Why Light Keeps Me Curious in Photography

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

Today I want to talk about light in photography, and look at some photographs recently made with the Ricoh GR IV monochrome. Later down in the slideshow, we’ll look at some photos made with the GR III. Everything was made with high-contrast black and white, small JPEG files, cranked to the max, point-and-shoot automatic mode.

Photography Is Drawing With Light

The thought about light is interesting.

When I think about photography—phos meaning light, graphe meaning writing or drawing—we’re drawing with light, we’re writing with light. And when I make a photograph, I’m merely curious about light.

I’m curious about the way that light goes through the lens and touches the sensor, and how an image is rendered in my camera at the end of the day. As much as I’m looking at reality in front of me, underlying all of that, I’m actually curious about how reality is interpreted through the camera—through the way that light refracts through the lens, touches the sensor, and creates the image.

I’m not only curious about life. I’m curious about how light interprets life through the camera.

Experimenting in Philadelphia

Recently, I’ve been experimenting and tinkering in the Reading Terminal Market here in my hometown, Philadelphia. I’ve been photographing at 1/4 of a second, using slow shutter speeds as a way to push the boundaries in my own personal practice.

By experimenting, tinkering, and trying new things, I remain more curious about life, and ultimately I keep practicing my photography daily.

It’s important for me to remain curious. My ultimate aim, my ultimate orientation, is to increase my curiosity by 1% each day.

Stripping Photography Down to Its Essence

By stripping the medium bare—to a Ricoh GR monochrome, automatic settings, point-and-shoot, pure instinct, light and shadow, high contrast—I’m becoming infinitely curious about how light is interpreted through my camera.

Ultimately, light is my underlying interest with photography.

As much as I am photographing life, my deeper curiosity lies in the way that light renders upon life, and how my camera interprets the world.

A More Prolific Way of Working

When I walk around and photograph, I’m photographing loosely. I’m photographing more prolifically than I ever have in my life since adopting this streamlined workflow.

Honestly, I’m finding infinite novelty in the world through photography and the way that my curiosity guides me. It has to do with the way that I’m seeing the world and interpreting life through the camera, and it has to do with my return to light.

When I throw my camera into a chaotic scene and photograph something, I’m not necessarily trying to photograph life as it is, but what it could be through my own personal, subjective interpretation of reality.

At the end of the day, I’m merely curious about how reality will manifest in a photograph.

Surprise in the Frame

When I’m photographing and tinkering, I like putting my camera up to a surface where I don’t know what I will find.

These days, I sometimes find myself photographing the reflections on cars. I think the reason why is because cars have these peculiar shapes, and when the light is bouncing across those surfaces, and you move your camera around them, there’s just a surprise in the frame.

And I think it’s really that surprise that keeps me out there photographing.

It’s the surprise in the frame that keeps me out there.

You Can Photograph Anywhere

A lot of the time, when you’re out there walking and observing life, it seems like people are just moving from point A to point B. There’s nothing to photograph. Maybe you’re walking around your hometown and don’t feel like you can find anything interesting. Maybe you live in a rural area and don’t feel yourself becoming more interested in the life around you.

But when I strip photography down to its essence, and I’m simply curious about light, it no longer matters where I’m located in the world.

It doesn’t matter if I’m in a small town or a bustling city. Ultimately, I can look up at the clouds in the sky and watch as the light peers through and touches my sensor. Then when I come home and look at the result, I have something. I’m curious about something there.

There’s something about the way I’m shooting these days that keeps me infinitely curious about the mundane.

Light Makes the Mundane Interesting

I’ll see a bus roll by on a seemingly boring day in my city, make a photograph in harsh light, and get a surprise back in the frame. I’m just curious about the way the light casts upon things, and how it etches shape and form into surfaces.

I’m snapshotting throughout the day. I’m almost like a human camera.

I ran into a street performer yesterday on the street—shout out to Red—and he was like, “Man, you’re a fiend. You’re always out here shooting.” And I’m like, “Yeah, I’m the most prolific photographer in the city.”

I’m literally like a human camera, marching through the streets every single day, just curious, in the spirit of play, wondering:

• How is this going to look photographed?
• How is that going to look photographed?

That’s what I’m doing.

I’m not hunting for a banger picture, a decisive moment, or something the street photography community will appreciate in my frames. I’m curious about the way that light renders upon my sensor.

