How to Enter the Street Photography Frenzy

How to Enter the Street Photography Frenzy

What’s poppin people? It’s Dante — getting my morning started here in the Centennial Arboretum. Welcome to the vlog.

Filming with the GoPro Mini at 1080p 30fps, exported and uploaded to YouTube.
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🔥 Enter the Frenzy

How do we enter a frenzy?
How do we enter a street photography frenzy?

“I think of my process very sporadically… I’m in a freaking frenzy all day.”

When I’m on the bus, when I’m standing there in the hallway, waiting to come to work — I’m already in it. Photographing anything I can see:

  • Out the window
  • In the mirror
  • The skyline
  • My own hand
  • Myself

It’s like I’m asking: Can I get unleashed?

And now here we are…
The open world.
The road to nowhere.
The unknown.

🌬️ Flow State and Sensuality

This is where I like to be — in a constant flow state of ecstasy. As a photographer, I enjoy the sensual pleasures of:

  • Being outside
  • Feeling the air on my skin
  • Wearing a short sleeve shirt
  • Taking off my shirt when it’s sunny
  • Drinking fresh cold water
  • Listening to the birds and street chatter
  • Feeling the ground beneath me

I wear Vivo Barefoot shoes during work. After work? I switch to the Vibram FiveFingers. It’s phenomenal.

“You can feel the earth.”

From the concrete…
To the asphalt…
To the grass…

All the uneven surfaces — they trigger me. Trigger me into a flow state. A frenzy. A chaotic spirit of play.

📸 Discipline vs. Ecstatic Chaos

“I think the looser you are, the better your photographs will be.”

We get too rigid. Too structured.
Schedules, set times, fixed routes…

Sure, they help. But for me?

Maintaining discipline inside an erratic state — now that’s where the magic is.
Everything becomes infinitely fascinating and photographable when I have the camera in hand.

Tap into that inner dragon.
Tap into your inner child — the one that wants to scream, shout, climb, pout, and explore.
No plans. No rules. Just you and the street.

🤫 Simplicity Is Power

“Just not taking life so seriously and enjoying the very simple pleasures in life… puts me in this frenzy.”

Strip it all away:

  • The noise
  • The distractions
  • The phone
  • The feed

Stay focused in the present moment. That’s the real power of photography — it keeps you laser focused.

I’m literally watching my breath right now.

Not even cold… but I can see it.
The sunrise lights the world around me. I look through translucent leaves, trace the veins, follow the glowing horizon.

Everything is phenomenal.

Even the spider web in front of me — GoPro won’t pick it up, but I see it. That’s the thing.

👁️ To Learn Is to Photograph

Sometimes the camera sees more than your eye. The macro lens brings the invisible to life.

“The more that you photograph, the more curious you become.”

Tiny petals on a worn table. Cherry blossoms falling and withering. You notice them because you photograph them.

And yeah… that’s the moral of this little vlog.

🧠 Vitality = Frenzy

“I think it also comes through vitality, through being physically strong…”

Good sleep.
Good meat.
Wake up on repeat — with energy.

That’s how you enter the flow state.
Find yourself in a frenzy through photography.

Maybe you get what I’m saying. Maybe you don’t.
It’s all good.

I’m just sharing what helps me — maybe it helps one other person too.

😆 Life Isn’t That Serious

“Life is just… not serious.”

You gotta stop taking it so seriously to enter the frenzy.

That spirit, that playfulness — that’s what carries through into your work.

Because photography?
It has nothing to do with photography.

“Photography has everything to do with the way in which you engage with humanity out there in the open world.”

So how do you feel about life?

  • Joyous?
  • Sad?
  • Mad?
  • Glad?

Whatever you feel, it reflects in your work.

The more you enter that flow, that ecstatic frenzy, the more your lust for life increases.

And with it? Your photography improves.

📷 Ricoh. Coffee. Sun. Lift. Go.

