What Ever Happened To Eric Kim

[@SamuelStreetlife]

I will always credit Eric for getting me interested in sharing my street photography journey on KZbin. His low effort GoPro interviews were the only thing back then to watch about the topic on KZbin. It gave a glimpse into the practice of street photography and how others do it and that was hugely inspiring. Also reached out to him once to feature him on my channel but timing didn't work out 😬 like him or not, he had a huge impact on the genre and inspired many to start their own blogs, channels or groups.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

🙌👊😭 for sure he influenced me to start my website. Judging someone’s photos is all subject. Can’t discount his contributions to street

[@gregorioprincipe6838]

@@SamuelStreetlife Oh , I remember you making a short funny Eric kim “ Hello street togs!” Welcome to the video bit.

[@SamuelStreetlife]

@@gregorioprincipe6838 haha wow that was a long time ago :)

[@afghanbadboy1234]

U don’t do street photography u advertise cameras bro..

[@SamuelStreetlife]

@@afghanbadboy1234 whatever bro :)

[@aliarby]

Finally someone is covering this… such a bizarre turn of events

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

He may have a treasure of street photographs he’s be hiding to the public

[@sansclous]

Eric was indeed ahead of his time. His was the first street photography POV i ever saw. Same for the Jack Simon video where we see him follow another photographer at work. I also remember him being on an episode of Digital Rev with Kai. That was a totally different era of street photography. Thanks for bringing back those memories.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Nostalgia indeed! Thanks for watching.

[@IDontKnow733]

Eric Kim and early Digital Rev videos were huge inspirations which got me into street photography.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

🤙 I always preferred Kim’s early blogs over Digital Rev’s videos for some reason.

[@mcsheshe]

I’m totally flashing back to 2013

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

@mcsheshe 😆

[@joshmontes3439]

I got the opportunity to attend two of his early workshops. The first was in Chicago back in 2010 or 2011 and the second was a year later in L.A with Rinzi Ruiz as his fellow workshop partner. I feel like Eric (at the time) was so in love with street photography that he not only wanted to share his passion with others, but I think he wanted to help create a community of fellow #streettogs so that all of us could push this type of photography forward. I remember on our first photo walk in Chicago he and I switched lenses and he shot with my 17-40mm lens and I shot with his 28mm.Just walking with him and seeing his approach was infectious and pretty soon everyone sort of built up their confidence. The last workshop I attended in L.A, he did something real nice and genuine for me and I won’t share it on here but let’s just say it’s something I’ll never forget. I think maybe the pressures of life and marriage and then fatherhood sort of made him push photography to the side for a while as it would do to anyone. I remember him talking about a project called Suits but I’m not sure whatever came of it. People grow and evolve as this happens to every artist at one point or another. Eric, wherever you are just know that you taught and inspired many of us with your knowledge and your passion for street photography. I hope you’re well.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Well said. Thanks for watching and sharing 👊

[@roblayton3190]

This is an excellent take on Eric Kim. I started messing with street photography around 2017 and remember seeing that very blog post and his YT videos about his $200k and it soured me on his content. Look I'm happy for anyone to find success making their craft sustainable, but he would post videos with the camera right up on his ear-to-ear grin, telling his audience "I'm rich!" Bad form. Even finance gurus don't need to be talking about their money like that. It didn't come across as him trying to help his audience become as successful. Just a huge flex that reeked of insecurity. I think being teacher, blogger, marketer, guru and whatever else got in the way of him just focusing on being a great photographer, which most of his audience aspire to be.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Well said

[@aquilifergroup]

I prefer to remember him as he was, when he was an evangelist for street photography and was a contributing member on KZbin about this topic. I hope he comes back from where he has been the past few years. I suspect some medication and professional treatment might be in order before then. I suspect bipolar disorder

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

👊

[@WaywardAce]

Thank you for giving Eric his flowers. It is through Eric that I discovered Eggleston, Leiter, Winogrand and so many more, via his Masters blog posts. A lot of the newer KZbinrs seem to.come across as “too cool for school” when it comes to Eric, even though they rip off a lot of concepts he shared years ago. As far as commerce vs art goes, he believes in either giving things away for free or charging a lot for your services ….. no middle ground …. he lives by that and seems to be doing well.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

For sure…. Many ppl have been introduced to street photography thru him or learned more because of him. thanks for watching

[@edmoore]

