I share a story about courage, photography, and my journey throughout the past decade of practicing street photography while riding my bike uphill in Philadelphia.

LI-DAR
noun Electronics, Optics.
“light detection and ranging” or “laser imaging, detection, and ranging”. It is a method for determining ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. A device similar to radar in principle and operation but using infrared laser light instead of radio waves and capable of detecting particles, distant objects, and varying physical conditions in the atmosphere.

The power of Artificial Intelligence and 360 photography! This Insta360 X3 is such a cool camera! It seems like this could be an interesting solution for a variety of applications from 360 video to LiDAR photography and scanning.

One day I was skateboarding at Paine’s Park in Philadelphia and stumbled across this group of people playing with these very interesting Japanese toys called kendama. I approached the group and wound up learning how to play and was gifted my very own kendama! I have been practicing with it everyday since I received this gift as a form of meditation. This toy gives you a way more powerful dopamine hit than any video game I have ever played! Super nice of them to let me play and will keep going back to practice and learn with them in the future.

When you treat life as a video game everything becomes more interesting. Instead of leveling up and getting stat points in game, why not do it IRL? We can increase our charisma, our charity, our strength, etc. in the real world. Doing these things digitally is a huge waste of time. There is nothing better than being in the real world and interacting with other human beings. We need to all stop being so afraid of each other. We need to handshake each other and look at each other face to face when we talk… Not through a cell phone or through a comment section or an email. Meet me on the street! Believe me, you will find me out there! I am always walking, wandering, and looking for the next level to play.

I can’t help but smile when I walk around the streets of Philadelphia. I try my best to share joy through my interactions on the streets with strangers as much as possible. I think in life the goal should be to tinker with the world around you like a video game. How many different interactions can you have in one walk through the mall? A new street photography challenge: talk to people!

I used to spend so much time as a kid playing with nerf guns. I remember modifying the guns to make them shoot further and faster. I miss those days! Tinkering with my toys, shooting guns, and playing. I think we should never let go of our inner child. I want to be like a big kid that innovates and plays on the streets. I think nowadays people fear each other more than ever, but I believe we should ignore this idea. Life is the ultimate video game!

In praise of child-like fun fitness!

Muji slim notebook with small prints from the Canon SELPHY CP1500
Always keep a sketchbook on you and delete your Instagram account!

How to Be Stealthy in Street Photography

Stealth is an art in street photography. Capturing candid moments without disturbing the scene requires finesse and creativity. Here’s how to blend into the environment and shoot with confidence.

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1. Use Props to Disguise Your Intent

One of the simplest tricks is to carry a book:

• Hold your camera and book together. This creates a natural distraction and conceals your camera.
• Snap photos casually while flipping through pages or appearing engrossed.

“I’ll snap a picture of anybody. Doesn’t matter.”

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2. Master the Loose Grip Technique

Rigid postures draw attention. Instead:

• Hold your camera loosely. Avoid holding it stiffly in front of your face.
• Use your camera like a wand, waving it fluidly into shots.
• Shoot one-handed for added stealth and mobility.

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3. Blend In With Your Environment

Adopt a style that makes you inconspicuous:

• Wear a jacket. Garry Winogrand popularized this approach, and it adds an air of casualness.
• Move naturally. Don’t appear overly focused or mechanical.

“Play the role of the streets. You move with the streets.”

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4. Engage With People

Being stealthy doesn’t mean being invisible:

• Acknowledge others. Greet people, make casual conversation, and build rapport.
• Balance interaction with stealth. Say hi, but take your shots without drawing too much attention.

“You can be stealthy and talk at the same time.”

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5. Use Disguised Techniques

Transform your camera into a prop:

• Pretend your camera is a phone. Hold it up as if you’re taking a call.
• Use natural gestures like adjusting your jacket or scratching your head to capture shots unnoticed.

“Your camera can be a phone too. Just hold it up like you’re making a call.”

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6. Stay Confident and Adapt

Confidence is key:

• Own your presence. If you’re self-assured, people are less likely to question your actions.
• Adapt your strategy based on the flow of the street and the reactions of those around you.

“If you get confronted, it’s user error. Figure out your game and play it.”

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Conclusion

Stealth in street photography is about blending in, staying fluid, and using creative techniques to capture candid moments. With practice, you’ll master the art of photographing unnoticed, letting the streets reveal their authentic stories.

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RFID Travel Vest for Men

How to make a new school of photography? I think some simple thoughts is using a Ricoh GRIIIX, Small JPEG and High Contrast Black and White is a good start… but what’s next? It’s not just an aesthetic choice, but it’s a mindset. It’s simply the fastest way to make pictures. There’s no BS, no editing, no cropping, just straight out of camera magic. Perhaps the goal is to make billions and billions of photos? Who cares if you can compose a beautiful picture of a dynamic scene anymore anyways? The goal is maybe to simply remain curious. To keep making photos. To keep going until you die at age 120?

NPC

A non playable character

noun, plural flâ·neurs  [flah-nœr]. French.
a person who lounges or strolls around in a seemingly aimless way; an idler or loafer:
the flâneur, that cool, aloof observer of urban society.

My theory is this: The X-Pro3 broke down on me because I put around 100,000 shutter accusations in the camera within just a few months. I shoot more than anybody I ever met in my life. I live and breathe this stuff. So maybe it only makes sense that my camera broke down so quickly? If your camera doesn’t break down on you, maybe you’re just not working hard enough? I put my skin in the game since 2013 and I am still going strong! Cheers to many more camera breakdowns to come!

The X-Pro3 is not just a “poor man’s Leica,” but is way better and more robust than a Leica. I learned photography on a Leica M3 and have loads of experience with all these major camera systems for street photography so the comparison is justified. The problem is the durability. I’ve had to return my X-Pro3 to Fujifilm for repair two separate times within one year! This is nonsense and not acceptable whatsoever. The selling point for this upgrade was supposed to be the new titanium top and bottom plates, but it’s a gimmick! I never dropped my camera or put it under any harsh conditions, but the entire battery, shutter, and internals were all replaced. The second repair was needed to replace the LCD screen as that went caput. It put a really bad taste in my mouth and forced me to go back to using Ricoh digital cameras now. I can’t believe I had to send the X-Pro3 in for repair twice in just one year… It really baffles me. They should be forced to discontinue this line of camera and make something entirely new along the lines of their X70 series camera. Street photographers do NOT need a viewfinder. Just make an ultra compact and durable camera that competes with Ricoh… Too bad the Fuji JPEGS are no match for Ricoh’s high contrast black and white…