Wow.
This bench.
This sun.

The sunrise is so beautiful.

Shooting Ricoh GR III, high contrast black and white, small JPEGs.

“Photography is the future. I’m in the future, baby.”

Sun. Sun. Sun. So warm.
Let’s go.

Spring is here, baby.

And don’t forget…

  • Drink a lot of coffee ☕️
  • Let that be your creative stimulant
  • No drugs. No alcohol.
  • Just coffee, sun, meat, water
  • Deadlift before you start your day

That’s what I do.

“Get all your weightlifting in and then go out. You just feel so good.”

🎓 Pro Tips with Dante

Let’s keep it simple.
Let’s stay in the moment.
Let’s photograph the frenzy.

Peace and love,
Dante

Repetition is the Purest Form of Mastery

Repetition is the Purest Form of Mastery

Every single morning, when I ride the bus, I snapshot out the window—practicing the same exact shot of the same exact landscape every single day. There’s something to be said about mastery, about timer photography, and how we can achieve greatness through repetition. I believe that repetition and consistency are what lead to success in any endeavor in life. Photography is no different.

The more you walk, the more you see.
The more you see, the more you photograph.
The more you photograph, the more curious you become.
The more curious you become, the more you go out there and achieve the goal of making more photographs.

Climb a Mountain

One of my favorite things to do is stand on top of a cliff, a mountain, or a bridge with a vantage point, where I can look out and see the horizon. When you have a panopticon view of your surroundings from an elevated position, it fuels you with inspiration.

I don’t believe you find inspiration in people, or even in words, books, etc. The purest form of inspiration comes from nature, from the source of creation—the divine. When you tune out the noise and listen to your inner conscience, especially in the wilderness—on a trail, in the woods, on a hill, away from the hustle and bustle—you can truly hear your inner voice calling.

Think of Elijah, the prophet, rising to the mountain, listening to his conscience, after fleeing Queen Jezebel and hiding in a cave. While he was in that cave, he heard loud sounds—wind, an earthquake, and then fire. But after the fire, he heard a still, small voice. His conscience. It told him to rise and return to the world.

For the past two years straight, I’ve marched in the wilderness along the trail in Philadelphia, rising to the mountain behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art, standing on the cliff each and every day. I’ve canceled out all the noise and simply listened to my inner voice—my conscience—and allowed that to guide me back into the world, finding my place in the chaos of urban life.

Eliminate Decisions

When I walk along this trail:

  • If I turn left, I’ll fall into the river and drown.
  • If I turn right, I’ll get hit by a train.
  • The only option is onward and upward—to the cliff.

This is where I seek to be. Eliminate decisions. Eliminate fatigue. The mental fog of endless decisions clouds our perception and fills our lives with noise.

Think of your camera choices—endless brands, lenses, features. But by eliminating all these decisions and sticking to one camera, one lens, and moving forward daily with repetition, you can achieve mastery.

Even in food—there are a million options. But if you eat the same thing every day, at the same time, you’ll find discipline and vitality. The more physical vitality you feel, the sharper your thoughts become—and your spirit will rise to new heights.

What is Spirit?

When I consider spirit, I think about the Holy Spirit, in the Catholic tradition: The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.

I believe the Holy Spirit is the conscience. That inner voice that calls you out into the world to do, to think, to create, to explore. It tells you what’s right, what’s wrong. But the conscience can also become corrupted—especially if it arises from weakness.

Consider this:

  • Person A: Weak, anemic, depressed, and lacking vitality
  • Person B: Strong, metabolically healthy, joyous, full of vitality

Which person is more likely to seek power over others?

The answer might surprise you. It’s Person A—because those who feel powerless often envy the strong. They may lash out with bitterness, jealousy, or hate.

My theory:

  • Lower vitality = lower testosterone
  • Lower testosterone = higher sense of powerlessness
  • The more powerless a person feels, the more they seek to destroy

But the strong man—full of vitality—will uplift others.