Light Is What Guides Me

That’s really what keeps me out there—this insatiable lust for light, and of course my love for life. But really, it’s light that guides me.

Whether it’s a cloudy day, a sunny day, harsh light, or golden light, I find that the way light casts upon the world creates infinite possibility through photography.

And that’s the essence of the medium. It’s light itself.

You think about a painter using paint, or somebody drawing with charcoal. We use light.

That’s why photography is so infinitely fascinating to me. We work in embodied reality, out there in the physical world, using light as our medium. And at the end of the day, we don’t necessarily have to state a fact in the frames we make. We have the ability to interpret the world subjectively.

How Will Life Look Photographed?

When I’m out there photographing, I’m not trying to make a great photograph. I’m simply curious about how life looks photographed.

And so I encourage you to think more critically about the way that you can use light as a way to remain curious about life.

That’s my underlying curiosity these days:

How will life look photographed?
How will light be interpreted by the sensor on my camera?

And so yeah, those are my thoughts for the day.

Thank you for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one.

Peace.

Once You Don’t Give a Fuck, You Are Finally Free

So I’ve been thinking a lot about this notion of Kleos—fame, the ancient Greek idea, the pursuit of glory. I think it’s normal to find yourself striving and seeking and wishing to achieve greatness in this life of ours. We all have that inner divine force that guides us to move in the morning.

Although, I suppose going forward, we may reach a point where the majority of the population just enjoys the yummy foods, the Uber Eats, the Netflix, the social media, and sits back and consumes instead of pursuing anything, given the world of abundance that we are currently living in and moving towards.

And so when I consider fame, I think about the temporary nature and the transient nature of life. And so, when it comes to the day that you die, will you be seeking and striving to be admired by your peers while you’re gone? Or will you recognize that your body will soon become biodegradable organic matter and the flame within you has ultimately come to its end?

And so then the thought is:

Why pursue fame, worldly renown, and your name to be remembered?

Self-Deprivation

There’s certainly a reason why ancient traditions, spiritual schools, and religions promote fasting.

When you’re fasted, with no food, let’s say for 72 hours, and you’re in a forest, and there’s no food around you, and you have no shelter—at that point, when you’re deprived of the basic needs to survive, where is it that you’re going to be grasping?

Are you going to just try to find some more acorns and scrounge? I suppose so. We can scrape and dig and seek and search for the nourishment that our body needs.

But I think that ultimately, when in that deprived state of being, the only place that you will look is within.

And within you find the flame.

And so from that deprived state, alone in a forest with no food or shelter—let’s say weeks go by—and it is inevitable that you’re going to die. Are you going to simply wallow and realistically succumb to the mind, that you are merely a biodegradable flesh suit that will and must die?

Or will you have the conviction and affirmation that you are divine, and that the inner spark of flame within you doesn’t die?

Freedom

So once you have that knowledge, you are no longer a slave to the world.

You no longer give a fuck whether or not your name is remembered.

Because the only fame we’re seeking is from God.

And so maybe the only war worth fighting, the only opponent truly worthy of waking up and wrestling every morning, is God.

Ricoh GR IV Monochrome POV — Street Photography in Philadelphia

Today I went out into the streets of Philadelphia with the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome to do a simple street photography POV walk.

The goal of this walk was very different from the typical mindset many photographers bring to the street.

Usually, people go out hunting for photographs.

They walk quickly.
They scan aggressively.
They wait for something dramatic or interesting before pressing the shutter.

Today I approached the street differently.

Instead of hunting for the next great photograph, I reminded myself of a simple idea:

My next photograph is my best photograph.

This mindset keeps you grounded in the present moment.

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Slowing Down

One practical thing I like to do is walk slower than everyone else around me.

Most people in the city are moving quickly, rushing to wherever they need to go.

When you slow your body down, something interesting happens.

You begin to notice:

• small gestures
• reflections
• textures
• subtle interactions of light

These are the things that often get overlooked when you’re moving too quickly through the environment.

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Photographing the Mundane

Street photography doesn’t always have to be about dramatic moments.

Sometimes the most interesting photographs come from ordinary scenes.

Light hitting a surface.

Reflections on glass.

Abstract shapes created by movement.

When you remove the pressure to find something spectacular, the street opens up.

Everything becomes photographable.

