Philosophy – Page 14 – Peter Oshkai photography

January 10, 2015January 11, 2015

Value of education

Recently I heard and read many prominent entrepreneurs, such as Peter Thiel, co-founder of Pay-Pal and the author of the highly regarded book on startups “Zero to One” or Richard Branson, expressing very critical views of traditional, academic education. Thiel has completed both college and law school, while Branson never went to college, so the view seems to be relatively independent of their personal background. And of course, it is not just these two famous people, who believe that the conventional education is deeply flawed and, in a nutshell, one should take responsibility for his/her own learning. This view is so popular, that sometimes after seeing various infographics online, it seems that dropping out of school is requirement for success.

I think that this certainly applies to someone, who wants to become a photographer nowadays. The technology and the whole paradigm of content creation and production are developing so fast, that I cannot see how a school curriculum can truly keep up with it. Beside, there is a vast amount of resources available online and in print, so one only needs to be willing to learn.

Having said that, I see a huge benefit in formal education. Taking the example of photography, I think it would be of great benefit for a future professional to take formal classes in communications and business, not to mention fine art.

While Peter Thiel appears not to hold learning for the sake of learning in high regard, I believe that learning how to learn (note the difference) is very valuable. From the historical perspective, brilliant individuals like Thiel, Branson or Musk would always exist. They become personally successful and make great contributions to society. However, this kind of brilliance of a few individuals is different from the intellectual and creative potential of a sizeable slice of the population – people, who accumulated this capacity through receiving the highest possible education, often over multiple generations (i.e. children benefitting from the education received by parents). No doubt, maintaining the highest level of education for a large part of the population is very expensive for society. This is partly because this kind of educational system is more or less equally open to a wide range of individuals. Of course, one could argue that the higher education is very competitive, but the system certainly serves not just the highly capable and motivated people like Thiel or Musk. As Tolstoy’s character from “Anna Karenina” Konstantin Levin said about multiple generations of educated aristocrats, “talent and intellect, of course is another matter.” Perhaps, education is valuable precisely because the society benefits from it, even in an indirect way, even if an individual, who receives the education, doesn’t realize that he/she needs it.

January 8, 2015

On confidence

“We should devote ourselves to being self-sufficient and must not depend upon the external ratings by others for our happiness.”

-Bruce Lee

I came across an interesting article by Paul Graham, called “How to do what you love.” It is curious how similar are his thoughts regarding prestige, particularly in academic circles, to the words of Bruce Lee above. Graham goes bit more into details of why it is dangerous to let prestige be the guide in the choice of what we do. It is because the aura of prestige substitutes our own values with those “of the rest of the world.” Incidentally, he expands even further on this in “Hackers & Painters.”

I think there should be a balance between using the opinions of others as a constructive tool and being confident enough to disregard them when appropriate. In fact, it is in determining when it is appropriate to filter out the opinion of others that confidence is needed the most. After all, there is a thin line between confidence and arrogance.

For artists, photographers included, opinion of other people is a major factor that can influence the entire career. The challenge is not to let it dictate the direction of the art itself.

There is an effective way of approaching the confidence/arrogance dilemma in kendo. I have heard a saying that in practice (keiko), one should cultivate a feeling as if he/she is the worst (least capable) student in the group, while during shiai (read: real fight) one should feel as if he is the best. This way, we can be humble, yet not swayed by external factors during pivotal moments and decisions.

January 5, 2015

Reasons for writing a blog

“Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.”

Daniel Gilbert

While blogging is different from keeping a diary in that blogging is inherently a public activity, while a diary is usually private, both activities are great tools not only for developing the writing skills and the expertise in the subject of the blog/journal, but also for providing a set of autobiographical benchmarks to the author.

