When I first started hanging around on the east coast, I wanted to document some of the current fishing community. Remember those old postcards of the fishermen in the colourful slickers and Sou’wester hats? They obviously don’t dress that way, that is if they ever did. :) This is called “Ship Shape” and depicts a local lobster fisherman hosing off the deck after a successful trip out to fish some mackerel. Mackerel is a common bait fish used for the lobster traps in the spring and they also like to have a feed of them now and then too so it’s a valuable fish there. This photo was made in October so the lobster season was long gone for that year so these mackerel were headed to the freezer for the next April when the season would come around once more.
Is Artificial Intelligence Evil?
As AI is growing in popularity there are many ideas as to what, if any, difference it will make to photography in general and maybe your photography in particular. First of all, there are more than one type of AI in the photography world. One is AI assisted tools such as the masking and many other tools in most editing apps these days. The other is the generative type where it will create whole images for you from prompts you type in. The AI assisted tools, I think are just fine, they are designed to help or to save time and I’m all for that. They don’t change photography any more than traditional editing does. That isn’t always the case with generative AI.
Some think AI will kill photography but I think that is a bit of a stretch. I think it will hurt certain genres, but in general, there will still be plenty of photography happening. AI will never be able to shoot a wedding or sporting event or any form of event photography for that matter, nor will it be useful for any news related images. That said, there will be genres that will be affected, some already are very much. I don’t think it will have any affect on your hobby shooting whatever that may be. Pro photographers may have to change their direction a bit depending on what they do but I think if you’re a portrait photographer you’ll be pretty safe.
Some landscape photographers have expressed concern that people would now be able to sit at a computer and type in prompts and get photos of iconic locations like Niagara Falls, The Grand Canyon, or The Canadian Rockies without ever going to any of these places. Why on earth would they want to do that? Where is the satisfaction in that? I recently went to The Canadian Rockies and experienced Moraine Lake in person. I got there in the middle of the night and slept in the car till dawn just to shoot sunrise at Canada’s most photographed lake. I assure you, there is no AI on this planet that can give the same thrill as seeing and experiencing that kind of beauty up close and personal. Landscape photographers like to get out in nature, hike, find locations and shoot actual photographs. Who said you can’t get no satisfaction?!
The biggest place that AI will change photography for me personally is how I look at YOUR work. These days I often question photographs as to their process. Sometimes I see something that just looks “off” and I question it. I know for a fact that there are lots of folks out there using generative AI as a staple tool. There is a popular YouTuber who actually did a whole video about how they use it routinely to alter images that they don’t like or maybe missed the mark in camera. That seems to me to be a case of using AI as a crutch to cover for laziness.
Photo of the Week #229
Sometimes we all go through periods where for one reason or another we don’t get out shooting much, if at all. I seem to suffer from that quite a bit but luckily there are things you can partake in even without leaving your house. This is one of those things. I took a sunflower and tried to add a blurred affect that never worked out but this later affect looks great to me. Don’t be afraid to fail, sometimes it leads you to a completely different place but not necessarily a bad one.
Photo of the Week #228
I have always been a person who cropped to a standard aspect ratio, you know, 8x10, 16x20, 36x24, that sort of thing. The main reason was so in the event I wanted to print the images, it would be easy to obtain matts, frames and glass for framing. Odd sized photos meant custom Matts at least and therefore, more cash. You know how many images I’ve actually framed? Not many.
The image below was used in a “Critique Night” at my local club and it was suggested to me that the photo may be stronger if I brought the bottom up a little closer to the cliff. Originally, I left a significant strip of water between the camera and the cliff. I gave it a look when I got home and this is the result.
As always, would love to hear comments and constructive criticism.
Photo of the Week #227
Once again, one of my images has won first place in my local club competition. I’m not a nature photographer as a rule but I do love grabbing the odd photo when I can. I don’t have the patience required to sit for hours waiting for something to happen though. Two competitions in a row, honoured.
