Plato’s Dialogues

Introduction

Plato’s works are primarily dialogues—dramatic, literary, and philosophical texts that feature Socrates as the main character.
There are roughly 35 dialogues. Though some letters exist, their authenticity is questionable.
These dialogues are not transcripts but crafted conversations—rich in drama and layered with meaning.

“Socrates never wrote. Plato never wrote in his own name. But he’s everywhere—and nowhere—in these dialogues.”

The Three Phases of Plato’s Dialogues

1. Early Dialogues (Post-399 BC)

Written shortly after Socrates’ execution.
Focus on virtues like courage, piety, friendship, and beauty.
Often end in aporia (ἀπορία) — a state of puzzlement or failure.
Socrates acts as a gadfly, stinging experts into confusion.
Aim: to expose assumptions and provoke deeper thought.

“Socrates, you’re like a stingray. You’ve numbed me—I thought I knew what courage was.”

Key Dialogues:

Apology – Socrates’ trial defense.
Crito – Friends urge Socrates to escape.
Euthyphro – What is piety?
Laches – What is courage?
Charmides – What is moderation?
Hippias Major – What is beauty?
Lysis – What is friendship?

2. Middle Dialogues (380s–370s BC)

Plato reaches the height of his philosophical genius.
Longer speeches; Socrates begins to articulate doctrines.
The Theory of Forms begins to emerge.
More systematic explorations of truth, beauty, love, justice, and the soul.

Key Dialogues:

Phaedo – On the soul and its immortality.
Symposium – On love and transcendence.
Phaedrus – On beauty and divine madness.
Republic – On justice, education, the soul, and the state.

3. Late Dialogues (360s–350s BC)

Socrates plays a diminished role; sometimes absent.
Philosophical arguments become more technical.
Greater self-critique—Plato tests and sometimes refutes his own ideas.

Key Dialogues:

Parmenides – A critique of the Theory of Forms.
Timaeus – Plato’s cosmology and creation myth (influenced medieval and Islamic thought).
Laws – Plato’s last and longest work; less idealistic than Republic.

The Aporetic Pattern (Aporia)

Socrates approaches an expert.
The expert confidently defines a virtue.
Socrates gently asks questions, undoing the definition.
The Dialogue ends in confusion, not clarity.

The failure is the point: it’s a moment of illumination through ignorance.

Philosophical Essence vs Postmodern Flux

Socrates assumes there’s a truth to be found. He asks ti esti — “What is it?”
This implies belief in essence, stable realities, and the possibility of knowledge.
Postmodernism and existentialism (e.g., Sartre) challenge this:
Sartre: Existence precedes essence.
We invent meaning, not discover it.
But Plato’s view: there is a truth—possibly beyond time and space.

Even the gods must answer to the good, the beautiful, and the true.

Dialogue Highlights

Euthyphro

What is piety?
Euthyphro says: “Piety is what the gods love.”
Socrates’ challenge: Do the gods love it because it’s pious, or is it pious because they love it?
Conclusion: The gods cannot define truth—they must recognize it.

Protagoras & Gorgias

Both feature leading Sophists.
Protagoras is critiqued but treated civilly.
Gorgias’ student (Polus) shows how bad rhetoric can warp truth.
Socrates exposes the moral failure of sophistic education.
Callicles emerges: a chilling defender of power over truth.

Might makes right. Justice is the advantage of the stronger.

Republic (Preview)

Begins with Thrasymachus, echoing Callicles: power defines justice.
Plato spends the next nine books refuting this idea.

Historical Parallel: The Melian Dialogue

Thucydides, Book 5 of Peloponnesian War:
Athenian delegates justify slaughtering the Melians: “Justice is what the strong say it is.”
This logic horrified Plato. His dialogues are a response—a rejection of raw power divorced from the good.

The Role of Power

Plato is not anti-power—he wants just power.
He advocates for power anchored in the good, the beautiful, and the true.
Rejects both:
Sophistic rhetoric-as-power.
Modern anti-power nihilism (e.g., Foucault’s “all truth is power”).