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Ricoh GR IV Monochrome

For this walk I was shooting with the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, using:

• High contrast black and white
• Small JPEG files
• A simple point-and-shoot workflow

This setup strips photography down to its essence.

Just a small black box with a shutter button.

No distractions.

Only light and instinct.

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The Flow State

Street photography becomes much more enjoyable when you stop forcing it.

Walk.

Observe.

Remain open to whatever appears in front of you.

And remember:

Your next photograph is your best photograph.

The Zen of the Ricoh Monochrome

What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante.

Currently walking around Philadelphia with the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, thinking today about the zen of the Ricoh Mono.

You kind of realize when you go through all the different cameras and choices you have that if you’re looking for the most compact, easy point-and-shoot camera to always have with you, it’s inevitable that you wind up with Ricoh.

There’s really no other options. No other choices.

And so the ultimate creative freedom is removing decisions.

The zen of Ricoh is that it strips away all choice and leaves you with a black box with a shutter button and a lens.

That’s it.

All you’re left with is pure instinct.

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Stripping Photography Down to Its Essence

With a streamlined workflow, shooting with a monochrome sensor strips the camera down to the essence of the medium.

Photo meaning light.
Graphé meaning drawing.

Drawing with light.

Even the decision between color and black-and-white disappears when you shoot with a monochrome sensor.

And I think the Ricoh Monochrome fits perfectly within the philosophy of the Ricoh ecosystem.

It simplifies everything.

The simpler you make things, the better.

Photography doesn’t get in the way of my everyday life.

Photography is simply a joy.

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Photography as a Visual Diary

When you treat photography too seriously — wiping the lens down, going out looking to make a powerful visual story, trying to make impactful images — honestly it just becomes boring.

Photography starts to feel like a chore.

My ethos is simple:

Live your everyday life and bring the camera for the ride.

The photographs I make are simply a visual diary of my day.

I’m out walking.
The weather’s nice.
I’m commuting.

I’m not trying to photograph anything.

I’m just living my life.

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The Closest Thing to Not Having a Camera

The Ricoh slips in your pocket.

It’s the closest thing to not having a camera at all.

You can literally conceal it in your hand.

And that’s exactly what I want.

I just exist in the world, and when a moment comes, I’m ready.

I don’t have to search.

I don’t have to try.

I simply let life flow toward me.

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The Pinnacle of Simplicity

It really feels like we’ve arrived at the pinnacle of photography.

You can’t really simplify it any more than this.

Small JPEG files are incredibly liberating.

All the processing is done in-camera.

A 4MB file imports instantly.
Uploading is effortless.
Everything is frictionless.

Because of that:

• Zero decision fatigue
• Zero hesitation
• Zero friction

And that’s why photography fits perfectly into my everyday life.

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My Simple Ricoh Setup

Right now I’m in Rittenhouse, Philadelphia, going for a stroll.

My setup is extremely simple:

• Snap focus at 2 meters
• f/8
• Aperture Priority (AV mode)
• Multi-segment metering

If I want more dramatic images, I’ll just underexpose using the exposure compensation dial.

Usually:

• −0.3
• −0.7
• −1

Over time you become fluid with it.

You don’t think.

You just feel it.

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Handling the Camera on the Street

My grip is simple.

Sometimes I’ll hold:

• Thumb underneath the camera
• Middle finger on the shutter

This lets me hold the camera very loosely.

Then I can flick my wrist slightly to move between horizontal and vertical frames instantly.

If someone approaches from the right, I can flick into vertical.

If someone approaches from the left, I can drop my hand and shoot vertically with a subtle motion.

You can even use a claw grip:

Thumb on the side of the camera, index finger on the shutter, allowing you to make stealthy photos.

All these movements are micro-movements.

Almost invisible.

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Embracing Imperfection

If I see a subject with bright clothing and strong contrast, I might underexpose by −0.7 to make the frame darker and more dramatic.

But honestly, I don’t obsess over exposure.

There’s something beautiful about imperfection.

Overexposure.
Underexposure.
Contrast that’s a little rough.

Those imperfections often feel aesthetically powerful.

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Flow State and Instinct

Once you remove all the technical thinking, something interesting happens.

The flow state emerges.

From the flow state, your instinct appears.

And with time and consistency, your instinct compounds.

That’s where your authentic expression comes from.

That’s where your style comes from.

