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Published: Aug. 23, 2024, 1:58 a.m.

Audio: https://erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Black-White.m4a

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PDF: https://erickimphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Black-White-4.pdf

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# Black & White: https://erickimphotography.com/blog/2024/08/22/black-white-vlog/

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Add more extreme contrast to your life:\ufffc

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Man is black, woman is white? \ufffc

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## Increasing contrast?

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I\u2019m starting to think that if we apply the black-and-white art photography aesthetic to real life, maybe the idea of \u201cpreserving the midtones\u201c is a bit boring.

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The general notion of [crushing the blacks](https://erickimphotography.com/blog/2024/08/22/eric-kim-crush-the-blacks/) is when you\u2019re processing or post processing your photos, you dragged the black slider all the way to 100, and you also crank up the contrast to 100.

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Aesthetically, I think this makes for much more striking and interesting images.

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First, midtones are boring. \ufffcAlmost universally, the more you increase the contrast of something or the photos, the better.

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For example, even when we design our homes. What is the best way to design a home? Very very simple, use white and black accents.

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For example in my eyes, the ideal home exterior paint color is not a matte black, but rather, a pure clean white, with black trimming.

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Also, with cars\u2026 I think we\u2019ve discovered is the apex is both a shiny white with shiny black accents -- gloss, not matte.

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I think matte, matte black, the whole matte aesthetic is centered around jet stealth fighters, which desire to escape enemy detection. So typically when you try to matte black your car and murder it out\u2026 aesthetic you\u2019re going for stealth bomber, or jet fighter aesthetic?

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But the irony that I find\u2026 nobody would ever matte black or murder out their Prius, \ufffc\ufffc\ufffc\ufffcto escape detection from the police or the other party. We typically do it to our sports cars, our Teslas, etc. \ufffc

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Put the strange inconsistency I see here is on one hand, we want to be seen and to show up, on the other hand, we want to be fake low-key, and be \u201chumble\u201d?

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## Bitch be humble?\ufffc

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A few years back, the song HUMBLE by Kendrick Lamar went triple maxi viral. \ufffcIt was the most viral song of all time, maybe even more viral than the recent \u201cThey Not Like Us\u201d song.

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The song was very bizarre to me. Because I\u2019m not sure what Kendrick was really trying to say. Two interpretations --

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1. First, he is calling the counterparty a bitch, and telling them to sit down and be humble because I am so much greater than you

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2. Or, trying to remind everybody to be humble in general.

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But the weird inconsistency in modern day life is we are centered around Christian [Jesus](https://erickimphotography.com/blog/2024/08/22/eric-kim-on-jesus/) ethics, or some sort of quaker Protestant morality which is centered around notion of humility, being humble, close to the ground etc. This is why you will never ever ever meet a rich person in America called themselves rich, they will call themselves \u201cfortunate\u201c, or \u201clucky\u201d\ufffc\ufffc.

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Also another bizarre thing in the world of bodybuilding\u2026 you almost never ever ever see bodybuilders proud to flex unabashedly, like Arnold in the documentary *Pumping Iron*, back in the day. It is very uncommon for you to see self-confident men at the gym, working out topless, in booty shorts, 3 inch short shorts, flexing their muscles in the mirror, not trying to hide it etc.

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The big issue with the typical bodybuilder is that they are trying to become dominant, but be humble about it? Really weird?