Daniel Gilbert, who wrote a classic book “Stumbling on Happiness” explains in his short TED talk that people tend to underestimate the amount of change their personalities will undergo within the next ten years from the current point in their lives. Thus, it is useful to examine the actual amount of change that that one’s personality (tastes in music, favourite people and places, etc.) experienced in the past ten years. As Gilbert puts it, “it has to do with the ease of remembering versus difficulty of imagining.” A journal or a blog provides a record, a reference point for this retrospective self-examination.

For me, this blog is a way of organizing my notes and thoughts on commonalities between photography (as an art, a business and a research tool), martial arts (as a way of personal development, bushido) and academic life (that of a researcher and a teacher). It is commonly said among photographers that “your first 10,000 photos are your worst” as a reference to the large amount of practice needed to achieve proficiency and to develop personal style. Actually, I think that it is much more than 10,000 photos. Your mileage may vary, of course. After all, talent is a strange thing with a non-uniform distribution among people. Somewhat unexpectedly though, among my first 10,000 photos are some re-discovered personal favourites that I stumbled upon while writing the blog.

January 4, 2015

Making a good start

The first practice of the year is significant in kendo, because it reinforces the importance of starting things “right”, which is applicable to any activity. After all, there is only one chance to start moving, but afterwards, there are multiple occasions to continue, stop or correct the course. Certainly, there are direct parallels with calligraphy, where beginning of a brushstroke determines its aesthetic quality, and photography, where obtaining correct focus and, to some degree, exposure during the shoot is irreplaceable by any amount and skill in post-processing.

I try to carry this mindset, which we practice in kendo to everything else I do. In this sense, any activity becomes a practice. Is this another New Year resolution? Perhaps, but I believe the key is to practice daily; the beginning of the year just seems like an appropriate time to reflect on this.

January 1, 2015January 5, 2015

New Year resolutions

I believe New Year resolutions are often not effective because, fundamentally, the first of January is not different from any other day for developing new habits or making changes in daily life. So if it is challenging to make small changes, one-by-one, throughout the year, it is even more difficult to make many drastic changes all at once.

Still, there is something to be said for aiming high, as David Swartz explained in “The Magic of Thinking Big.” I am fascinated by people, who explored similarities and interconnections in the underlying principles of scholarship, arts, and martial arts. There are many illustrious examples in history, from Miyamoto Musashi to Leonardo da Vinci, which are truly inspirations to the world.

A few months ago, I came across a quote from a note written by Bruce Lee to his wife in 1963, when they were dating. It resonates so deeply that I would not be able to formulate my own resolutions more clearly or more completely.

Here it is:

“…To live content with small means;
to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich;
to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly;
to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never.
In other words, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common.”

December 30, 2014January 5, 2015

Importance of routine

“The lack of interruption in trains of thought may be the critical ingredient in an environment that enables creative flow.”
Ronald T. Kellogg, “The Psychology of Writing“

Establishing a habit of working in a certain physical environment and/or during a particular time of day can be very effective for maximizing performance, whatever the definition of that happens to be. Writers are famous for following rigid daily routines and odd rituals, but the underlying principles apply to any creative work or work that involves concentration and/or thinking, such as reading, academic research (which is mostly reading and technical writing), drawing/painting, practicing martial arts, etc.

I like how the rigid structure of a typical kendo practice, for example, serves to establish confidence in the teaching methods in the students of all levels. This routine is reinforced by reigi, good manners or etiquette, which is the first thing taught to beginners and which permeates the entire practice, from the the first bow upon entering the dojo to the last bow upon leaving it.

In other things that I do, the routine is not as rigid, but there is some structure, and I find that I depend on it more than I thought earlier. For example, in my research, I like to read technical papers during certain times of the day, and I try to reserve specific amounts of time for my own writing. I find that brief, regular sessions, a concept that I learned from “Tomorrow’s Professor” by Richard Reis, work well for me, but the lack of interruptions during these sessions is crucial.

Similarly, I find that attempting multitasking while doing photo editing does not work for me. Initially, I followed advice of some professional photographers, who claim that they can go through large amounts of photos in Lightroom while watching TV in the evening, for example. I found that doing so detracts from both activities for me, so that I neither enjoy the movie nor have fun editing the photos. Working on the photos becomes just that – work, and an otherwise good movie becomes a distraction.

