Creative Constraints = Creative Freedom

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante, currently walking around Center City Philadelphia with the Ricoh GR III, just snapshotting my way through life.

And today I’m thinking about creative constraints — and how they actually lead to creative freedom.

The Illusion of Choice

We have this illusion of choice in life.

You can go left.
You can go right.
You have Coke.
You have Pepsi.

There seems to be unlimited choices we can determine and choose ourselves. We have this sort of idea of free will.

But I believe the true path to liberation and freedom is eliminating all the choices and recognizing that the real path to freedom is onwards and upwards.

Simplify Until Photography Disappears

In a creative context, that means simplifying your workflow to a point where photography does not get in the way.

For me, that looks like:

• A compact camera that fits in my pocket
• One focal length
• Automatic settings
• Everything baked into the file
• No processing

It simplifies everything from the ground up.

All I’m left to do is point and shoot.

I have a black box, a button, and a little LCD screen on the back that lets me see the composition.

That’s it.

Constraint Liberates Instinct

When I streamline the approach and give myself a technical constraint, a creative constraint, I can liberate the way in which I create.

On the street, I recognize the instinct.

That instinct pulls my body to respond to the pigeon in flight and press the shutter.

It’s not rational.

It’s an irrational pull.

Photography is physical.

Yes, it’s visual — you’re putting together a frame, recognizing moments, watching the background, waiting for alignment.

But realistically?

The instinct. The intuition. That’s where your authentic expression lies.

Your vision sharpens through repetition inside constraint.

If you want your own unique vision, your own unique approach, you have to embrace the creative constraint.

With consistency.
With repetition.
With competition.

But it’s only possible through the constraint.

Decision Fatigue Kills Flow

Unlimited decisions lead to burnout.

Which camera?
Which lens?
Color or black and white?
Left or right?

That decision fatigue clouds the mind.

And I believe it leads to stagnation.

But when I give myself a creative constraint, I enter an endless flow state — of motivation, of production, of clicking that damn shutter and responding to my gut.

The Goal: Flow State

What I seek on the street is the flow state.

Street photography is about embracing spontaneity.
Embracing the unknown.
Being in the now.

So I can simply be there — and be prepared to respond to that gut feeling that propels me to click the shutter.

Where photography becomes effortless.

Where the flow state is inevitable.

Freedom Through Elimination

Freedom lies where there are no more choices to make.

From that state, you can create infinitely.

A thousand different ways.
An infinite number of possibilities.

It’s a paradox.

But I believe this is the path to creative freedom:

Remove the choices.
Stick to one.
Run and gun with it.

Go onwards and upwards.

And don’t look back.

Photography as Unlearning: How to Never Miss Another Sunrise

What’s popping, people? It’s Dante.

Today I’m thinking about photography as a way of unlearning — what that means, and why I’m thinking about this.

Essentially, the ultimate challenge for a photographer is to find new ways to play the game every single day.

And my ultimate aim is to never miss another sunrise ever again in my life.

The reason I say this immediately is because the orientation of a photographer — and the way you feel about life generally — is what influences what you put within your frames and how you play this game. And that game lies in the mundane.

Whether or not you have enthusiasm for the day, for the mundane, will ultimately reflect back in your photography.

If you’re waking up eager — marching through the snow… look at all these freaking snow tracks I left, this is crazy — I think that is the ultimate place to be.

So essentially: by unlearning photography, by unlearning what you think about life generally, you’ll wake up with this insatiable curiosity for engaging with life and engaging with humanity. And that will propel you out there onto the front lines of life to practice daily — and to infinitely find yourself returning to the sunrise.

Streamlining the practice so photography doesn’t get in the way

Some simple, practical ways I’m achieving this goal of eternally returning to photography every single day — despite how mundane things may seem — is by embracing a very streamlined process:

• using a compact camera
• snapshotting loosely with compositional decisions
• using a JPEG file that requires no processing
• having everything technically set in an automatic way

Photography shouldn’t get in the way.

And stripping away color — using high-contrast black and white — has been providing me a solution to the mundane nature of life. For me, that looks like returning to the essence of the medium:

light.