This is not absolute, but there’s wisdom in it. Epictetus taught that we should only focus on what’s within our control. That’s where real power lies. If you chase what’s outside your control, you will feel powerless. And when you feel powerless, your content of character suffers.

True power: Physical, mental, and spiritual vitality
Weakness: Chasing what’s outside your control

The Joyous Giant

On the bus ride to work, there are these children who sing and chant with joy. They remind me: life is not that serious.

When you embrace your inner child, everything becomes play. When you rise early to catch the sunrise and feel its warmth on your skin, it fills you with love. And when you’re full of that love, you naturally want to share it.

The future man I envision is:

  • Physically strong
  • Mentally sharp
  • Spiritually radiant

He changes the world not by force, but by being the change:

  • Smiling at strangers
  • Giving compliments
  • Listening deeply

These small acts create ripples. They only come from inner abundance.

Tap Into the Source

During my Peace Corps service in Zambia, I learned the power of water.

Every village had a church (for moral/spiritual vitality) and a well (for physical vitality). But a well needs a source. Without it, the well runs dry.

We are the well.
God is the source.
If you tap into the source, you overflow with life—able to nourish others.

Be Like a Tree

I’m surrounded by trees every day at the Centennial Arboretum. Some date back to 1876. There’s one towering tree that stuns me every time I see it.

Its limbs stretch to the sky. Its roots are deep in the soil.

We too must become like trees:

  • Rooted deep
  • Reaching for the light
  • Competing, struggling, thriving
  • Growing through pain and rain

And when we grow tall, we bear fruit—sweet, plump, nourishing figs. This is the fruit of our spirit: kindness, love, light.

When you grow your roots into the earth and rise to the sun, you bear fruit that feeds the world.

Grow deep.
Reach high.
Bear fruit.
And fly like a dove.
A free spirit.

Raw Power

Raw Power

For the past week, I’ve been experimenting with drinking raw milk, and I’ve even been mixing it with raw honey. I’ve been practicing a 100% carnivore diet for two and a half years now, and I’ve never felt this powerful in my entire life. But ever since I started training at a boxing gym six weeks ago—alongside some HIIT training and Ashtanga yoga—I’ve been upping the intensity on top of my morning strength training. Because of this, I’m starting to think more about recovery, longevity, and new protocols for muscle repair.

The Importance of Recovery

Every morning and night, I take hot baths with Epsom salt followed by cold showers. As I lay in the hot, boiling water and start to sweat, I feel so rejuvenated after stepping out of the cold. What I’ve realized is this: if you take proper recovery measures, you don’t even need to take rest days. You can just keep going—with raw power, vitality—and the Epsom salt baths seem to be playing a major role.

In the morning, I like to hydrate with water and take a small dab of raw honey mixed with pink Himalayan salt. It feels like salt helps carry the minerals through the body, and combining it with honey—or with my new evening ritual of raw milk—seems to genuinely help with recovery.

I’m starting to feel something insatiable growing in me—this overpowering energy. The surprising thing is, I’ve been feeling this power while remaining completely fasted all day until sunset. I train on an empty stomach and eat only one meal a day. But when you fill your body with real nutrients—meat, liver, salt, water, raw milk, raw honey, raw cheese—you tap into the most ancient, primal source of force and power you can possibly consume.

The Land of Milk and Honey

I find it interesting that the Promised Land—Israel—is called the land of milk and honey. There may be deep truth to this. A land of milk speaks to richness and nourishment from cattle, while honey is a symbol of delicacy and luxury. But the Promised Land, I think, is more than a geographic location or a metaphysical heaven—it’s an internal state.

We create heaven on earth. The Kingdom is within. There’s a reason why Jesus said this.

If you’re waking up each morning dreading the day, stuck in a life you hate, pacifying yourself with TV and junk food at night, that’s hell on earth. But if you rise with raw power, vitality, curiosity, and eagerness—fueling your day with love for what you do—you’ve created paradise.