Having said this, a routine can be a double-edged sword, which can lead to stagnation or even burnout. For me, a nice thing about the part-time nature of my photography is that I can experiment with different strategies of organizing my work without the confines and expectations (whether real or imagined) of a conventional working environment.

December 29, 2014

Zanshin

As part of the recent kendo grading, I had to write a short essay about various concepts related to the Way of the sword. I am constantly amazed at how many parallels there are between kendo and photography. Actually, there are parallels between kendo and everything else in life. This should not be surprising. After all, Miyamoto Musahsi wrote about it in “The Book of Five Rings” in the middle of 17th century, and he was far from being the first person to do it.

Particularly relevant to professional photography is the concept of zanshin. Literally translated as “remaining spirit,” it is a state of readiness for the next action, immediately after the previous action has been completed. In kendo, zanshin is demonstrated, when a kendoka’s posture and mental state after completing the strike enables him (or indeed, her) to execute another technique (waza) without a pause. In Japanese culture, there are many manifestations of zanshin in everyday life, from leaving one’s shoes pointed towards the exit upon entering a house to parking a car facing the exit of the parking stall – ready to leave without delay.

For a professional photographer, zanshin is important on various levels. On the level of actual shooting, I know that must remain alert of the next opportunity to capture the evolving scene immediately after taking a shot. This approach is particularly important in sports and action photography, but it is also relevant for portraits and other genres.

On the level of of photo shoot production, it is crucial to keep all gear (cameras, lenses, lights, tripods and light stands, etc.) packed at the end of each shoot, so that it is accounted for, organized and ready to go for the next shoot with our the need to re-pack anything. There are many specialized packing solutions, Pelican cases being particularly popular among many pros. Personally, I find that a regular luggage suitecase works well for my lighting gear, while the cameras and lenses go in a Lowepro backpack.

On a grander scale of my overall approach to photography, I think of zanshin as a mental state of starting to work out the ideas and certain details of the next photo project before the current one has been completed. This approach ensures continuity of engagement in photography, which, in turn, enables continuous improvement, kaizen, – another deep concept of Japanese origin, which is a subject for another post.

December 21, 2014December 21, 2014

Would Roman stoics take selfies?

I am truly amazed how much a two-thoudsand-year-old text by Seneca called “On the Shortness of Life” resonates with the modern challenges of work-life balance. On one hand, it is comforting to know that we are not the first to come across these issues, but on the other hand, the fact that two millennia later we are still searching for a solution tells us that, most likely, there is no magic formula that works universally for everyone.

One interesting point that Seneca makes is about people’s relationship with the past. Basically, the past, unlike the present and the future, is “beyond the reach of all human mishaps, and removed from the dominion of Fortune”. He writes that it is true luxury to be able to “roam” into the past days of one’s life and access all of them at will. I think that there is an interesting implication about photography in this concept.

The process of taking a photograph, as everything in our lives, happens in the present, but the resulting image is a record of the past. If the image is “doctored”, it has a potential to change the reality of the past event for the viewer. However, regardless of whether a photo is a faithful depiction of reality or not, for me personally, looking through my own photos that were taken several years ago is what makes the “roaming” into the past vivid and enjoyable. The photos are much more than memory aids. They reflect what interested and bothered me at the time they were taken, my skill level as a photographer, my level of patience and mental flexibility in going after the shot that I wanted to take.

The tough challenge, of course, is precisely what Seneca wrote about – not to lose all this insight into the past by being so “engrossed”, as he calls it, in trivial matters of the day, as not even being able to find time, mood or reason to slow down and look back. At this point, I have tens of thousands of photos that my wife and I took over the last ten years. I think that reviewingt them regularly, perhaps, just a few images at a time, would be at least as useful as shooting new projects.

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