace. Shot with flash. Tokyo, 2011.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The more I shoot pictures, think of visual images, and philosophize… the less I realize I know.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m excited. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m like a space explorer, and there is the vast visual nebula which coaxes me forward… to explore.<\/p>\n

\"Woman
Woman with box on her head. Tokyo, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Therefore in your photography, never stop learning. Keep learning from the great master photographers from the past<\/a>, from other visual artists, philosophers, and anyone.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kurosawa<\/a>, Seven Samurai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And ultimately, seek to make your own rules of photography for yourself.<\/strong> And realize there are no \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ultimate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153universal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d truths of photography or art that can be applied to EVERYONE on the planet. Why, that would be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153visual tyranny\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d one \u00e2\u20ac\u0153enlightened photography tyrant\u00e2\u20ac\u009d trying to force everyone to follow their way of shooting pictures.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kurosawa x Kim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So friend, cast off your iron chains of visual oppression. Put on your visual jetpack, and let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both soar.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kurosawa x Kim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BE STRONG and BE CREATIVE EVERY DAY!
\nERIC<\/p>\n

CONQUER YOUR FEARS AND MEET NEW PEERS ><\/a><\/p>\n

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PHOTOGRAPHY PHILOSOPHY 101<\/a><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Why<\/em> do you make photos? Reflect in PHOTO JOURNAL<\/a>:<\/p>\n