Your style isn’t born from aesthetic decisions.

I believe style is instinctual.

But instinct requires time.

You have to spend time responding to your instinct for it to reveal itself.

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Simplifying the Process to Find Your Style

The fastest way to access instinct is to simplify the process.

Strip everything down to its bare bones.

That’s my entire workflow.

All I’m left with is my response to life.

The camera is just along for the ride.

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Seeing Everything

When I walk around, I’m scanning everything.

Not just eye level.

I’m looking:

• Above me
• Below me
• At reflections in windows
• At textures on walls
• At discarded objects
• At architecture
• At puddles and reflections
• At gestures and faces

Everything becomes interesting when you approach photography with a blank canvas mindset.

You stop trying.

You forget what you think you know about photography.

And you move through the world with sensitivity and curiosity.

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Quantity Reveals Quality

My goal is to remain open and curious.

I don’t take the photographs too seriously.

Because the more photos I make, the more I can come back later and extract the quality.

From the quantity emerges the meaning.

Then I can decide:

• What matters
• What’s worth keeping
• What becomes a memory

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Creating a New World

Street photographers often chase fleeting moments.

Photojournalists document events.

But my interest is a little different.

Yes, I’m interested in people and moments.

But underneath all that, my deeper goal is:

To create a new world.

To extract something from reality and give birth to my own version of it.

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Photography Is Subjective

There is no objectivity in photography.

No universal definition of good or bad.

What matters is your subjective interpretation of the world.

Follow your curiosity.

Follow the inner child that just wants to play.

Ignore what’s been done before.

Ignore what people say photography should be.

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Affirming Life With Photography

Photography becomes a way of saying yes to life.

Not dwelling on photos from yesterday.

Not worrying about what you’ll photograph tomorrow.

Just being present right now when the shutter clicks.

That’s why I love photography.

And that’s why I love the Ricoh.

Because it removes everything unnecessary and leaves you with the only thing that really matters:

Instinct.

Ricoh GRIV Monochrome: The Closest Thing to Not Having a Camera

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

Today we’re going to be looking at some photographs I made recently with my Ricoh GR4 Monochrome. We’ll be diving into the photos and looking at the camera in its everyday practical function on the streets.

And yeah — just diving into it.

The Zen of the Ricoh

Firstly, I want to discuss the camera itself.

I find that this may just be the most innovative, interesting camera ever created since the conception of photography. I think about Niepce inventing this thing with chemistry. I think about Atget lugging around a big wooden bellows camera with a rectilinear lens on a tripod in 19th century Paris.

And I just think… what would he do with a compact point-and-shoot that you can carry around with you?

Not to mention the built-in image stabilization that allows you to basically be a human tripod. You can shoot in low light. You can shoot with 25,600 ISO straight out of the box.

One of the most surprising things I noticed was that when you get the camera, the minimum ISO is set to 160 and the maximum is set to 25,600.

And I was just like:

What?

That’s the first time that’s ever happened to me when looking into camera settings.

But the reason the Ricoh is so special is because it strips away all of the superfluous technical aspects of photography. What you arrive at is simply a black box with a shutter button.

That is the Ricoh.

You could argue that every camera is a black box with a shutter button. But I believe the Ricoh simplifies everything down to the bare bones.

If you’re looking for the smallest, most compact, simplest camera to use every day — it’s inevitable that you land on Ricoh.

And there’s a kind of zen to that.

The zen of Ricoh is subtraction.

When you subtract more, you arrive at the essence of the medium.

My High-Contrast JPEG Workflow

With my workflow, I’m shooting small JPEG files with high-contrast black and white.

I crank the contrast and all of the settings within the camera to the absolute maximum.

My setup is simple:

• Aperture priority mode
• f/8 or f/16
• Snap focus at 1 meter or 2 meters
• High contrast monochrome
• Automatic settings
• Processing baked into the file

From the moment I slip the camera into my front right pocket to the moment I come home and cull the photos — the result is already there.

The process is baked into the file.

This kind of approach gets photography to the point where it becomes effortless.

And the flow state becomes inevitable when you’re using a compact camera that simply doesn’t get in the way.

I find this camera to be the closest thing to not having a camera.

And that’s where I want to be on the street — just bobbing and weaving through crowds endlessly.