It is absurd to suggest that history started when youtube started and so if you're talking about street photographers on your YT channel now you're therefore 'ripping off' someone else who talked about them a few years before, as if books and galleries and a culture of the arts in general don't exist and haven't provided this continuity since the birth of photography. Completely absurd. And certainly wrong.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

@edmoore I get what you’re sayin but it’s also about updating/informing/educating ppl based on the times and we are in the digital age but ya know what you mean

[@mikedatny]

I appreciated that Eric was very disciplined and process driven. He had a real passion for demonstrating technique in street photography that you don't see much of these days. But your points are all valid - the genre has left him behind as much as he left it behind (he seems very happy doing whatever it is he's doing, good for him). I would like to see him give it a crack again with a relaunched channel, combining his discipline and skill with the kind of high production value of guys like Paulie B for example.

[@niscoism]

When I first got in to SP, Eric Kim, Kai + Lok(DR days), Mijonju, Charlie Kirk, Ade, Bellamy Hunt were my daily go to's...

[@chubrubb2098]

Eric was the literal blue print that everyone in the KZbin street photography scene built off of. Eric was the man.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

for sure thanks for watching

[@relaxmec]

You bring good topics. Money and art for example… yes, artists must make a living but the idea that money corrupts art is well anchored.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

thanks

[@Nerdzombiedisco]

I remember at some point before "disappearing", there were a number of cult-like guru philosophy/fitness posts that gave me redflag alarms. And I tuned out. I didn't want to drink the kool-aid. Mostly because I didn't want to change the respect and gratitude I held for him. I like to remember him as the OG 🐐and the guy who took the Ricoh GR baton from Daido, ran with it and passed it on to us.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

That’s a very good way to approach things. Learned something new! Thanks for sharing.

[@johndoe6468]

And what about Dante Sisofo? I follow his channel but I'm sooo conflicted. Unbelievable color street shots from a few years back. But now he is just posting about his lifestyle randomly; repeating stuff, long and short. And I have this feeling that something is just not right...

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

@johndoe6468 Dante deleted his Instagram. His photos were good and his KZbin was catching steam. Now he seems to be doing the same thing as EK. Weird. I hope I’m not next 🤣 😜 😆

[@Nerdzombiedisco]

Yikes!...just caught up with Dante's channel, after not seeing videos in a while. Cringefest. Something really is bizarre with the similar fitness and philosophy schtick. Hope I'm not next.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

@Nerdzombiedisco lololol ya I saw 😆. Same here or better to just create a separate channel. He also deleted his ig

[@kaushalparikh2832]

Eric Kim was one of the hugest influences in my street photography journey and he was instrumental in my starting the street photography collective ‘That’s Life’. I spent a lot of time with him on his two workshop related visits to India and I hope he finds his way back to the forefront of the genre. A true inspiration and pioneer.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

That’s great to hear. Thanks for sharing.

[@nuj427]

If you started photography back in the 2010s you know the real ones. Thanks for covering him. It's him, and Digital Rev that really taught me the most. I met him twice I think in San Francisco. He was a cool dude. Personally I never got into those social media platforms and shoot for my self, but I feel like most KZbinrs nowadays are just copy and paste what the early shooters are talking about.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

👊 thanks for watch. Yes it’s very saturated now. I should have mentioned he did inspire me to make my own website. Loved his early content.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Btw I love your image profile 🤣

[@nuj427]

@@WORDONTHESTREETphoto I don't socialize much but when I do I do.. Personally I shot up until 2016 in SF, that's when I moved to France. Here, street photography is not the same, and yeah motivation went down hill. Well, because I had my first kid. I was strictly M6 film shooter. Believed in film all the way. Loved Leica too, and feel privileged, well more like crazy to fork up so much for an M6 at 23yo at the time. During Covid, film was too expensive and second kid on the way, was thinking about picking up a digital body, but also wanting a body to scan film, so was about to pull the trigger on a Sony, or M9 but felt too much for my blood at the time, to end up with a x100v. With film mindset shooting it I'm very happy with it all these years with it, but I'm getting back into photography again.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

@nuj427 yup it’s crazy to call it the good ole days. Thanks for watching!

[@jmbaug1229]

I used to love Eric's content... unfortunately, his videos and content became very weird. His eyes changed, and he looks truly like he has some mental problem ... very, very sad 😢 Sometimes fame, money, or something else change people not for the good but for the worse. Thank you for addressing this topic. Many of us had a big admiration for Eric in the past. J.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Thanks for watching.