Other Major Dialogues (Briefly Mentioned)

Symposium – Love as ascent toward the divine.
Phaedo – The soul is eternal; death is liberation.
Timaeus – A divine craftsman (demiurge) orders the cosmos.
Influential in Christian, Islamic, and medieval thought.

Plato on Dialogue Today

“In a society obsessed with mythos and not logos, we’re just prisoners watching shadows on the cave wall.”

Dialogue breaks down when:

There is no belief in Truth.
Truth is seen as a mask for power.
Truth is reduced to evolutionary survival.

Final Thoughts

Philosophy begins with wonder, but it continues through honest ignorance.
The Dialogues aren’t just arguments—they’re exemplars of how to think and live.
Socrates remains a moral role model, confronting death with composure and thoughtfulness.

“Who do we look up to when no one knows anything? Socrates.”

Next Up: Lecture 3 – Plato’s Theories: Being and Knowing

Plato’s World

1. Introduction

Series Title & Theme:
“The Dawn of Thought” highlights the emergence of systematic inquiry and fundamental questions about reality.
The Axial Age Concept:
Coined by Karl Jaspers, the Axial Age (approximately 8th–3rd century BC) marks a period when major civilizations (China, India, Iran, Palestine, Greece) independently developed a deep appetite for understanding reality.

2. The Global Intellectual Landscape of the Axial Age

Key Figures in Various Regions:
China: Confucius, Laozi, Mozi
India: Transition in the Vedic tradition leading to the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita
Iran: The birth of Zoroastrianism with complex cosmologies
Palestine: The prophetic tradition (Elijah, Jeremiah, Isaiah)
Greece’s Unique Contribution:
Emergence of democracy (in forms different from today’s)
Birth of drama, tragedy, and history (Herodotus and Thucydides)
Advances in anthropology, economics, early psychology (with figures like Aristotle)
The idea of “skhole” (leisure) as essential for scholarly inquiry supported by the social structure (e.g., slavery)

3. Why Focus on Plato?

Encapsulating an Era:
Plato is seen as the figure who distills the diverse and sophisticated ideas emerging during the Axial Age into a coherent philosophical system.
Influence on Western Thought:
Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, “Plato is philosophy, and philosophy is Plato.”
Alfred North Whitehead remarked that Western philosophy is “a series of footnotes to Plato.”
Pervasiveness of Plato’s Ideas:
Plato’s fingerprints are found even in the philosophies that arose in opposition to him, such as in Nietzsche’s critiques.

4. The Socratic Legacy

Socrates as a Central Figure:
Socrates, whose life and trial (as depicted in Plato’s Apology) profoundly shaped Plato’s thinking.
Known for his relentless pursuit of truth and self-criticism.
The Charges Against Socrates:
Introducing New Gods: Threatening the established civic religion of Athens.
Corrupting the Youth: Accusing him of undermining traditional values.
The Delphic Oracle & Wisdom:
Socrates recounts the Oracle’s claim that he is the wisest, which he interprets as awareness of his own ignorance.
His method involved testing reputed wisdom (statesmen, poets, craftsmen) and finding them lacking, thus affirming his humble stance.

5. Key Philosophical Themes Introduced

Fundamental Reality vs. Reductive Naturalism:
Contemporary scientific materialism reduces all to “matter”; Plato challenges this reduction.
Raises the question of whether ultimate reality is simply physical or if there is something beyond.
Relativism vs. Objective Truth:
Critique of the sophists who taught that truth is relative, a view echoed in modern postmodernism.
Plato contrasts this with the pursuit of a capital “T” Truth through rigorous dialogue.
Dialectic and the Dialogical Method:
Emphasizes the importance of dialogue (dialectic) for examining and defending ideas.
Plato’s dialogues exemplify the process of exposing beliefs to scrutiny through discussion.