The Power of One Camera

Coming from the Ricoh GR III to the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, the camera is slightly smaller and more compact. The exposure compensation dial has shifted, and I’m actually starting to enjoy it.

Nothing drastic has changed.

But I do notice that the processing with my high-contrast workflow looks aesthetically more beautiful. There’s a bit more shadow detail and a small boost in quality.

But honestly — those things don’t concern me.

I shoot small JPEG files.

What matters more is the simplicity.

By stripping away color entirely and committing to a monochrome sensor, I’m reminded of the power of limitation.

One camera.
One lens.
One processing style.

Run with it.

And that’s why I’m a fan of the JPEG workflow.

Because it removes choices.

Returning to Pure Instinct

When you remove all the decisions — color or black and white, this lens or that lens, what camera to use — you arrive at pure instinct.

Photography returns to its essence:

Drawing with light.

When I make photographs, I’m creating an instant sketch of light.

By removing color and technical decisions, I can return to pure instinct at the moment I press the shutter.

When I’m photographing, I’m not thinking. I’m just being.

I’m not hunting with a checklist, a theme, a project, or a book.

I’m simply living my everyday life and bringing the camera along for the ride.

Photography becomes a visual diary of my day.

The Spirit of Play

Because the Ricoh is small and inconspicuous, I look like a tourist.

And that allows me to embrace the spirit of play.

Through play, I tap into a childlike curiosity.

I look at:

• faces
• gestures of hands
• hair moving in the light
• small details

From that state of childlike wonder, authentic expression begins to reveal itself in the photographs.

And that’s where style actually comes from.

Style isn’t about whether you shoot color or black and white.

Style is revealed from instinct.

Synthesizing Content and Form

When I made a photograph of hair blowing in the light on Canal Street in New York City, I noticed how the light was casting on the hair.

That alone intrigued me.

That was enough to raise the camera and press the shutter.

But the duty of the photographer is to synthesize content with form.

To put order to chaos.

So I physically move my body in relationship to the subject — positioning the hair with the facade of the garage in the background.

Those decisions are made instinctively through movement.

Not thinking.

Just responding.

Sketching with Light

As I walk through the streets, I’m constantly looking:

• up at the clouds
• down at the ground
• at people
• at objects blowing in the wind

Everything becomes a fleeting moment of intrigue.

By crushing shadows and exposing for highlights with high-contrast black and white, I create mystery and drama.

Sometimes I photograph clouds using:

• a red filter
• underexposing 1–2 stops
• multi-segment metering
• crop mode into 50mm

On the Ricoh, I have the video button set to crop mode. I tap it twice and instantly switch to 50mm.

This allows me to create more dramatic imagery.

Elevating the Ordinary

A moment in real life might be interesting.

But the goal of the photographer is to elevate that moment in the photograph.

To make it more powerful than it appeared in real life.

To uplift the ordinary into the extraordinary.

By underexposing, isolating faces, and capturing gestures in slivers of light within crowded scenes, I create a visual solution to the chaos of the street.

It becomes a form of visual problem solving.

Especially in a place like New York City where crowds are constant.

Infinite Novelty in the Mundane

Returning to black and white has allowed me to find infinite novelty in the mundane.

Because light is always changing.

It is always in flux.

For instance, I walk the same street in Philadelphia every single day and photograph the same sculpture of a revolutionary hero.

Every day.

But I remind myself:

You cannot make the same photograph twice.

Because the light is always changing.

And that gives photography an infinite game to play.

The Flow State of Photography

Through this simplified workflow, I reach a point where I forget that I’m even photographing.

The past doesn’t matter.
The future doesn’t matter.

When I’m photographing, I exist outside the passage of time.

I’m just watching the light.

Watching people.

Responding to instinct.

Over time, with consistent daily practice, instinct compounds and reveals itself in the photographs.

Photography as a Way of Being

When I go out in the morning, I treat it like day one.

I’m not thinking about photos I made yesterday.

I’m not thinking about projects tomorrow.

I simply affirm:

My next photo is my best photo.

Photography becomes a way of saying yes to life.

Not a way to make great photos.

But a way to remain present.

To stay curious.

To stay sensitive to life.

Photography is a somatic experience.

You walk the streets.
You feel the atmosphere.
You hear the sounds.
You smell the city.

All of your senses remain open.

And you respond.

The Best Camera Is the One That Disappears

To wrap things up:

The Ricoh is the closest thing to not having a camera.