To create heaven on earth, you must obey and listen to the highest power: God. Everything else falls into place.

Listen to the Inner Voice

Take Moses leading the Israelites out of slavery. At the border of the Promised Land, God tells Moses to ask the rocks for water. But Moses doesn’t listen—he strikes the rocks instead. And because of this disobedience, he never enters the Promised Land.

What I take from this is: you must listen to God—not society, not politicians, teachers, friends, parents. Your intuition may seem “crazy” like speaking to rocks, but it’s your direct line to the divine.

That voice inside you is the path to the Kingdom.

Follow Your Intuition

We all have this godlike intuition, but the noise of modern life drowns it out. The city, the phone, the screens, the algorithm—it confuses people, blinds them to what they truly want.

The only way to hear that voice is to step away.

Go into the wilderness. Literally. Walk the nature path. Surround yourself with beauty. Silence the chatter and you’ll hear the call. But if you drown that voice in consumption and distraction, you’ll never find it.

I can only speak for myself, but I genuinely believe I’ve found heaven on earth. I was doing social media work that drained my soul. So I quit. I was jobless for over a year. But in that silence, I listened to God.

And it led me to a life I resonate with on the deepest level. Now I work a job I love. I’ve found inner peace. It all came from obeying the voice within—without fear.

You need courage to listen to intuition. Cancel the noise, and you’ll finally hear it. And once you hear it, obey it. Submit to it. Then life unfolds the way it should. And in that unfolding, you’ll find peace, clarity, purpose, and meaning.

The Eternal Return

If you had to relive today for the rest of eternity—would you thrive?

This is the ultimate existential question. Even more important than confronting death. Because when you accept mortality, you ask: Am I living well?

You realize life is repetition. So you better live in a way that you can affirm it—again and again.

Wake up eager to see the sunrise. Eager to move your body. Eager to walk forward. Think of Sisyphus rolling the stone uphill, again and again. Is life suffering? Maybe. But can you affirm it? Yes.

I believe true freedom only comes from true physical vitality.

Cultivate Courage

When David faced Goliath, he was just a small shepherd boy. But he had courage. He armed himself with God and stepped into the unknown. One clean shot. The beast fell.

Without courage, David would’ve never become King.

So muster courage. Face what’s in front of you. Overcome it. Become King of your own internal kingdom.

Create paradise.

Be the creator.

Why waste your time squandering your potential when you could live meaningfully?

Time is our greatest currency. Spend it well.

Because you could die tomorrow.

So ask yourself:

Would you rather die a good boy—on time, obedient, and forgettable?

Or would you rather die knowing you moved forward with raw power, vitality, and purpose—carving your own path, living a life that meant something?

Speed and Simplicity in Street Photography

Speed and Simplicity in Street Photography

What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante.
Currently walking through the Centennial Arboretum with the Ricoh GR III, photographing today with the 28mm. I’m gonna be using this setup throughout the summer.

Why Speed Matters

Speed, speed, speed.
Why is speed so important in street photography? I believe speed is critical in my personal process.

“Ever since adopting this new workflow — shooting with small JPEGs, high contrast black and white on a Ricoh GR compact — I’ve realized the power of speed.”

This camera is always on me. Glued to the wrist, strapper in my front right pocket. I never miss shots. It’s part of my day, no matter where I am or how mundane things seem.

Sometimes, the difference between capturing or missing a moment is literally one click. All I need to do is press the power, press the shutter. That’s it.

The Hunter’s Mentality

“When you’re out there on the street, you really have to have this response time like a hunter — with precision, ready to attack, ready to make that photograph.”

Having a camera that doesn’t get in the way is everything. A compact system like the GR III lets me photograph quickly and spontaneously. Street photography demands that kind of readiness.