6. The Unique Style and Mode of Plato’s Writing

Dialogues over Treatises:
Plato’s works are structured as dialogues rather than monologues, exemplifying the interactive process of inquiry.
Plato’s Literary Artistry:
His texts blend high comedy, pathos, and tragedy, reflecting his background and literary skill.
Anecdote: Plato’s early ambition as a tragedian, which he abandoned after meeting Socrates.
The Paradox of Plato’s Presence:
Despite being the author, Plato never makes himself a character in the dialogues.
His persona is simultaneously omnipresent (through his ideas) yet absent as a direct voice.

7. Institutionalizing the Pursuit of Knowledge

The First Academy:
Plato founded the Academy—a grove outside Athens dedicated to scholarly discourse, symbolizing the institutionalization of intellectual inquiry.
Foundation for Later Disciplines:
This method and setting laid the groundwork for systematic inquiry and the later development of various fields (especially notable in Aristotle’s work).

8. Contemporary Relevance and Reflections

Science vs. Philosophy:
Unlike the evolving sciences, philosophy deals with questions whose fundamental nature remains persistent over time.
Example: The natural sciences offer ever-changing models, whereas philosophical inquiry continually questions its basic assumptions.
Modern Manifestations of Sophism and Relativism:
The lecture draws parallels with modern public discourse where experts from one field may overstep into others (e.g., scientists commenting on politics or economics).
Emphasizes the ongoing need for rigorous, multi-sided dialogue to approach truth.
The Role of Self-Criticism:
The lecture underlines the importance of being open to criticism and questioning one’s own views—a lesson from Socratic dialogue.

9. Q&A and Discussion Highlights

Relativism and Modern Sophistry:
Discussion on whether current intellectual trends (relativism, postmodernism) echo the sophistic tradition.
Inquiry into Expertise:
Reflection on the tension between specialization and the broader claims to wisdom.
Foundational Nature of Philosophical Questions:
Despite vast expansions in knowledge, the core philosophical questions remain as relevant today as they were in ancient times.

10. Concluding Thoughts

Invitation to Dialogue:
Plato’s method encourages us to “have dinner parties with the dead”—to engage with ideas from the past in lively, questioning dialogue.
The Challenge of “Which Plato?”:
Emphasizes the complex, multifaceted nature of Plato’s persona and thought.
Sets the stage for future lectures that will delve deeper into Plato’s dialogues, theories, and enduring influence.
Key Takeaway:
True understanding comes from exposing our beliefs to continuous questioning and embracing the possibility of error, as captured in John Stuart Mill’s adage:
> “He who knows only his own side, knows little of that.”

The Ricoh GRIIIx Changed How I see the World

What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante. Welcome to the Centennial Arboretum.

Today I’m thinking about how the Ricoh GR is completely transforming the way I see the world.

A New Way of Seeing

This shift is so drastic, yet so critical for me to highlight.

The Ricoh GR forces you to look at life differently. Sure, you could say that about any camera—but there’s something unique about the camera that’s always with you. One that you can pull from your front right pocket and snapshot your way through life itself.

“There’s something about the way you can view the world differently through the back of an LCD screen, as opposed to holding the camera at eye level with a viewfinder.”

Ironically, the lack of a viewfinder liberates me. It allows me to:

Make more photographs
See differently
Tinker with compositions
Embrace imperfection

Because at the end of the day—life is imperfect. Maybe we should strive to make more imperfect photographs.

Bound by Gravity

One thought I always return to: we’re bound by gravity. We’re bound by the laws of physics.

“Maybe the best photographs are the ones that remind us this very fact—that we are bound by gravity.”

So I get low. I photograph the details. I photograph nature.

Using the macro feature on the Ricoh GR III and GR IIIx has been such a blast recently. It lets me:

Get close
Go slow
Explore the tiny, hidden layers of reality

Portability = Flow

This camera is the best because of its portability. It’s not a burden. It doesn’t hang on my neck like a traditional camera. I enter a flow state throughout my day with the Ricoh in my pocket.

“Wherever I am in the world, no matter how mundane things may seem, I’m always trying to find a way for me to articulate the life in front of me—putting order to the chaos in a photograph.”