And that’s why I believe it’s the best camera.

Because it doesn’t get in the way of living your everyday life.

Photography stops being work.

It stops being a chore.

You’re simply living your life and bringing the camera along for the ride.

No longer striving.

No longer hunting.

Just living.

And responding to whatever you find.

And that’s why I enjoy photography — and specifically the philosophy of the Ricoh.

Alright.

That’s pretty much it.

Thank you for watching today’s video.

And I’ll see you in the next one.

Peace.

Ricoh GR IV Monochrome — My Exact Settings

Shooting Mode

• Mode: AV (Aperture Priority)
• Aperture: f/8

Focus

• Focus Mode: Single Point / Select AF
• Snap Focus Distance: 2m
• Full Press Snap: Off
• AF Assist Light: Off
• Fn Button: Snap

Exposure

• Metering: Multi-segment
• ISO: Auto
• ISO Lower Limit: 160
• ISO Upper Limit: 25,600
• Minimum Shutter Speed: 1/500
• Exposure Control: Exposure Compensation Dial

File Settings

• File Type: JPEG Only
• Aspect Ratio: 3:2
• Image Size: Small (≈3504×2336)

Image Control — High Contrast B&W

• High/Low Key: -2
• Contrast: +4
• Highlight Contrast: -4
• Shadow Contrast: 0
• Sharpness: +4
• Shading: +4
• Clarity: +4
• Grain: On
• Grain Size: 2
• Toning: Off

Buttons

• Custom Setting 1: Snap Focus Distance
• Custom Settings 2–5: Off
• Fn Button: Snap
• Movie Button: Crop Mode
• Touch AF: Off

Display

• Shooting Info Display: Simplified
• Playback Info Display: None
• Grid: 4×4
• Guide Display: Off
• Power Button Lamp: Off
• Auto Power Off: Off
• Sleep Mode: Off

The most incredible, fascinating, and innovative thing about the Ricoh GR is that you cannot strip a camera any further down than this.

Essentially, the camera is reduced to its bare bones: a small black box with a shutter button.

When combined with my workflow—high-contrast black and white, small JPEG, automatic settings—you strip photography down to the simplest possible solution for making a photograph.

It returns photography to the essence of the medium itself:

drawing with light.

When fully adopting this workflow and experiencing photography as a way of being, all that remains is pure instinct.

Over time, through consistency and compounding practice, photography becomes effortless.
The flow state becomes inevitable.
Your authentic expression begins to arise.

Once you understand that photography should not interrupt your everyday life—once you realize that wearing a camera around your neck becomes a burden—the solution becomes obvious.

The closest thing to not having a camera at all
is the Ricoh GR.

Ricoh GR IV Monochrome Review: The Most Interesting Camera Ever Made?

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

I’m currently walking towards the Delaware River here in Philadelphia — Penn’s Landing, one of my favorite places in the city.

I’ve got the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome.

It’s pretty awesome. I can’t complain about this new camera too much.

First Impressions

The only real difference I notice between this and the GR III is the exposure compensation dial — which is a big deal for me.

That’s basically the only setting I ever touch.

So it’s just muscle memory I have to relearn.

The camera itself is thinner. More compact. It feels good in the hand. Again — muscle memory will kick back in with consistency.

The monochrome files?

High-contrast black and white, small JPEGs, highlight-weighted metering mode — they look more aesthetically beautiful.

It seems like there’s more information in the shadows, even though I copied over the same image control settings from my GR III.

By default the ISO is set insanely high — up to 25,600 — and I haven’t changed it. Low-light performance seems really solid.

Red Filter + Monochrome Sensor

We’ve got this beautiful cloudy sky with sun breaking through.

I put on the red filter.

So cool with high contrast.

That alone almost makes this camera worth it — having a monochrome sensor with a built-in red filter you can toggle.

You just hold the video button and it switches.

Simple.

Fellow Street Photographer

Ran into a guy shooting shadows. He had a Minolta medium format and a GR II with an optical viewfinder on top.

That brought me back.

My first Ricoh was a GR II in 2015. I even had the optical viewfinder on it.

Shout out to Eli — I gave him that GR II a year and a half ago and it’s still running. Flash doesn’t work, but the camera works.

Ricohs are durable.