Finding joy in simple things — the way light casts upon surfaces, people, places, and things — and photographing in a way where I’m curious about how light will render in an image through the lens of my camera.

Experimentation, openness, and letting the photograph surprise you

What I’m doing with my practice these days is endlessly exploring experimentation — tinkering, exploring — with this sense of openness to what will reveal itself when I look at the images.

A lot of times what I think I see when I make a photograph isn’t necessarily what I get back.

What I get back in the photograph is often what I didn’t see.

So I’m using abstraction as a solution to the mundane nature of practicing daily.

I can return to the same park every morning.
I can return to the sunrise at the same location every day.

But the way the light casts upon that place will never be the same.

You cannot make the same photograph twice.

Everything is in flux. Everything is changing. The light is out of our control. The spontaneous nature of life is out of our control.

What you control (and what you don’t)

We’re not in control of the light.
We’re not in control of the conditions.
We’re not in control of whether we see something interesting.
We’re not in control of whether we create a great photograph.

But what we are in control of is:

• how often we go out there and see the world
• how often we bring our camera
• how often we walk

We’re simply in control of marching endlessly into the unknown — waking up with that empty blank slate, that childlike state of curiosity.

Curiosity requires vitality

I think it’s quite impossible to cultivate curiosity without physical vitality.

Another practical way I’m returning to photography every single day is by never missing the sunrise — always catching the rays — and aligning my physical body, primally, with the light.

Setting my circadian rhythm.
Getting deep sleep.
Waking up every morning with energy that overflows out of me into the streets when I’m practicing.

I believe that in order to cultivate curiosity, one must possess vitality in their physical body, and it stems from aligning with sunlight.

And yeah — if you’re falling asleep within like five minutes when you go to bed… consider yourself blessed.

When you wake up in the morning, it’s like you’re born again, and everything can become fresh.

But it requires you to destroy all of your preconceived notions of what life is generally.

Unlearning through non-consumption

There’s a lot of noise in the world. A lot of consumption of information.

For the past many years now — around four years — I’ve completely disconnected from the news, from the media. I really don’t consume anything.

I read old books.

I try to make sure I’m in this perpetual flow state — effortlessly living everyday life — and not consuming anything. And through that lack of consumption, I can cultivate my natural and authentic expression with the things I create — with my photography.

So think more about how you can unlearn everything you think you know about everything.

Through that unlearning, you’ll discover who you are.

And if you want to give birth to that dancing star — you kind of have to embrace the unknown.

You kind of have to embrace the chaos, the spontaneity — headfirst — with your practice.

Fail daily with consistency.
Show up without expectations of what you will see.

And over time — compounding with consistency — you will find your style, you will find your voice, and you will find your place on this giant floating rock orbiting around this ball of fire that I seek to catch every single day.

That’s pretty much it.

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

Seeing Beyond the Mundane: Infinite Possibility in Everyday Photography

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

I’m walking through the park today thinking about seeing beyond the obvious and the mundane nature of everyday life. When you look at this path, you see beautiful white snow, some trees, and I’ve got my Ricoh GR III.

I can make a photo of that path and look at it one way. Or I can bend down low, look at the details, and make a photo of the cracks. Look at the small things.

Changing Perspective

I can come over here by this tree and get a different perspective by looking up. I can even use the built-in crop mode on the Ricoh GR III to 50mm, turn the flash on, switch to macro mode—make sure I get that macro mode—and photograph a pine cone at very close proximity.

Built-in crop mode.
Flash.
Macro.

And suddenly, there’s so many more photos you can make on this one small path in the park.

Infinite Ways to Play

That’s the simple message I wanted to share. There’s so much to do. There’s so much to see. Photography is limitless in the infinite possibilities of how you can articulate things.

The ultimate aim of the photographer is to find new ways to play this game every single day.

My personal way forward is photographing daily, in the same mundane places, and finding new ways to play. Finding new ways to photograph the mundane.

I like placing my camera in unfamiliar territory—even in places I think I’ve already photographed. Going close with macro. Photographing landscapes, details, and everything in between.