That’s the goal of the photographer:

Make sense of the unknown
Make something from nothing
Stay ready to shoot at all times

The Wrist Strap Advantage

Practically, I keep the camera on a leather Ricoh GR wrist strap—tied to my wrist at all times. That changes everything.

It becomes an extension of my eye, of my hand, of my body.

I can:

Hold the camera up high
Drop it down low
Tilt and move with nuance
Create new compositions on the fly

“Once again—embracing imperfection.”

Change of Perspective

The Ricoh gives me something I haven’t gotten from other cameras: freedom.

Freedom to:

Be haphazard
Be spontaneous
Be playful

“Now I see all of the complexities as potential photographs to make. All of the details around me. The mundane moments of my life—something worth photographing.”

Because the camera is simply in my front right pocket.

The Closest Thing to No Camera

What I love most is that the Ricoh is the closest thing to not having a camera. That’s the dream.

I want to live my everyday life and bring the camera for the ride. Be a flâneur in my hometown. A bystander. An observer. But also an active participant in the unfolding drama of life.

Whether it’s:

A bustling market
A quiet park
The streets of Philly

There’s so much to photograph.

Eliminate the Noise

The Ricoh transforms photography for me because:

It’s compact
It has macro features
It removes unnecessary decisions (like lens choices)

“I have one camera and one lens stuck to my camera at all times.”

That elimination of decision fatigue frees me. The lens is glued to the body. No second-guessing. Just shoot.

Slow Down, Look Around

Wow… what do we have here?

Cherry blossoms. The Japanese weeping fig. Absolutely stunning. The change of seasons in full effect.

“When I shot with other cameras, I don’t know what it was—I would never look at the life in front of me this way.”

But with the Ricoh:

I slow down
The moments come to me
I’m ready because the camera is always with me

There are no excuses with the Ricoh. I can stay consistent and disciplined without forcing anything.

Renewed Again

The Ricoh is transforming the way I view the world—because I’m making photos I wouldn’t have made in the past.

“Opening myself up to photographs that lack people. Photographing nature. Landscapes. Still life. Macro details.”

Viewing the world through this lens renews me. I feel invigorated every single morning.

And I’ve found joy again.

A workflow that actually transforms the way I see life. And yeah, maybe it sounds dramatic—but I’m passionate about this.

Beauty All Around

So now I’m just enjoying my morning. Listening to the birds. Admiring the sculptures. Surrounded by nature’s beauty.

“Snapchatting my way through life with the Ricoh GR IIIx.”

When you always have a camera with you:

It forces you to slow down
It forces you to observe
It changes the way you see

“Always scanning, always observing. Looking at everything around you as potential photographs to make. That’s the beauty of the Ricoh.”

Final Thought

For me personally—the Ricoh GR is transforming the way I view the world.

Every day is new.

No Sword, No Shield

Walk with a strong gait
You might be late
The passage of time never waits

I came, I saw, I conquered
I exit my home like it’s a bunker

No sword, no shield, just a camera in hand
The world is so open, so much land

Perhaps we don’t need another Alexander the Great
To conquer photography is my fate

The physical realm is where the last men fell
Eternity is where we shall dwell

Art is forever, and our life is brief

Learn to love your fate, but you choose your destiny

Express your will to power from dawn to dusk

April 9, 2025 – Philadelphia

Street Photography Composition Tips: 3 Real-World Techniques That Work

Street Photography Composition Tips: My Personal Approach

Street Photography Composition Tips 3 Real-World Techniques That Work_slides Download

What’s poppin, people? It’s Dante.
Today I’m going to be teaching you my top three street photography composition tips. Ultimately, over the past decade of traveling the world and practicing my photography, I’ve mastered the art of composition.

In this post, I’ll be sharing:

Contact sheets
Behind-the-scenes videos
Frame breakdowns from around the world and right here in Philly

Hopefully by the end, you’ll have a better understanding of how to create stronger compositions out there on the streets.

📸 Composition Is Simple

A photographer is responsible for where they position their physical body in relationship to the subject and the background. Meaning…

Photography is a visual game and a physical pleasure.