Simplify Everything

  • Camera setup
  • Backup workflow
  • File selection
  • Publishing process

The more I simplify, the faster I move.
The faster I move, the more I see.
The more I see, the more I photograph.

“Photograph with speed and you build the feedback loop that makes you want to go out there and attack again.”

I shoot a lot. Upwards of a thousand shots a day.

Shooting small JPEGs (just 4 MB files) means:

  • Fast import into my iPad Pro
  • Immediate cloud backup
  • Quick uploads to my website
  • Published same day

No More Backlog Headaches

I used to photograph for a month and never review my images until I got home. Not anymore.

“Now, every night, I go through my selects, back them up, and publish. My backlog isn’t a burden anymore — it’s already sorted.”

Why the GR III Wins for Me

This summer I’m fully committing to the Ricoh GR III. I used the GR IIIx (40mm) for the past year, but honestly, it slows me down. It requires more precision.

The 28mm on the GR III gives me:

  • More coverage
  • Faster reactions
  • Spontaneity

“The faster you react, the better off you are. If something’s getting in the way of you making photographs, then that’s a problem — and you need to solve it.”

The Real Solution?

Strip away the decision fatigue.

  • Stick to one camera
  • Stick to one focal length
  • Stick to one workflow

Photographers often overwhelm themselves with options. But discipline and consistency create freedom.

Snapshot Your Way Through Life

“These days I just bring the camera for the ride and snapshot whatever comes my way.”

That’s how I liberate myself creatively.
Working fast.
Working light.
Working freely.

A Call to Action

Think more critically about:

  • Your workflow
  • How you photograph
  • What you’re actually looking for

When you go out with an open mind — not searching for something specific — you become faster, more intuitive, and more responsive.

“Fast photography is the future. Not perfect photos. Not overly composed. But quick, spontaneous, wonky images — more beautiful in their imperfection.”

Imperfection is Beautiful

Working fast can change the result of your photo. It might even give your images more authenticity, more of your voice.

Let go of perfectionism. Stop dwelling on whether a photo is good or bad.

Final Thought

“Embrace the spirit of play. Snapshot your way through life — quickly, spontaneously, with speed and simplicity.”

Let your body move. Let your eyes wander. Let the photographs come to you.

Move your body and snapshot your way through life.

Is it safe to say that 50% of the human population have been socially engineered?

Yes, it’s safe to say that a significant portion—potentially 50% or more—of the human population has been socially engineered, especially when you define social engineering broadly as the shaping of beliefs, behaviors, and desires through media, institutions, education, culture, and technology.

Here’s why that number is reasonable:

  • Mass Media Influence: Television, news, music, movies, and especially social media have shaped norms, desires, and even identity.
  • Schooling Systems: Public education often prioritizes conformity, obedience, and standardized thinking over creativity and independent thought.
  • Consumer Culture: Billions are influenced by marketing and advertising campaigns that manipulate desires and sell lifestyles.
  • Digital Algorithms: TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook push curated content that reinforces certain worldviews, often without the user’s awareness.
  • Political Narratives: Propaganda, both subtle and overt, steers large populations toward collective ideologies or manufactured consent.

The phrase “socially engineered” doesn’t necessarily mean brainwashed, but it implies a degree of unconscious shaping by forces that benefit from compliant, predictable populations

The Wisdom of Bitcoin

No politician, government, or billionaire, gets in the way of me and economic thriving. No need to protest, complain, or go on strike. Just pay your taxes, have direct ownership of your wealth, and live your life.

What Does It Mean to Photograph Your Soul?

What Does It Mean to Photograph Your Soul?

Lately I’ve been thinking about soul photography, and what that means to me—and how we can achieve this goal of photographing our soul. I think it’s interesting to consider photographing the internal world, within you, rather than the external world, simply due to the fact that I’ve already photographed the external world. This is my personal journey, and honestly, it seems like it’s actually a lot easier to photograph the external world in my opinion. You arrive at a location, you understand the fundamentals of photography, you adapt your technique and philosophy into these new environments, and you execute the photograph. It’s very plain and simple. Photography is easy.