It might feel like you’ve seen it all, done it all, photographed it all. But there are still so many ways to look with your two eyes.

Abstracting Reality

Another way I like to use my Ricoh is by overexposing.

There’s this stick growing out of the ground. If I overexpose by about two stops, I can create a beautiful abstract shape using macro. It pulls the form out against a white background.

Looking at small details in new ways unlocks an infinite approach to photography.

I can return to photography every single day and thrive in the mundane.

One of my favorite things is photographing in this park because it challenges me to find new ways to see.

The City as a Dream

I think about familiar streets in my city, Philadelphia. It’s an urban environment—lots of people, lots going on. People moving from point A to point B. It can seem very mundane.

But when you raise the camera to your eye and start seeing differently, life becomes a dream.

There are endless opportunities to photograph.

Photography becomes a way to extract an abstract reality.

Beyond Documentation

This is how I’m thriving creatively going forward—embracing abstraction and moving beyond documentation.

I’ve spent many years traveling and photographing reality as it is. But now, making photos of what reality could be by abstracting life brings me more joy.

It doesn’t matter where I am. I find infinite possibility in the mundane.

Photographing twigs.
Photographing the sky.
Photographing trees.
Photographing the path I leave behind in the snow.

I forget everything I think I know about photography.

I’ll even throw the camera out of focus. Why not?

Embracing the Obvious

I thrive in the obvious. In places that are often photographed.

I think about Shibuya Crossing. I always heard it’s the worst place to practice street photography. Too cliché. Too many tourists. Like Times Square of Tokyo.

But when I was there, I made some of my most groundbreaking work.

By playing. By tinkering. By abstracting. By creating small slivers of faces in the light.

That was the most fun I’ve ever had practicing street photography anywhere in the world.

The Way Forward

So I challenge you to embrace the mundane nature of life.

It’s up to you.
Your perception.
Your ability to articulate.

Go slow. Let life flow toward you. Be ready with your camera.

I look at the world as a canvas. I draw with light. I wield light as the medium. The subject provides infinite opportunity.

Even looking up at the sky—sunrise, clouds, light—it becomes painterly.

Just headed to work. Hopping off the bus. And I’ve already made photographs of trees, twigs, details, and the sky.

Macro with flash.
Abstraction.
Play.

The Gospel of the Ricoh

There’s still so much to do.

Street photography often limits how we see. We get caught up in clichés and how things should be done.

I say nay.

Embrace play. Let the chips fall where they may. Treat each day as a new way to create.

The Gospel of the Ricoh.

Ricoh GR Event — Transcript

Samuel was kind enough to invite me to this Ricoh GR event.
Thank you, Samuel. Very nice of you.

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Why I Choose the Ricoh GR

When it comes to my camera of choice — the Ricoh GR III and the GR IIIx are the perfect solution for me.

Because I’m looking to simplify my process.

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My Workflow

• Small JPEG
• High contrast black and white simulation
• Everything done in-camera
• No crop
• No editing
• No fuss

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The Philosophy

Really, I’m not a computer guy.

I don’t know how to use cameras.
I hate camera gear.

I just want to get the job done.

If this isn’t the solution, I don’t know what is.

But I’m rocking with Ricoh.

Photography Is a Muscle — Train It Daily

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

Today I want to share with you some ideas about photography and how I believe it’s a muscle that you must train daily.

So here we’re looking at a photograph I made in Tokyo, Japan. I remember during this trip — it was two weeks — and I didn’t do a single thing physically but walk and photograph. I’m typically in the gym every single day. But when I came home from that two-week trip and returned to the gym, I felt a lack of vitality in my physical body from those two weeks of absence.

It reminded me how important it is to remain consistent with our practice — whether it’s photography, weight training, or anything in between.

Consistency is key.

With photography, it’s very simple:

The more that you walk, the more that you see.
The more that you see, the more that you photograph.
The more that you photograph, the more curious you become.

And that curiosity becomes the goal within itself.

Orient Yourself Toward Curiosity

The goal is to orient yourself toward increasing your curiosity each day.