I shot this GR IV Monochrome in the rain during Chinese New Year in Philly. Drizzle. No umbrella. In and out of the pocket.

Totally fine.

People are overly sensitive about their gear.

Why This Is the Most Interesting Camera Ever Made

Let’s just say it.

This might be the most interesting camera released since the birth of photography.

A compact digital monochrome camera with a built-in red filter that fits in your pocket?

Imagine what Eugène Atget would’ve done with this.

He was walking around 19th-century Paris with a wooden bellows camera and tripod.

Now?

You pull this out of your pocket. Turn it on. Instant. No lag. Press the shutter.

It’s insane.

Ricoh is the new Leica.

If Bresson was alive today, he’d be shooting this.

The Best Camera Is the One You Always Have

This is the best camera because it’s always with you.

It fits in your smallest pocket.

Zero excuses.

For everyday street photography, that’s everything.

No matter how mundane things seem — you have the tool in your front pocket.

With my workflow:

• High-contrast black and white JPEG
• Small file
• Contrast cranked to the max

When you crank the contrast to the absolute max, it rewires your brain.

You start seeing differently.

The mundane becomes beautiful because of how light glimmers across surfaces.

Light is the subject.

Light is the medium.

I’m not photographing reality as it is.

I’m photographing what it could be through abstraction.

And abstraction becomes the solution to the mundane.

Stripping Photography Down

Ricoh simplifies everything.

No viewfinder. Just LCD.

Loose compositions. Imperfect frames.

Liberating.

Now add:

• Monochrome sensor
• Small JPEG
• Automatic settings

You point and shoot.

You literally cannot simplify photography more than this.

There’s no second guessing.

What you see is what you get.

But what you get is what you didn’t see.

The surprise in the frame — that’s what I’m chasing.

Travel vs The Mundane

I’ve traveled.

Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia.

Photographed in Israel, Palestine, Mexico, Hanoi, Mumbai, Tokyo at Shibuya Crossing.

Conflict. Baptisms. Funerals.

I’m grateful for all of it.

But now?

I have zero desire to travel.

I find infinite novelty walking the same path in Philadelphia every single day.

I don’t need to travel across the world.

I can travel within my mind.

That’s the power of abstraction.

Instinct Over Thought

The goal is to return to day one.

Remain an amateur forever.

An amateur is someone who loves doing the thing for the sake of doing the thing.

You cultivate your style by cultivating instinct.

Instinct comes from repetition.

Walking.

Feeling the concrete.

Sun on your skin.

Listening to birds.

Smelling the streets.

You exist outside the passage of time.

Photography becomes the vehicle that brings you into that state.

Flow.

Presence.

Play.

Stop Hunting

I’m no longer hunting for my next best photo.

I affirm life with each click.

My next photo is my best photo.

Almost like it could be my last.

And that mindset fuels me.

The Modern World Is Insane

We live in the best time to be alive.

This little camera in my pocket.

This GoPro Mini recording this.

AI pulling quotes from my transcripts so I can understand myself better.

Electricity.

Refrigeration.

Beef fat in the freezer.

Seasons changing.

Winter ending. Spring coming.

There’s so much to look forward to.

Welcome to the world of Dante.

Timeline

• July 11, 2023 – NYC
• July 12, 2023 – NYC
• July 4, 2024 – NYC
• July 5, 2024 – NYC
• July 4, 2025 – NYC
• July 5, 2025 – NYC
• January 17, 2026 – NYC
• February 28, 2026 – NYC
• March 1, 2026 – NYC

Videos

• NYC skyline from Amtrak train window
• Feeding pigeons in Washington Square Park, NYC
• “Let’s Meat” All you can eat Korean BBQ in NYC
• NYC Times Square at Night
• Felix Coffee Roaster in NYC
• Q train to Coney Island
• Crab Lady on the Coney Island Pier
• Dancing Under the Coney Island Pier
• Looking for sea glass on the beach
• Basketball on Coney Island Beach
• Aperture Summer Pop-Up Book Sale in NYC
• Driving Game at B&H Photo Store
• % Arabica Coffee Shop in Brooklyn
• Bruce Davidson “The Way Back” at the Howard Greenberg Gallery

Why Photography Is the Ultimate Way to Experience Life

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

Currently walking around Philadelphia, coming out of the market. Got some raw milk here — 100% grass-fed. Cold winter days. Where’s the sun? Where’s the rays?