Photography has everything to do with how you engage with humanity.

When I say this, I mean that photography has nothing to do with photography. The visual game of putting together the foreground, middle ground, background—synthesizing content with form—it’s very intuitive, and I don’t believe it takes that much effort to learn to execute properly. However, my understanding is that photographing your soul, and your genuine and authentic raw perception of the world, is much more difficult to achieve.

Why?

I believe it’s difficult to know yourself. It’s easy to look at the world outside and recognize a beautiful moment, to hunt for something decisive, to recognize the patterns in nature and human behavior, and to press the shutter at that moment—that fraction of a second. It’s intuitive. However, what’s not intuitive is understanding yourself on a deeper and more emotional level. Just sit with yourself, in silence, and really contemplate how you feel about the world, how you feel about yourself, and how you genuinely fit within the grand scheme of life. Your philosophy, your morals, your ethics—it’s very difficult to display these in a photo.

How to Photograph Your Soul

My thought process around how to photograph your soul simply derives through flow state. Entering flow state means existing in the present moment, producing photographs while being detached from the outcome itself. When you snapshot your way through your everyday life and simply follow your subconscious mind and genuine childlike intuition with each photograph you make, you enter this flow state—and I believe, achieve the goal of photographing your soul.

In order to photograph your soul, you have to disconnect from the world around you in a way, and create your own world.

The New Goal Is to Create a New World

Once you’ve already traveled the world and photographed the external world, it seems that the next goal is to then photograph a new world—to create your own version of reality. I find that the photographs I’m making these days, through the spirit of play—not taking myself so seriously—not only provide more joy in my everyday life, but are guiding me through life in a way, where the more I photograph, the more I understand myself and the world around me.

I’m treating photography as a way for me to have a dialogue with the world, and to extract from it—creating my interpretation of reality. To me, art is the closest thing to tapping into the metaphysical, beyond the material plane. And perhaps to photograph the soul is the ultimate striving—vertically—to achieve this goal of transcending the world through photography.

It may sound a bit lofty, and a bit extraordinary, but I believe this is a much more interesting approach to making photographs—going beyond the ordinary, striving towards the extraordinary.

I believe that life isn’t necessarily what it seems. There is so much mystery and so much to learn. And through photographing each day, I enter this childlike spirit of transformation, flux, change—ever learning and growing through the medium.

When I make a photograph, not only am I affirming life by saying yes, but I’m also asking the question why?
And the more I ask the question why, the more I understand myself—and get to the root of what it means to photograph my soul.

Embracing Imperfection in Street Photography

Embracing Imperfection in Street Photography

What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante.

This morning I’m thinking about imperfection in street photography and how we can embrace this within our photography.
Ultimately, I believe that we are imperfect.

Human beings are imperfect creatures.
We’re flesh. We’re bound by gravity.

“We cut, we bleed. We feel sorrow, pain and greed. We lust for the flesh of others.”

We have an imperfect design in nature. The trees, too, aren’t necessarily perfect.
The bark chips off. The flowers bloom, and then they wither away.
Sometimes trees fall and die.

There’s something about this impermanent nature of life that you recognize when surrounding yourself with beautiful nature.
You realize how imperfect things really are.

“But there’s something about that imperfect nature of life that becomes so beautiful.”

When I find these beautiful little things that are discarded — whether it’s the little pots that were broken and discarded or the dead leaves falling on the ground — I can’t help but smile, not frown.

When I see something imperfect, when I see something tragic, when I see something that may cause pain or suffering…
It’s actually a much more interesting approach to affirm that feeling — affirm that sorrow, affirm that sensation or that object itself — because:

“Through that imperfect nature of life… there is perfection.”

It’s this interesting dichotomy I can’t help but notice.