[@yanickdelafoge9124]

I met Eric Kim I believe in 2010 while I was running one of these first street photography blogs. He pulled his Gopro in the middle of a Paris restaurant and started interviewing me with his loud voice. I answered "Hell no", this was so un-French. But at the same time it was the future and I, like many, did not foresee it. He did but could not build on it. I suspect Eric could never reconciliate the fact that he was at best a very average street photographer and at the same time a great instructor making a lot of money of it. Maybe he fell to the impostor Syndrome, as shown in the subsequent litanies of blog posts on psychology and philosophy of street photography. Too bad, hope he recovers because I felt he was a good person.

[@jdstrobist]

G’day Tim! Thanks for creating another awesome Video on the topic of street Photography! I’ve been following ERIC KIM for many years. He visited Melbourne a few times or more . I remember watching him on KZbin years ago whilst conducting a workshop here in Melbourne he had a problem once in the street with someone who was going to call the police because he captured their photo in the street! lol. Anyhow it made for good content. I enjoyed watching the video at the time. I really enjoyed everything Kim had to say about Street Photography and I really enjoyed watching his KZbin videos back in the day when he was still shooting street. Also I’ve seen him on other KZbinr channels like pushing film had an episode discussing Kim’s work and on big headtaco’s channel. I still follow him to this day and occasionally check out his channel watching his current videos doing his weight training. You’ll find that he will occasionally mentions Street Photography in a few of those episodes and even shares the odd Photo from his iPad here on KZbin . I know Kim is a strong advocate of having your own web presence / vlog. I guess Kim has reached his Zen in street Photography.? Only Kim would know the reasons why he stopped. I wish him all the best and yes, I’d love to see him creating regular Street Photography videos again for sure. 👍

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

i remember that incident in AUS haha good times...such nostalgic....like mentioned in the video, youd be surprised to know how many new people to SP have never heard of EK....it has nothing to do with age, they just consume the current relevant street shooters today, and thats unfortunate...it goes to show how hard it takes to reach "fame" and how quick and easy to be forgotten...i hope he comes back inspiring many others like he did then. but if hes at peace then more power to him

[@jdstrobist]

@@WORDONTHESTREETphoto yes very nostalgic ! So cool Tim. Thanks again for creating and sharing this wonderful video 😎 ✌️

[@randomcamerajunk6977]

I was good buddies with Eric back in 2012/2014. I know how things fell apart for him. It was about that time he got into what he called the ‘egg snacking’ philosophy. His philosophy was that because an egg could create life eggs were all you needed to sustain life. He was dead set on launching a new instagram diet craze and had big money VC backing from some tech guys back in Berkeley. Anyway. He went away to Vietnam for a year with egg snacking in mind. But he forgot one thing. Egg safety legislation in Vietnam is pretty much non existent. He was eating up to 100 eggs a day and unfortunately contracted a blood borne parasite that got into his brain and made him lose the plot. One funny thing was before he went to ‘Nam he took the VC money and put it into bitcoin to keep it safe and made hundreds of millions of dollars in the process . So he’s pretty much just an eccentric multimillionaire now with a double digit iq caused by excessive egg consumption. It’s a funny old life.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

I’d believe it

[@Tadeas_Plachy]

I got into shooting street around 2015. At that point Eric was full steam ahead. I must say his content was quite important for me in my start and trough him I discovered many photographers. I never personally liked his photos much, but he could very well analyze composition and explain stuff. But I think after he was in Vietnam with his wife the descent into madness of weightlifting and cult like guru thoughts started…

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

👊

[@ratgirl13]

A friend of mine did a photowalk with Eric Kim, and he had a presence on KZbin. He was a fun kind of guy, super helpful with tips and I enjoyed watching his videos. #StreetTogs

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Oh wow!

[@equislarge]

I’ll tell you what happened. One of his last videos was a fashion video. My wife over heard me watching this Eric Kim video and was flabbergasted by what she heard. She went in on him and put him in his place on what he had said about photography and he even apologized to her. After that he disappeared. 👻

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

😂

[@mahendruk]

Something special about those early days... I've been out of the street photography loop for a several years now - There were a handful of other guys, all from different parts making this kind of content and it made what was a pretty lonely pursuit feel like a community. I think those days also made us a lot more "gear" driven than I hope the scene is about now. We all aspired to get that brassy old Leica, and with a 50/35/28 cron. I hope some of that sheen has worn of with the current set of enthusiasts. I hope its more driven by what's being produced and less about camera envy.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Not really. Fear is still pretty dominant and whose popular on Instagram 😂

[@jijiwaiwai6747]

thanks for sharing this. i took one of his workshop in SF 10 years ago. he promoted this "close up candid shot" technic, basically almost shoveling camera onto someone's face without asking for permission. i hated that. but to be honest, the pictures i took in those 3days are the best shots i ever taken in my whole life. i just checked out his recent workshop, $5000? i would say no thanks. i am good.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Thanks for watching.