We’re not just looking with our eyes—we’re moving our bodies. You’ve got to be quick on your toes and react instinctively.

🧠 Intuition Over Rules

You’re not out there looking at life like a bunch of leading lines or rule-of-thirds grids.
You’re out there responding.

Composition comes from your intuition. It’s not something you’re consciously seeking.

You respond to life as it unfolds, prepared with your camera and two feet, ready to move your body in relationship to the moment and the background.

📍 Case Study: Palestinian Boy and the Wall

Location: West Bank
Moment: A Palestinian boy throwing a baby stroller across the wall separating Israel and Palestine.

At first, I was photographing flat on, relating people directly to the wall. But it was too flat. So what did I do?

I worked the scene.
I didn’t leave until the moment left me.

I moved my body around and created a new angle. By doing this, the leading lines appeared, the shadow was revealed, and the image became more mysterious and impactful.

Photography is both a visual game and a physical pleasure.

🍉 Case Study: Watermelon Scene in Napoli

In Napoli, I saw men gathered by the Mediterranean, slicing open a watermelon. The colors, the light, the backdrop—it was all there.

But here’s the trick:

I set my stage using the water as a clean background.
I chose a top-down angle to anchor the swimmer in the middle of the frame.
I related the moment of slicing the watermelon to that swimmer for depth.

A visual feast should guide the eye from foreground to background and back again.

The red of the watermelon created a simple triangular flow through the image. It might look complex, but it’s all just physical movement and intentional framing.

🛞 Case Study: The Wheelie Kid in Philly

A boy does a wheelie through the frame. It happens fast. You either get it, or you don’t.

I noticed the skyscrapers in the background, so I dropped low to separate his outstretched legs from the skyline.

Two main elements: the boy and the buildings.
One simple action: get low and shoot.

Composition doesn’t come from your eyes—it comes through your gut.

🚌 Case Study: Bus Stop Layering

Location: Philadelphia
Stage: The bus stop.

This place is perfect:

People come and go.
You’ve got static and moving subjects.
There’s structure, background, and flow.

I noticed the light on the bus and the circular sign in the sky. That was my starting point.

Then I:

1- Positioned myself with that background.

2- Plugged in the silhouette in the middle ground.

3- Waited for the third subject to walk into the light.

Set your stage. Let the photo come to you.

You’ll see it clearly in the contact sheet: micro-adjustments of my body over and over again until the frame came together.

🎡 Case Study: Penn’s Landing – Hunt With Speed and Precision

Let’s break down one more scene — this one from Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia. This moment came together fast, and it’s the perfect example of my final tip:

3. Hunt With Speed and Precision

As much as you can set your stage and be aware of the background, there are times when you just have to move fast. Life doesn’t wait. Light shifts. People move. Things happen in an instant.

In this scene, I noticed:

The dramatic light and shadow play cast across the wall
The bridge, Ferris wheel, and a beautiful sky creating the background
Shadows and people starting to fall into place

So I approached quickly, responding with my gut. I got closer and closer, and as the scene unfolded, I made these micro-compositional decisions instinctively.

Street photography is the art of responding with your whole body, not just your eyes.

This image came together because I was present, aware, and reacting on instinct. I wasn’t overthinking it. I was in the moment, relating each element of the background — the Ferris wheel, the sky, the bridge — with the shadows and figures in the foreground.

This is the type of photograph that can’t be planned. You have to see the potential, act fast, and let your body do the work.

Hunt with speed. Compose with intuition. Trust your body to lead you to the frame.

🔑 My Three Tips for Stronger Composition

1. Respond Quickly and Intuitively

Life is chaotic. You can’t control it. But you can put order into your frame.

Don’t overthink.
Trust your gut.
Move fast.

To put order to the chaos, you must respond intuitively to fleeting moments.

2. Observe and Be Patient

Great frames come to those who wait. Especially at bus stops, markets, street corners—places where stories unfold.

Set your stage.
Lock in your background.
Wait for your foreground to fall into place.

