{"id":88313,"date":"2018-05-19T12:15:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-19T19:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=88313"},"modified":"2018-05-19T12:53:06","modified_gmt":"2018-05-19T19:53:06","slug":"zen-body-hand-mind-connection-with-the-camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/19\/zen-body-hand-mind-connection-with-the-camera\/","title":{"rendered":"Zen Body-Hand-Mind Connection with the Camera"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pink<\/p>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

I was walking down the street of my boring suburban LA neighborhood, with the Lumix G9 Pro<\/a> strapped around my wrist with the classic Henri Wrist Strap<\/a>, and had the thought:<\/p>\n

\n The great thing about photography is the zen-like state that it gives you. That you disappear. You’re in the “Zen zone” of walking on the streets, and you lose a sense of yourself. You are totally perceptive of the world around you, and your visual-motor-cortex is in overdrive. You see and perceive all the beauty of the world around you, and you stay focused on re-arranging the visual building blocks of reality, to make your own unique art.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

How to shoot more photos<\/h2>\n

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

\n Create the least amount of possible friction between yourself, your eyes, your hand, and the photo-making process.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For example what I mean is this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Always have your camera on your neck or wrist<\/strong>: The reason Cindy and I made the new HENRI SHOULDER STRAP<\/a> is to make sure you have your camera always ready BEFORE<\/em> you see an interesting decisive\/moment photo opportunity. I do truly believe that photography is all about regret-minimization. I’ve missed a billion photo opportunities in the past because I didn’t have my camera either on my neck or wrist, and therefore missed a ton of photo-opportunities as a result. By having my camera always around my neck with the HENRI SHOULDER STRAP<\/a> or the HENRI WRIST STRAP<\/a>, I end up shooting more photos. And the more photos I shoot, the happier I am!<\/li>\n
  2. Using the simplest possible settings on your camera (‘set it and forget it!’)<\/strong>: I’ve been using the Lumix G9 Pro and Leica 12mm f\/1.4 Lens in “IA MODE” (intelligent auto), which the camera automatically chooses your aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus. And it works phenomenally well — it allows me to think less about the technical settings, and focus more on the creative act of actually framing, composition, and timing (when to click the shutter). Not only that, but I’ve been shooting in JPEG (medium size, around 3000px wide) so I can worry less about the processing afterwards (I just import my photos into my laptop with Lightroom Classic CC, and apply the ‘ERIC KIM CHROMA’ presets<\/a> upon import.<\/li>\n
  3. No phone or music<\/strong>: I think photography\/street photography is all about a ‘zen walking meditation’. For myself, when I walk without<\/em> a phone (only using my “stand-alone” camera), and when I don’t listen to music — I can let my mind wander, and I actually see more photo-opportunities! My theory is that the less you bombard your mind with music-auditory inputs, and the less distractions you have on your phone, you can just become more perceptive to the world around you! Therefore, I recommend you to unplug when you’re out shooting photos. Turn off your phone completely, or if you shoot photos on your phone, switch your phone to airplane mode. I would also recommend shooting photos without headphones on. Sometimes shooting with headphones can be good to get you into the groove of making photos, but when you have your headphones off, you can over-hear interesting conversations, you can hear the beauty of the ambient sounds of the world (birds chirping, rustle of trees in the wind), or practical benefits (hearing cars driving by, so you don’t get hit and die — I almost got hit by a car once while shooting photos with headphones on and I wasn’t paying attention\/\/couldn’t hear the sound of incoming cars). <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n