But the question is: How do you cultivate curiosity?

Curiosity is this curious thing. Where does it come from? How can we achieve it?

I believe curiosity is an outward expression of physical vitality.

When your days are filled with enthusiasm — when you’re physically alive — curiosity becomes inevitable.

Think about fatigue.

If you wake up in the morning feeling sluggish, not wanting to get out of bed, it’s going to be nearly impossible to cultivate curiosity — let alone go out and practice your photography.

But if you wake up eager for the day…
If you got deep sleep…
If you ate nutritious food…
If your body feels engaged and ready…

Then let the chips fall as they may.

Embrace the spirit of play and go practice.

Curiosity is born in that enthusiastic state in the morning when you wake up with physical vitality.

Health Is the Ultimate Wealth

I cherish vitality in my body each morning as the ultimate gift in life.

The ultimate wealth is health.

I orient everything in my life around health. I go to bed early. I rise early. I make sure I’m eating properly. I stretch. I do yoga. I strength train.

By remaining consistent and disciplined every single day — almost obsessively — I’ve noticed the results in my photographs improving simultaneously.

I’m becoming more curious about life.

I’m making different photographs than I’ve ever made before.

And it’s because I’ve put physical vitality at the forefront of my everyday life.

Failure Is Part of the Process

When you consider your muscles — how microfibers tear down and replenish during sleep — it’s important to recognize the same pattern in photography.

You will fail.

In order to receive six-pack abs, it requires time. Pain. Suffering. Failure.

With photography, it’s the same.

You might go out every single day and not come home with a great frame.
I would say 99% of the time, you will fail.

But through consistency — through time spent doing the thing — you will eventually see results.

Time compounds.

The Goal Is Found Within the Practice

When I frame the telos — the goal — of photography, I frame it autotelically.

The goal is found within itself.

The goal is the practice.
The process.
The flow state.

When you’re out there photographing, recognize:

The goal is to increase curiosity.
The goal is to remain in flow.

By detaching from the outcome — whether that’s six-pack abs or your next best photograph — I can remain present.

And that mindset shift is what propels me toward infinite curiosity, exploration, and enthusiasm for life.

Photography Is Physical

Photography is a physical act.

You can’t sit on the sidelines of life and make photographs.

It requires you to be out there.
On the front lines.
Physically engaged with the world.

If I neglect my practice, something doesn’t feel right.

It’s the same with the gym.

If I don’t train for a week, two weeks, a month — I have to start from ground zero. It takes time to get back into rhythm.

I just want to perpetually stay on that wheel — incrementally moving my body daily.

Time Spent Doing the Thing

I’m consistent with photography because I recognize the power of time.

I’m not always going to see something surprising.

But I’m still out there.

Because I recognize the passage of time required to make anything great.

By detaching from the outcome and remaining in the flow of production — simply being out there — I cultivate meaning and purpose.

The same way I increase weight on the barbell.

Over time, compounding effort makes me stronger.

Healthier.

More vital.

And that vitality nourishes creativity.

A Life of Vitality

Maybe it’s yoga.
Maybe it’s weight training.
Maybe it’s another physical practice.

Whatever you do daily can influence your photography in ways you’d be surprised by.

Because at the end of the day, photography isn’t just visual.

It’s physical.

It’s you being out in the open world — moving, responding, acting instinctively.

The only life worth living is a life full of vitality.

Without vitality — how will you cultivate curiosity?

With that being said, thank you for watching.

I’ll see you in the next one.

Peace.

Photo book flip throughs –

• Light Lines by Ray K. Metzker
• Unknown Territory by Ray K. Metzker
• Sand Creatures by Ray K. Metzker
• The Photographs of Ray K. Metzker
• City Lux by Ray K. Metzker

One spread from City Stills by Ray K. Metzker, followed by my own recent photos made in response.

Photography as Will to Power

What’s poppin’, people? It’s Dante.

Today I’m going to be sharing with you why photography is my will to power.

Essentially, Friedrich Nietzsche has this concept — the will to power — which is this fundamental driving force in all human life. We have this innate quality as human beings to assert our values, to assert our strength, to assert ourselves in the world.

