Eric Kim Hits the Pavement with SF Street Photographer Jack Simon

There’s something inspirational about watching a seasoned photographer work at his craft — whether it’s a studio photog who molds light to his will or a street photographer whose demeanor and results both scream professionalism.

Jack Simon falls under the latter of those categories, and in the video above, fellow street photographer Eric Kim takes us behind the scenes with Simon as he walks the streets of San Francisco.

Gear wise, Simon is using a Fujifilm X100S and an X-E1 (although the E1 never makes it out), but it’s not the gear or knowledge about a particular technique that you’ll get from watching this video. The real education comes from Simon’s answers to Kim’s many questions about street photography and, perhaps most of all, from those moments when we just get to watch Simon work uninterrupted.

In the end, the video is simply 24 fascinating minutes during which two street photographers talk about what it is they do, how it is they do it, and then (most importantly) put words in to action. The lessons you glean from what they say depend on where you are personally as a photographer.

Nervous street photogs might find inspiration in how easily Simon walks up to and photographs people, beginners in particular will benefit from some of the basic wisdom Simon shares on why he prefers this or that lens and what settings he uses, and everybody will benefit from his words on perseverance and staying motivated.

Be sure to check out the entire video and, when you’re done, you can see more from both Simon and Kim over on their websites by clicking here and here, respectively.