[@kstrohmeier]

Thanks for the thoughtful and fair video. I liked the early Eric Kim and found that he provided a lot of useful street photography education. Then he started living in his head, lost his way and became a complete jive huckster.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Thanks for watching

[@brooklynbound1000]

For me and IMHO Eric often seemed to be fighting for authenticity. There were so many haters out there jealous of his success - he mastered the art of SEO…no denying it. And in some ways he was a marketing genius before being a “photographer” - and without question many people were reticent of having him in the photography circle. Some of it was fair criticism. Most of it wasn’t. But he was eager and he kept on. More power to him with whatever he does.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Fa sho 👊

[@SivertAlmvik]

I remember reading a blog post or seeing one of his videos that he either gives away his knowledge for free, or he sells it for alot of money. The blog post linked in the description is in the same vein. I liked him because he was entertaining, but he changed too much for me to bother following him now.

[@themframes]

Your content is good bro. You’ll hit that 10k soon enough. As for Eric Kim, he took a lot of hate from the “hardcore” group in street photography. He put a lot of work in and has made a good contribution to the community with what he’s done.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Thanks bro 👊! For sure he deserves a 🫡 hope the younger and newer kids learn from his earlier educational content.

[@devlincook5741]

Loved his early photography content and definitely found him inspiring. But the workout videos 😖

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

🤣 💪 🏋️‍♀️

[@andythealien1]

I used to watch Eric Kim's street photography videos all the time. No one had really made content like that on youtube before. Sadly it didn't last. He became super angsty and started making vlogs with unwatchable shaky video quality. Fast forward a few years, and now he just posts bizarre workout videos.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Well said!

[@jeffchanemouye]

Man you made a video on him. I used to read his blogs but stopped when he started going weird... He guided my first steps into street photography but I feel disconnected with his work now. Not my street photography

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Weren’t you guys best friends 😜

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

sounds like youre describing an ex gf LOL

[@stanb.5261]

Was wondering whatever happened to him, and after seeing this- still am. He was always equal parts: super, high energy passionate about "street photography," and all out promotion of self. It was as if the former served as the vehicle for the latter, so... I could never take him seriously. He always came off as a bit of (ie- mostly) a snake oil salesman- a fast talking, high energy, three card monte dealer. Truth is, I often found him annoying- I could only tolerate his incessant "photo dawg, photo tog" litany for so long... but he was this internet curiosity. Ya knew he wouldn't always be able to maintain that level of over the top enthusiasm, so ya always wondered- what was the end game!?! Artistic success, financial success or... mental health issues? I recall one video where he was speed walking his way down a sidewalk with these ridiculous wrap around shades, snapping away with this shit eating grin. As genuinely enthused about "street photography" as he was... dude could be ridiculous! And IMHO his photography never seemed to progress beyond a certain level of competent mediocrity. Again, not hatin' on the guy, annoying as he could be and was, he was an innovator- as far as selling himself using video on the internet. One of the firsts of the genre- I wish him well...

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

I can see that. Thanks for sharing.

[@checkmybadself]

I’m not sure when Eric Kim went all fitness orientated but when I got into street “proper” KZbin was already the place to learn so I missed out on Mr. Kim. What do you think about written blogs these days? Are people bothered to read anymore?

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Exactly if he had just transferred what he wrote from his blogs and made decent videos simply by repurposing them many new ppl to SP would know him. His hard work and effort seems to have evaporated unfortunately. Wish him the best.

[@mrjoishi]

His videos were what inspired me to do street photography.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

🤙

[@trianglecardcollectors6318]

you didn't touch on what he is actually uploading now that may have been good to explore

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

honestly theres a lot of stuff i didnt touch on and remembered after the fact...like the years where he would always talk about coffee....this video can go on and on tbh LOL

[@danielmollohan1703]

I think Tavis Leaf Glover lives in Hawaii, and he shoots street and had an online presence.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Checked his IG doesn’t seem to have or be active? He does street?