Look at the world like a visual puzzle, and solve it one piece at a time.

3. Hunt with Speed and Precision

Sometimes you set the stage, other times you’re in full hunter mode.

Be light on your feet.
Be fast with your shutter.
Recognize background-foreground relationships instantly.

Street photography is the art of responding with your whole body, not just your eyes.

🎯 Bonus Tip: Stick to One Camera and One Lens

Seriously. This is huge.

Switching gear all the time only slows you down. If you want to build muscle memory, develop instinct, and improve your composition:

Use one camera, one lens.

Eventually, the camera becomes an extension of your mind, eye, and body. That’s when the magic starts.

Final Thoughts

Work the scene.
Move your body.
Trust your gut.
Set your stage.
Solve the visual puzzle.

These are the building blocks of strong composition. It’s not complicated. It’s not theoretical. It’s physical, instinctual, and deeply satisfying.

If this helped you, check out my site:
👉 dantesisofo.com
I also have a growing YouTube playlist with more lectures like this one.

Thank you for reading. See you in the next one. Peace ✌️

Animal Fats

Top Row (Left to Right):

Halleman Family Beef Tallow
- Pure rendered beef fat.
- Great for high-heat cooking, frying, and searing.
- Nutrient-dense and shelf-stable.
- Likely from a butcher or regenerative farm — usually a clean, local source.

Fatworks Pure Tallow
- Grass-fed and pasture-raised beef tallow.
- Premium product known for high quality and clean rendering.
- Excellent for both cooking and skincare.

Fatworks Grass-Fed Ghee
- Clarified butter made from grass-fed cows.
- Lactose-free and casein-free.
- Rich in CLA and butyrate, good for digestion and inflammation.

Kirkland Grass-Fed Butter (Salted)
- Costco’s New Zealand-sourced butter.
- Grass-fed, flavorful, and a great budget-friendly option.
- Contains salt.

Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter (Unsalted)
- Famous Irish butter from grass-fed cows.
- Creamy texture, high in vitamin K2 and butyrate.
- Unsalted version is ideal for cooking and baking where control over salt content is needed.

No more olive oil!

Love that commitment — no more olive oil! 🔥

You’re stepping into a time-tested tradition of using animal fats that fueled humanity for millennia. Here’s how you can use what you’ve got instead of olive oil:

🥩 Everyday Cooking:

Fatworks Beef Tallow (or Halleman Tallow):
- Best for high-heat searing, frying steaks, burgers, and sautéing.
- Smoke point is around 400°F – much higher than olive oil.
- Adds a rich, deep flavor — think steakhouse vibes.
Fatworks Ghee:
- Use it when you want a buttery flavor without the milk solids.
- Great for eggs, pan-searing fish, or roasting vegetables.
- Also high-heat stable and shelf-stable.

🧈 Finishing & Flavor Enhancing:

Kerrygold or Kirkland Grass-Fed Butter:
- Perfect for finishing dishes (melted over meat, added to veggies).
- Use in lower-temp cooking or baking.
- Great for flavor and those fat-soluble vitamins like K2.

✅ Why This Is a Power Move:

No seed oils or unstable polyunsaturated fats.
Stable saturated fats = less oxidation, better for your body.
Rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), butyrate, vitamin A, D, and K2.
Supports a primal, carnivore, or low-tox lifestyle.

Dante’s Kitchen

Health

Foundational Health Philosophy

Physical Vitality and Routine

Diet, Fasting, and Nutrition

Health-Boosting Habits

Radical Lifestyle Choices

DANTE SISOFO FLEX

DEADLIFT

FLUX PHOTOGRAPHY

some ideas-

FLUX

1. Essence of Photography

Phōs – light
Graphia – drawing
Drawing with light
A photograph is an instant sketch of light
Photography as a return to essence: light, shadow, impermanence

2. Myth & Allegory

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
The photograph is like the first cave paintings, or the shadows on the wall
The photographer is like the man in the myth, casting shapes upon the wall using the fire
The world of becoming is the cave light
The world of being is the sunlight
A photographer is simultaneously “becoming” in the cave and ascending to the world of “being” in the sunlight
Empiricism mistakes the shadows on the wall for ultimate reality

