When I walk in nature, I recognize how we are all connected. The earth is endless. You could live until you’re 120 years old and still not see the entire world. This is an inspiring thought that keeps me going out there and exploring each day.
Photography gives life meaning
I learned about photography through my Uncle Bill. He bought his Leica M3 in Germany and used it to make snapshots throughout his life. I remember viewing his slide film and first became interested in the medium because of him. He took me to the mall and showed me how to use the camera. He pointed towards the Merry-go-round and told me if I stand still and set the shutter speed to 1/30 of a second and press the shutter, I will photograph the merry-go-round in motion and there will be blur. He then told me how setting the shutter speed to 1/500 of a second will then freeze the action. We walked towards the Build-A-Bear workshop and there he showed me how to see. What happened at this shop completely transformed the way that I view the world. Customers were shuffling in and out of the store with teddy bears in their hands. He pointed towards the advertisements of the teddy bears on the storefront wall and explained to me how you can make relationships between the advertisement and the people passing by, like a visual game. This lesson unlocked a completely new way of seeing the world. After this experience I understood how to make sense of the spontaneous nature of life, and ultimately operate a camera.
Photography is a visual game and a physical pleasure
As a kid, I would spend my time at my Uncle Bill’s house in the mountains, that he built himself. We would make fishing rods with sticks, dental floss, paper clips, and use apples as bait. I would use the canoe and enjoy walking around the lake. During my youth, I learned that connecting with nature is very important. It has taught me that what truly matters in life, are the simple things. Below, you can see me photographing a family somewhere in upstate New York with my Uncle’s camera. What’s interesting about photography is that the photographs become a reflection of your soul, and your personal life experiences. This photograph reminds me of my time spent as a kid, fishing by the lake.
Happiness is not the goal
Perhaps to be happy is the base level way of thinking about life. It’s very easy to be happy. Some good coffee, water, meat, and salt is what keeps me happy at the end of the day. There’s a sun outside, fueling me with power, birds, chirping, and people to engage with on the street.
Happiness is not the goal because it’s so easy to achieve?
Perhaps there’s something more to life than happiness, and seeking pleasure through external means, I believe, is extremely distracting… Happiness, bliss, joy, all these things come from within. As a man, to be happy is so simple. All I need to do is pick up some weights and put them down!
Conquer the world
Let’s conquer this city! I find that waking up in the morning with a conqueror or warrior mindset is what motivates me. I think that being a conqueror or a warrior is merely just an ethos and way of existing. Sure, I don’t have a sword and shield, but I have a camera and iPad. I believe in using these tools as a way to cut through the noise and create something raw and real. To conquer the world is perhaps a wiser way to give life meaning. When I consider history and all of the great empires like Rome, it seems as though they were started by one man or two brothers who had a big goal or a dream to change the world and put order to the chaos.
Anti-emo culture
Emo culture seems to have plagued the young people of my generation? You’ll see big black boots, weird tattoos, piercings, strange hair colors, etc. that is aesthetically ugly. Why do we become emo in the age of abundance when we have everything at our fingertips?
We must restore beauty in the world.
Emo culture is bad because it’s promoting degeneracy and ugliness. Also, emos are usually antisocial and the ones that love to gossip and go to electronic dance music festivals, do drugs, and listen to strange music. Emo culture is a denial of the human experience.
Fueled by frustration
Maybe frustration is a good thing. If you’re frustrated, it will motivate you to change something in your life or in the world itself. I believe that in order to change the world, you must change yourself. In order to change anything, you must start from within. I’m very frustrated with the current state of photography and especially street photography. I’m finding that it’s becoming very boring, trendy, blasé, and uninteresting in general. What can we do about this? The contemporary photography space doesn’t seem to satisfy me, and that’s frustrating because this is something that I’m extremely passionate about.
Consider your fate
The fate of all humans is our ultimate death. What this means is, we are mortals… It’s important to remember that each day when I wake up in the morning, I’m merely grateful to be alive. I have another day, another chance at this thing. I have more time to make photos, and continue thinking about art, life, and move forward with curiosity.
Life becomes more meaningful because of our inevitable death.
To think this way is liberating and hopefully will set you free. Life is very short, let’s not spend our time wallowing as an emo, a degenerate, or a weakling.
Affirm life
We must affirm our life here on this earth. Champion humanity and the human experience in general. I believe in order to affirm your life, you must start from the ground up. You must lift weights, eat red meat, get good sleep, fuel yourself with power, and also spread more kindness. Don’t tolerate any bullshit, be playful, but be a monster. I’m not afraid to speak my mind anymore, and call out things that I see to be a problem in society or life in general. What’s there to do about all of this?
Become a super soldier.
Focus on your strength and becoming stronger. Don’t be suckered by basic morals and religious thoughts about the afterlife or any group think, political parties, etc. Affirm your life here in this world and the physical flesh first.
Created in his image
When I look at Jesus, in the works of Caravaggio, I see a beautiful man. There’s something about the human body and it’s degeneracy from the modern world. I believe that a lot of the things that we consume and do actually influence the body in a negative way. Perhaps modernity is making us stray from beauty itself. To restore our beauty, we should remind ourselves that we were created from a blank slate, a pure soul, a beautiful soul, and that we must take action. I suggest daily fasting. I do a 24 hour fasting every single day and like to eat one massive meal of red meat at night. I’ve never been this beautiful and strong in my life. By fasting and eating only animal based products, I’ve connected back to nature, my roots, my soul.
What’s next?
Going forward, let’s champion humanity. With our photography, we can uplift this beautiful world, and give it meaning. Through the power of photography is the fact that the mundane and overlooked things become our canvas. The world is the canvas. Draw upon it, and find inspiration in daily walks through your city, nature, mountains, beaches, etc. There’s endless terrain to explore and conquer. Embrace the day as a warrior and wield the camera as a sword. Cut through the heart of chaos and put visual harmony and order to the spontaneous nature of every day life.