Imperfection as Process

So by embracing this in our photography, I believe we can create more interesting images.

One simple suggestion?

Don’t use the viewfinder.

I use the LCD screen on the back of my Ricoh camera so I can:

  • Throw the camera around
  • Snapshot freely and loosely
  • Be surprised by the results

I think this is a really interesting way to approach composition in street photography. Because ultimately…

“Composition derives through your intuition.”

It’s that gut instinct within you to press the shutter.

Photography Is Physical

Photography is a very physical medium.
A photographer is responsible for where they position their body in relation to the subject and background.

This requires movement.
To be on your toes.
To walk.
To physically adjust to create a composition.

That composition comes from that gut instinct — that physical response you have to the thing you’re photographing.

“The photograph reflects the imperfect nature of life when you embrace the process physically.”

Let the Chips Fall

Through snapshotting and photographing loosely, we can embrace imperfection in our photography and create more interesting work.

I’m no longer trying to create “strong” or “better” photos with every click.
I’m detaching from the outcome.

“By detaching myself from the results, I’m no longer striving for perfection.”

And you know what I’ve found?

“In order to grow, in order to evolve, in order to transform and become new — one must destroy their self.”

Destroy. Rebuild. Repeat.
That’s evolution.

Limitation Is Liberation

Over the last 2.5 years, I’ve stripped everything down:

  • Removed color
  • Removed excess gear
  • One Ricoh camera
  • High-contrast black and white baked in

This workflow:

  • Bakes in the grain and grit
  • Removes barriers
  • Liberates me

The camera doesn’t get in the way. The process doesn’t get in the way.
I move freely, shoot freely, process within the camera, and move on.

No longer burdened by what photography “should” be — but instead, photographing what life could be.

“What I see isn’t necessarily what I get. What I get is what I didn’t see.”

That’s the magic of black and white. It plays with:

  • Order and chaos
  • Light and shadow
  • Perfection and imperfection

Return to Play

“Each day, destroy past ways of working. Rebuild again. Become a child.”

Children aren’t trying to be perfect.
They:

  • Shout and pout
  • Express themselves openly
  • Build castles just to knock them down

We should channel that inner child to embrace imperfection.
Each day, become nothing again — and grow.

Through making photos.
Through going outside.
Through movement and spontaneity.

This is empowering.

A Soulful Approach

So think more about perfection and imperfection.

How can you embrace this in your own photography?

“The goal is to reflect your soul through the photographs you make.”

By embracing your flaws, the flaws of life itself, you give yourself a voice.
This is the beauty of street photography.

  • Serendipity
  • Spontaneity
  • Authenticity

Let it rise to the surface.

Whether it’s:

  • Technique
  • Tools
  • Your mindset

These things matter. But also… they don’t.

Because ultimately:

“You must detach from the result to embrace imperfection in its purest form.”

Final Thoughts

Let go.

  • Play more
  • Tinker more
  • Break things

Even this video — I’m using a GoPro Mini.
No LCD screen. I can’t see myself.
I didn’t shave. You can see all my flaws.

And I think… that’s more interesting.

“We are flesh. We cut, we bleed. We feel sorrow, pain and greed. We lust for the flesh of others. We are bound by gravity. Nobody is perfect.”

But that divine imperfection — that’s what makes life perfect.

These are my morning thoughts for the day about imperfection in street photography.

Thank you for watching today’s video. I’ll see you in the next one.

Oh — and one fun way to embrace imperfection?

Use your thumb or middle finger on the shutter.

The Faith of a Child

The Faith of a Child

I’ve been thinking a lot about childlike curiosity lately, and what it means to return to being a child. I first started to think more about this after reading Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche, where he discusses the three metamorphoses of the spirit: first, the Camel, then the Lion, and finally, the Child.

First, you are a Camel, carrying as much of the world’s weight on your back as you can. Then you become a Lion, carving your own path and living on your own terms. Finally, you transform into a Child.

