What am I grateful for?
The sun, walking, fresh air, meat, and clean water.
I’m grateful for the simple pleasures in life, like the sun kissing my skin, the sounds of insects humming, and the beautiful songs of birds singing. When I walk the city with camera in hand, I enter a blissful state of recognizing the beauty in the mundane. Street photography gives me a superpower. Through the use of a camera, I possess the ability to create a new world in a fraction of a second.
Spartans are Spartans
Spartans are Spartans. Not potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, builders, etc. We should work on our craft as street photographers with Spartan discipline, as soldiers. We’re not just photographers, we are the new Spartans, marching endlessly.
Just march, who cares how you feel.
I don’t really care for excuses, whether or not you feel like shooting, whether or not you feel good, bad, have the time, etc. You should be marching, moving your body endlessly throughout the day. If you are in pain, perhaps it is wise to rest, but if you feel vital, full of energy and power, you must be marching as photographers. This is the goal: to march, like a Spartan.
Perfect is lame. Just do it.
Just do the thing. I’m sick and tired of making perfect pictures, perfect statements, perfect thoughts, perfect ideas, blah, blah, blah. Perfection is so boring, as humans are flawed. We should embrace imperfection in everything we do in life, whether writing, photographing, or even thinking. We shouldn’t strive to always be right, but embrace being wrong, and learn through our mistakes. Imperfection is the best way forward for us to learn and grow. Even this blog is completely imperfect. Nothing is organized, and I simply do things with a stream of consciousness. This, to me, is the most optimal workflow, as it’s easy to hold yourself back from doing something because you deem everything needs to be perfect.
How far can you walk?
Just focus on walking, standing, and posture. Fitness and remaining strong, full of vigor and vitality, is extremely simple. Start every morning with the farmer’s walk, carrying two heavy dumbbells on both sides, with your head up, shoulders back, and chest open. Focus on standing, walking, and posture throughout your day. Maintain a strong core throughout the day, moving your legs with a strong gait. I probably walk more than 75% of people do before 6 AM every single day. Every day, I walk at least a half marathon, or 13-15 miles.
Running is out of alignment with nature.
I think running is one of the most foolish activities that we can ever do in the realm of fitness. Running is a fast way to burn yourself out. Running to burn calories doesn’t make sense either. It’s like a hamster wheel that never ends.
Just workout all day
Yesterday at work, I moved tons and tons of dirt. Honestly, some of these rocks I was moving around were hundreds of pounds and required me to deadlift them. I think the best way to live life is to just work out all day. This is why I enjoy doing physical labor work, as it feels like I’m just working on my fitness throughout the entirety of my day, never sitting down, never still, always moving and contracting my muscles.
Return to simplicity.
My evolution from color photography to black and white is a big deal. While the complexity of color was a fun challenge, embracing the simplicity of black and white is liberating. I’m no longer dependent on good light, photographing at certain times of the day such as the golden hour. I’ve stripped back down to the basics of simple light and shadow. The process I’ve embraced, using a small JPEG file with the Ricoh, has been the fastest solution to making a photograph or an instant sketch of life. No more processing photos, no more large file sizes, just pure simplicity and bliss.
A photograph is my essence in motion.
When I consider a photograph, it is not just light on a surface, a moment, a story, or something visual. A photograph is a reflection of my soul, my heart, or my courage. A photograph is a reflection of my lust for life, as the photographer is responsible for a very simple action: positioning themselves on the front lines of life. The closer to life I am, the better my photographs will be. Because of this, I march through the streets, endlessly, photographing in motion, through physicality. Pictures made through movement result in much more fluid and dynamic compositions than those made from a tripod, standing still on a street corner, waiting around. Through movement and intuition, the photographs I make reflect my essence.
Wield the camera as a sword.
Every Spartan needs a weapon.
I wield my camera like a sword, striking through the heart of chaos to reveal the soul of the street, creating visual order and harmony from the spontaneity of everyday life.
Photography is a universal language. The camera gives a voice to the voiceless. Cut through the noise, and empower yourself through photography.
Soar like an eagle.
An eagle flies alone. When you’re practicing street photography, embark on the solo journey. Don’t shoot with other people, and simply go your own path.
Transmute anger into compassion.
There are so many angry people on the streets these days. Just yesterday, outside of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, during the presidential debate, I heard nothing but an uproar of chaos. People were screaming back and forth at one another like bloody murder. As a bystander of chaos, it is easy to fall into anger. If something or someone triggers you to feel anger, recognize that it is a normal response. However, transmute this feeling into compassion, and recognize that love, forgiveness, and forgetfulness are the answers to most problems. Transmute your anger like melting ice into water.
Nothing in life really matters.
This by no means is a nihilistic view of life. The point is, most things are trivial, meaningless, and not worth paying attention to. Most things of this time, this modern world, are noise, static. Turn it off, and turn inwards and listen to your heart beating. Listen to your gut. Obey your intuition. Find principles that you value and live by them. Everything else is superfluous. So live gloriously, on a heroic path.
Life is not zero-sum.
I have an abundant mindset, where we can all thrive together. We should never hold secrets, things that we keep private, when they could certainly benefit other people. When you’re full of abundance, you just want to give. If you want a free workshop on street photography, and you’re in the city of Philadelphia, my office hours are pretty much every day except for Sunday at 5:30. Just meet me at the Eagle.
We live in strange times.
Most people these days meet through online communities, text messages, social media, etc. No more texting and social media. Honestly, if you want a free workshop, the fee will be simple: you must delete your Instagram. Online communities aren’t real. Let’s return to the physical, face-to-face, and create a new tribe of Spartans.