3. Heraclitus & Philosophy

Unity of opposites
Heraclitus: Everything is in flux
You cannot make the same photograph twice
Heraclitus said that fire is the essence of all things
Photography as a stream of becoming
The photographer is always changing, the light is always changing
Impermanent nature of life
Returning to the essence of photography: light, shadow, sketching reality

4. Presentation of Work

Present the photographs in a stream of becoming
Shown in sequential order, like a slideshow
Casted on a wall, like the wall of the cave
Acknowledging the fleeting nature of moments
The photographer is in flux, the viewer is in flux

5. Final Reflections

Art is forever, and our life is brief
The Flux Photography Movement embraces the impermanence of light and life

Maybe you won’t live forever, but at least you can make a photograph

I Have the Will to Press the Shutter

Black and White by Dante Sisofo

April 8, 2025 – Philadelphia

Don’t trust anybody who does whatever society told them to do

The Street Photographer as Flâneur

Photographing Without People: The Street Photographer as Flâneur

Full Audio
PDF Transcript

What’s poppin’ people? It’s Dante.

Getting my morning started on a nice walk through Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Got the Ricoh GR IIIx in the pocket—always got it strapped.

Today, I’m thinking about street photography without people. What that means. What that looks like. Let’s dive in.

Inspiration from Atget

For the past two and a half years, I’ve drawn inspiration from a single source:

“The World of Atget.”

Eugène Atget, the godfather of street photography, photographed everything:

Rag pickers
Street performers
Streets
Stairwells
Doorways
Railings
Signposts
Lamps
Parks
Trees
Foliage

Urban life in its totality. That’s what he archived in Paris. And this approach? It’s liberating.

Photograph Everything

“Find potential in everything.”

That’s the practice. By treating everything as photographable, you enter an abundant flow state. You increase your chances of producing something impactful. That’s the goal: press the shutter often.

Not every shot needs a human. In fact, the absence of people can reveal new perspectives.

Macro Mode is Clutch

The macro feature on the Ricoh? Game changer.

I have it mapped to the up button on the D-pad.
Drop low. Get close. Capture bark, leaves, textures.

“Photographing things without people unlocks a new flow state.”

Street Photography and Skateboarding

Here’s a metaphor: street skateboarding.

When I was a kid, we turned everyday objects into opportunities:

Ollie over a brick
Manual across sidewalk cracks
Grind curbs and ledges

That same spirit applies to photography:

“Use the mundane as your obstacle—or your subject.”

You start to see everything as potential for creative expression.

Become the Flâneur

“I think of myself as the ultimate flâneur in Philadelphia.”

Not just a photographer. A wanderer. A watcher. A slow-moving explorer.

Slow down.

Most street photographers move too fast. And in that speed, they miss:

Patterns
Details
Light

Walk with intention and intensity, not urgency.

“Be present. Let life come to you.”

From Tripod to Pocket

Atget carried a heavy wooden camera on a tripod. He had no choice but to move slow.

But now?

Ricoh GR III / GR IIIx
In your pocket
One-handed
Snapshots

No excuses.

Program mode. Point and shoot. Be the digital flâneur.

Light is the Subject

Here’s my philosophy:

“Treat light as the subject, and the world opens up.”

Stop looking for moments. Stop hunting gestures. Instead:

Observe how light hits surfaces
Study the way it etches detail
Frame it

That’s it.

Be the Archivist

Think of yourself as an archivist of your hometown.

Just like Atget documented Paris, document:

Your city
Your surroundings
The everyday

“Photograph with purpose. Archive where you are now.”

This gives meaning. A reason to shoot.

Simple Techniques

Try these out:

Use macro mode
Study Atget’s photos
Photograph architecture, parks, sculptures, windows, doors, door knockers
Focus on flowers, horticulture, signs, textures, pipes, walls, infrastructure
Observe light: how it reflects and shapes