And I find that by treating photography as a way for me to express my will to power, it becomes all about affirming life. It’s about saying yes to life.

It’s a way for me to outwardly express my inner love for life and vitality — and let that overflow onto the street when I’m practicing.

A Harmless Assertion

Photography is such a beautiful way to assert one’s will to power upon the world because it’s harmless.

When you’re out there photographing, you’re simply looking at humanity.
You’re looking at the mundane, ordinary, everyday occurrences of life — and trying to lift them to an extraordinary height.

Photography is the purest outward reflection of my personal vitality.

It requires me to move my physical body.
It requires me to go out there — to walk, to see, to explore, to photograph.

It’s physical.
It’s creative.
And it provides meaning in my life.

When I look at a moment and press the shutter, I’m saying:

This matters.
I’m saying yes.
This is how I see the world.

Overcoming the Self

Will to power is about overcoming oneself.
It’s about orienting yourself in this chaotic life.

And when I have the camera with me, it becomes a superpower.

For me, photography has nothing to do with photography — but it has everything to do with how I engage with everyday life and humanity.

When I make photographs, I’m expressing curiosity. I’m expressing that outward feeling within me.

Photography is a creative act.
It’s a way to give birth to new worlds.

And when you’re making these new worlds throughout the day, you enter that flow state.

When you’re fully present — making photographs — you start to articulate life. You start to put order to chaos. You start to gain a little bit of control through the camera.

It orients you.

When I’m out there photographing, I’m simply wondering why.

And through wondering why, asking questions, clicking the shutter — I’m affirming my life. I’m giving my life meaning.

A Selfish Act — And That’s Okay

Photography can be a selfish act. And that’s okay.

You don’t need to photograph for an agenda.
You don’t need to photograph for someone else.

When you treat photography as a way to overcome yourself internally — through the infinite ways you can creatively express yourself — isn’t that beautiful?

Beauty lies everywhere.

I can look at a flower and consider it beautiful.
I can look at a person and consider them beautiful.
I can look at light interacting with space and decide that it’s meaningful.

But beauty also lies in our imperfect nature.

We’re flesh that cuts and bleeds.
We will die.
We’re finite.
We make mistakes.

And despite that — we can strive to become the greatest versions of ourselves.

Photography helps me orient myself that way.

Play, Vitality, and Meaning

Through photography, I give myself permission to embrace play.

To return to life with enthusiasm.
With joy.
With vitality.

It cultivates clarity in how I feel internally about life — despite flaws, despite suffering, despite our finite existence.

When you really think about it:

What is the goal?
What is the meaning?
What is the purpose of life?

Why not just stay in bed and watch Netflix all day?

Will to power is why we get up.

But we all need something that orients us.

I don’t want an external force pushing me in a direction outside of my control.

So I orient myself daily with the camera.

I provide meaning for myself personally through photography.

That’s a life worth living.

A life full of vitality.
A life full of clarity.
A life where how you see and how you feel becomes expressed outwardly.

Conquering the World — Differently

All the roads have been paved.
The world has been conquered.

But why not conquer the world of photography?

Why not impose your personal interpretation of what is beautiful?
What is worth preserving?
What is worth photographing?

You’re not dominating others.
You’re not imposing yourself physically.

You’re simply witnessing.
You’re simply saying yes.
You’re recognizing something beautiful — and photographing.

And that’s why I treat photography as my personal will to power.

It may sound like domination when you first hear it.

But it’s not about dominating others.

It’s about dominating yourself.

It’s about giving your life deeper meaning.

Photography helps me get there.

Those are my thoughts.

Thanks for watching.

I’ll see you in the next one.

Peace.

Effortless Street Photography: Abundance, Detachment & Daily Flow

What’s popping, people? It’s Dante.

Today I’m going to be sharing with you some simple ideas on how to make photography effortless in your everyday life.

I find that in order to make photography effortless, one must cultivate a mindset of abundance. And this mindset is all about being immersed in the process of making new photographs — detaching yourself from the outcome — and recognizing what’s in your control and what’s out of your control.