Today’s thought is about happiness — and why I believe photography is the ultimate way to experience life and cultivate joy in your everyday existence.

Just looking up at these beautiful birds flying from canopy to canopy — the canopies being these tall skyscrapers and buildings. When you’re around people in society, walking the streets with your camera and photographing, this to me is paradise.

I always have a camera with me. Today we got the Ricoh GR III.

And when you always have a camera with you, it becomes a superpower. It feels like anything is possible. I feel unstoppable.

It gives me the ultimate excuse to be present. To be grounded. To engage with life.

The Physicality of Joy

In the modern world, we have unlimited food options. You can order Uber Eats, sit at home, watch Netflix all day, and never move your feet.

But the physicality of life is what makes life beautiful.

There’s something exciting about surrounding yourself in the chaos of the street.

Photography is my excuse to return to a childlike spirit of play — to treat the world, to treat the street, like a playground.

Life can become a prison. But you have the key to unlock the door to the playground.

It’s a matter of perception. Of how you feel internally.

I can’t control the weather. The conditions. Whether I come home with a “good” or “bad” photograph.

But I can control:

• My curiosity
• My vitality
• The state of my body

And so I prioritize health.

Photography becomes an extension of my physical practice. I’m walking. Moving. Training my body. Wearing barefoot shoes. Feeling the concrete beneath my feet.

Light cardio. Looking around. Engaging the sights, the sounds, the smells.

If you wake up lacking physical vitality — how will you ever cultivate curiosity? How will you practice your photography?

Enthusiasm comes from vitality.

Theos — meaning God. To be enthusiastic is to be possessed by God.

I want to wake up possessed by that spirit. To release my inner daemon when I’m on the street.

There’s no rational reason I do this. There’s an obsessive quality to it. Something that propels me to the front lines of life.

When you’re outside, you thrive.

When you’re inside, sitting, living on standby — your soul slowly dies.

Outside the Passage of Time

When you’re walking and photographing, you exist outside the passage of time.

We have a past.
We have a future.

But neither are of concern.

All that matters is this moment — when you click the shutter.

Street photography is stepping into the stream of becoming.

Not dwelling on yesterday’s photos.
Not thinking about tomorrow’s project.

Just affirming:

My next photograph will be my next best photograph.

Even on the same mundane streets every day, there are infinite ways to articulate the mundane.

Curiosity fuels inspiration.

But inspiration isn’t external.

Inspirare — to breathe into.

Life breathes into you. Animation. Consciousness. Movement.

When you raise the camera to your eye and truly notice — life becomes a dream.

Don’t think of life only as it is.
Think of what it could be through your interpretation.

Subtraction & Instinct

Practically, I use a compact digital camera — the Ricoh GR — high-contrast black and white JPEGs. Automatic settings. Everything baked into the file.

Photography becomes effortless. Flow state becomes inevitable.

Flow happens when thinking dies.

Motivation lies in movement.

To cultivate your authentic way of photographing, you subtract.

Remove decisions:

• Color or black and white
• This lens or that lens
• This camera or that camera

Choice is an illusion.

Left and right are distractions.

Freedom comes from eliminating options.

When you remove noise and distraction, what’s left?

Instinct.
Intuition.

That irrational pull to press the shutter — that’s your authentic expression.

Through repetition. Through discipline. Through going out daily.

Instinct is the purest reflection of who you are.

In a world where we endlessly consume, a compact camera gives you the ability to create.

To express.

Play the Game

Stop taking your life and photography so seriously.

Let the chips fall as they may.

Embrace play.

From that state — flow emerges.

The question that keeps me out here:

What will reality manifest to be in a photograph?

What you see isn’t necessarily what you get.
What you get is what you didn’t see.

That surprise — those nuances and details — fuel curiosity.

The more I experiment, the more I wake up eager for the day.

But it requires forgetting what you think you know.

Going slow.
Being present.
Being prepared.

Photography becomes a visual diary.

Maybe I won’t live forever.

But at least I can leave behind some photographs.

Through photographing my everyday life — for myself — I’m never lonely.

No matter how mundane things seem. No matter the external circumstances.

Through the camera, you can always find meaning.

You can always uplift something.

Photography fuels me with curiosity, enthusiasm, and vitality.

For that, I’m grateful.

Thanks for watching.

Peace.

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”