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Looks more like painting

[@edgaribarria]

I learned how to approach people because of Eric Kim

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Same here 👊

[@Gullifaland]

Big love to Eric Kim ❤

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

🫡

[@sauzefilms]

Yo he was the one who got me into the GR system (and sadly sold it off lol).

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Yes! He put GR on the map and definitely needs to be compensated for that. I’m sure he turned down any sponsors at the time when presented. 🤙 thanks for watching.

[@writershootsfilm]

16:02 is Eric's missed opportunity.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Thank you!

[@UnlimitedRental]

He lifts weights now, seems to have lost all interest in any kind of photography.🏋🏼

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

💪

[@gregorioprincipe6838]

Hell yeah! I wanted him in the street photography space but I understand that life happens. Raising a family and supporting his wife’s endeavors takes precedence over street photography. He was the first street photographer in the digital age to introduce the masters and tell everyone, hey you can do this too if you are interested in the genre. Ten years ago I remember he was being criticized for making money out of the art and other nasty shit put there like his pictures suck and forces people into uncomfortable and compromising positions. Hey, stuff we still hear until now with other “famous” street photographers like Trevor Wisecup. I think Eric should comeback in the social media space and make money and push the art in his own style and brand and we would watch and support the OG of you tube street photography.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Fa Sho!!!

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

oh no dont bring up Wisecup lolol

[@gregorioprincipe6838]

@@WORDONTHESTREETphoto hihihi sorry. Just citing what we have in the now.

[@benficaM8888]

he's too early adopter.. a few years too early to monetize on street photography.. And after that, a few years too early to monetise on Alpha male red pill guru content too. 🤣

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

He’s always ahead of the curve hahahaha

[@danielmollohan1703]

Didn't he get into body building or something?

[@theblackmanarmedwithacamera]

I FIRST LEARNED OF ERIC KIM WHEN I BOUGHT ONE OF HIS BOOKS ON STREET PHOTOGRAPHY! HE WAS SICCCCKKKKKK WITH THAT CAMERA ON THE STREETS!!! I STOPPED FOLLOWING HIM ONCE HE STARTED DOING VIDEOS ON BODYBUILDING!!! THAT'S LIKE WHEN THE MOMENT METALLICA WENT TO SHIT!

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

It seems like many have unfollowed because of him doing different content. I wished he created a separate channel for weightlifting 🏋️ and kept street photography.

[@Souzaphotos]

He seems a bit nuts these days.

[@AkoniPhoenix-i8u]

😮😮😮😮😮

[@johnharperphotographyuk]

Primarily he was an educator, I’d say. He was practically the only source on the internet, he should be applauded for that. That article still exists on his website btw. I need to tell you that if you start posting fitness videos I’m unsubscribing 😂

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

I have about 1000 short fitness videos in the archive ready to be posted any minute now 🤣. For sure EK deserves his glory…he really inspired me to create my website and get closer to subjects which was his big thing. He is always welcome back in my books

[@WhoIsSerafin]

I found him just after my wife and I went through a mass shooter and I started street photography to get through almost losing my wife out of my mind. He was fazing out street photography so it was kind of confusing and I soon moved on from him.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Thanks for watching

[@AIP404]

He had some really awesome work, even though many critizice him, when he actually had pretty good work. He started to post images about his abs and naked shirt images so i stopped watching.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

Yes it started with 💴, ☕️, then 💪

[@chrisathanasiadisphoto]

Eric is just happy training, eating some meat and being a good dad and husband. It’s not a mystery what he’s up to if you read his blog or watch his videos.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

I forgot about his whole blog affection for ☕️ as well.

[@carlosmcse]

Answer is. Who cares. 😅

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

i know! but just watch it on repeat for me

[@quentinnewark2745]

I bought a beautiful dinky leather GR case from him. A company he set up in Vietnam? So nicely made, and well designed. My guess is he is trying to move onto other things.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

For sure and I think he’s at peace with that. He’s done a lot for SP more than anyone else tbh

[@TravelinginMiniature]

Soooo what happened to him? The title suggests you were going to say what happened to him but you’re only speculating. This is just click bait.

[@jasongold6751]

who actually cares! I don't.

[@WORDONTHESTREETphoto]

You cared to comment tho 😅

[@aquilifergroup]

What a pos. When you are down maybe people will have the same thoughts toward you