Control What You Can

I adopt this sort of stoic principle:

You are only in control of how often you walk.
You are only in control of how often you photograph.

You are not in control of whether or not you come home with a good photograph.
You are not in control of whether or not you see something interesting.

By recognizing these simple ideas, photography becomes a much more joyful experience.

For myself, I affirm the next photograph I make. I recognize that I am imperfect, that I will make mistakes, and that I will likely come home with nothing.

By affirming that, I go out there in the spirit of play.

I practice daily. Effortlessly.

Make It Practical

On a practical level, I carry the Ricoh GR. It’s always with me. It fits in my pocket. I’m good to go.

I set my camera up in a way that doesn’t get in the way. Automatic settings. Ready to click and move on.

That helps me stay grounded in the moment.

Whether I’m commuting on the bus or running an errand, the camera is with me. And that supports the real goal:

Curiosity.
Making new photographs.
Experimenting.

Ultimately, I use photography as a way to enjoy life.

The Goal Is the Process

The goal is found within the making.

The goal is in me out there exploring each day.

Photography is personal. It’s selfish in a way. It’s an extension of my life — instant sketches of existence that become part of my diary.

When you detach from an audience…
When you stop trying to make something impactful…
When you remove the idea that you’re performing…

Photography becomes effortless.

Once you remove the noise and treat it as a way to stay grounded in the moment — just enjoying everyday life — the pressure disappears.

Mindset Over Gear

One of the biggest shifts I’ve had in my photography has been my mindset.

I’m not making the same photograph over and over again anymore. I’m experimenting. I’m playing. I’m making random compositions and different decisions.

I believe it’s because I am detached.

The mindset is just as important — actually more important — than the technical settings and gear.

When I make a photograph, I respond to instinct. A gut feeling.

I’m not trying to say anything.
I’m not imposing order on life.

Because life is out of my control.

The light.
The weather.
The conditions.
Whether something interesting happens.

I let life flow toward me.

And I’m simply there, prepared, placing whatever I find within the four corners of the frame.

I was there, and I pressed the shutter.

I’m not striving.
I’m not hunting.
I’m not trying.

I’m integrating photography into my life so it becomes effortless.

From Hunting to Flow

In the past, I would construct photographs for impact. I would spend hours pushing myself on the streets.

There’s a period where that’s sustainable.

But eventually, hunting, searching, striving — it burns you out.

When you let go…
When you embrace the flow, like birds in flight…

That’s when authentic expression emerges.

The photograph is merely a byproduct of your way of life.

Photography has nothing to do with photography.

It has everything to do with how you feel about life.

That feeling — that mindset — is what propels you to continuously press the shutter.

Abundance in the Mundane

When you cultivate abundance and joy, even the mundane becomes rich.

Even when life feels boring.
Even when nothing “interesting” is happening.

You begin articulating the ordinary in new ways.

Detachment propels effortless practice.

This doesn’t mean laziness. It means clarity. It means recognizing why you photograph.

For me, photography fulfills my everyday life with meaning.

It’s almost like a walking meditation.

I move through the world. I observe patterns. Light. People. Buildings. Details. Everything in between.

Infinite Possibilities

One thing that has helped me make photography effortless is opening up the infinite possibilities of what is photographable.

I’m not boxed into one subject.
Not trapped in a genre.
Not defined by what’s considered “good” or “bad.”

When you remove that box, you recognize the power of the medium itself.

The power of photography lies in your curiosity.

Not in tradition.
Not in checklists.
Not in projects.
Not in gallery walls.

Photography is endless.

There are infinite ways to make photographs. Infinite approaches. Infinite possibilities.

Even on the same mundane streets every day.

Novelty is curiosity.

It’s cultivating an inner sense of wonder.

And when photography becomes an extension of that wonder, it becomes effortless.

Hopefully these ideas help you practice photography sustainably — exploring the streets every single day.

Thank you for watching.

Peace.

Instinct Is the Purest Expression in Street Photography

What’s popping, people? It’s Dante.