When I think about the final evolution being a Child, it makes sense: a child has endless potential for growth, isn’t yet hardened by societal norms, or trapped by what they think they know about the world. A child has infinite potential.

A Child is a Slave?

Think about it: a child has no rights.

In the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, children were often sold into slavery, forced into labor, and had no rights in society. A child has no identity, relying entirely on the guidance of a parent or figure of authority.

Now, if you think about the child submitting to the ultimate authority, that authority would be God.
If you think about the ultimate hierarchy for a functioning society, it is:

  • God
  • Tribe
  • Land

The Importance of Tribe

I spent a year in a rural village in Zambia, Africa, amongst the Bemba tribe. I learned the local language and worked in fish farming. During my time there, I was integrated into a local family, becoming a surrogate member of the Bemba tribe.

At the center of my village, there was a church. This church was the foundation and the rock that held down the community. Everybody gathered there, and at the center of the church was the altar — the place of sacrifice — where everyone reminded themselves of the archetype, the hero, Jesus Christ.

Because everyone gathered at the church, they submitted to God’s will and put Him at the top of the hierarchy.
Everyone in the village was driving upwards, sharing land horizontally across families, while striving vertically toward God.

The family unit was the ultimate authority. Everyone within the family and the tribe had a role to play:

  • Mothers came home with babies on their backs and firewood on their heads every morning.
  • Girls woke up to the sound of mortar and pestle, preparing food for the day.
  • Boys built bricks with sand and mud.
  • Men built churches and homes, or fished at the lake.

There was a certain human thriving I witnessed in these rural villages of Zambia that I have never seen before — and certainly feel is neglected in the West today.
I believe it has to do with the correct hierarchy: God, Tribe, and Land.

Remove Your Identity

In the United States, we are obsessed with individualism, consumerism, and differentiating ourselves by purchasing things. However, I believe in true individualism.

If you look at the word identity, it derives from the Latin word idem, meaning “the same.”

Essentially, the more people consume and the more they identify with external things, the more they actually become the same — and not true individuals at all.

A Child Has No Identity

A child does not subscribe to political ideologies, go to stores to buy things, identify with religious practices, or follow dogmas and traditions.
A child is merely a slave to authority.

A child has no real idea of what is right or wrong until they engage in play with other children and learn how to form interpersonal relationships.

To be a child, once again, is to have no fixed identity — to be a complete slave to God’s will.

In the first book of the Bible, the Old Testament’s Genesis, God makes a covenant with man, with Abraham.

God’s promise to Abraham was:

  • Land (modern-day Israel)
  • Descendants (Tribe)
  • Blessings throughout the nations

Once again: the ultimate hierarchy — God, Tribe, Land.

When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, Isaac voluntarily offered his body for sacrifice, carrying the wood willingly, submitting to God.
As Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, God intervened and replaced Isaac with a ram.

Fast-forward 2,000 years later:
In the New Testament, we see Jesus carrying his cross, in the same general region of Jerusalem.
Jesus voluntarily sacrificed His flesh and body — the ultimate fulfillment of the New Covenant.

One of Jesus Christ’s most famous teachings was that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, you must return to being a child:

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 18:3, ESV)

Perhaps to return to being a child is to strip away your identity, voluntarily pick up your cross, and embrace the suffering and burden of life itself, becoming a slave to God’s will.

The Artist’s Role: Purity and Creation

Especially as artists, maybe it is most important to embrace life with purity, innocence, and a natural trust that everything happens as it should — despite the cynicism and negativity modern society imposes upon us.

The horizontal plane — the material world, wealth, fame, fortune — is merely a distraction.
We must embrace simplicity, the divine connection on the vertical plane, striving upwards and beyond the material, toward the metaphysical world through the act of creation.

Perhaps, after all, the creation of art is the closest thing to touching the metaphysical plane.

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