Today I want to discuss instinct in street photography and why I believe the purest expression derives from that instinct — the kind that comes from a natural physical response we all possess within our DNA.

I find that by really honing in on this physical nature of being a human — where we’re these kind of flesh animals with consciousness rumbling and fumbling through life — we have a physical response to the things we encounter. We have something in our nature as human beings, with our ability to perceive, our ability to feel, to hear, to see, that ultimately guides me as a street photographer.

That physical response… that irrational pull… that thing within me that’s extremely primal — the thing that tells me when to move left, when to move right, when to raise the camera to my eye and click the shutter — that’s what I allow to take over me while on the street.

Street Photography Is a Somatic Experience

I think this comes from recognizing the physical, somatic experience of life.

When you’re in embodied reality — responding to the sights, the sounds, the smells of the street — looking at the light and feeling the experience of walking on the concrete, looking at gestures and responding to things… you will tap into that state of being where photography becomes effortless.

And at that point, the flow state is inevitable.

But it really does require you to recognize that life is physical.

Because the mental — all the thoughts in your brain — can cloud you. It can remove you from that instinctual state.

Go Out With No Preconceived Notions

On a practical level, when I’m approaching the streets, I like to go out there without any preconceived notions of what I will see, what I will photograph, or where I will go.

A lot of the time, I simply go with the flow.

I bring the camera with me for the ride and photograph through my life, responding to the gut — responding to that primal pull that tells me when to click the shutter.

I’m removing the control of me trying to be this “conductor photographer” that knows all the compositional tricks and decisions to make… and instead I’m just responding to the instinct.

And I believe that’s where the beauty lies in street photography:

recognizing the serendipity, recognizing the spontaneity, and also recognizing what is out of our control.

What’s Out of Your Control (And What Isn’t)

What’s out of our control as street photographers is simple:

We’re not in control of whether or not we see something interesting.
We’re not in control of whether or not we come home with a great photograph.

But we are in control of our state of being while approaching the streets.

So empty your mind. Forget everything you think you know about photography. And simply embrace the physical nature of life on the street.

Embrace the sounds. The sights. The feeling of being out there with the sun on your skin.

Really hone in on the present moment.

Because when you arrive at that present moment… that’s where the flow state is born.

It’s born when you turn off the mind, stop thinking, and you’re simply living your everyday life.

And from that primal physical state of being, you can respond to your instincts so much more intuitively.

Remove the Technicality, Remove the Outcome

Ultimately, what I’m trying to do now with my photography is remove all of the technicality — remove all of the superfluous details about photography.

Remove the goal.
Remove the outcome of a project, a book, a theme, a show.
Remove the outcome of whether or not I come home with a good or a bad photo.

And simply step into this stream of becoming — of clicking that damn shutter, responding to the moments that come my way, and thinking about it later.

Because while I’m on the streets, I very much try to respond to the instinct.

I believe that’s where your authentic expression is born.

When you strip everything back down to the bare instinct — that’s where your style emerges. That’s where your authentic expression lies.

Your Voice Emerges Through Instinctual Repetition

That primal physical instinct guides you to click the shutter.

And over time, that compounds.

Through you consistently going out there and practicing your photography from the instinct, you will reveal your authentic voice.

You will find your way of seeing and playing the game of photography.

I believe everybody has their primal instinct to tap into — but you have to go out there in a way that doesn’t get in the way.

Make the Camera Disappear

For me, that means removing the technical hurdles.

I’ll photograph with automatic settings — P mode / program mode — and I use a very simple point-and-shoot camera.

I make sure that when I’m out there, the only thing I need to do is raise the camera to whatever’s within my view, click a button, and move on to the next one.

The way that I’m photographing is instinctual.
The way that I’m photographing is intuitive.
The things I find arise from the gut — from the physical embodied experience of being out there in the world.

Let the Chips Fall

So I encourage you to think more critically about instinct.

Remove this notion of control from your vocabulary as a photographer, and let the chips fall as they may.

Simply go out there in the spirit of play — and respond to your instinct.

With that being said, thank you for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one.

Peace.