Imperfection and authenticity are the only truths. Natural is never perfect, and that's what makes it interesting and appealing. Some imperfections are so rich in beauty. As for perfection... what is perfection, anyway? Because nothing is ever perfect, and if it truly exists somewhere, oh how superficial, bland, and boring it must be (as photos or images generated by AI often are)... Make way for natural, make way for the beauty of imperfection, of authenticity, make way for different emotions, because that's what makes us feel "alive"...
Beautifully said, Richard. I am more often now duped by AI images and it is maddening and depressing that people are sitting at their computers missing out on photographing real life. And calling it photography! Your image here is magical.
I shared this writing with two of my friends and we are totally on board with making this the “year of authenticity”. Your words really spoke to us as we strive to make our mark in the wildlife conservation space. Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts.
I really enjoyed what you wrote! Lately especially, I've felt let down when I see something that's too perfect, or hard to believe. Seeing those things leave me cold. Mad.Reels in Facebook sometimes would have something delightful. Now, I'm not sure if "it's real or Memorex". I've seen faces that are just a little off in their features, then I realize they're A.I.
Last week something was so clearly unbelievable, I wrote such a nasty comment. I just had to. I didn't want ro be taken as a fool. I hate stories that sound possibly real, but end up being "for my enjoyment". If the event didn't happen, I'd rather not see it. At least not where real things would have been.
It's taken the joy out of a lot of things now. I appreciate having the ability to use it "only for good", but as far as I'm concerned, more & more of what I see isn't for good. It's to deceive and that really makes me mad. It's exhausting and upsetting to feel like I have to second guess almost everything that I'm seeing. If I wanted fake, I'd use crayons.
Thanks again for your exceptional "Year of Authenticity".
Richard, this is wonderfully said. Seeking or expecting perfection in life is an illusion and self defeating. Yet the world drives us to believe we should be perfect in everything we do to be accepted. The truth is that nature in the raw is actually as it should be and is perfect. Photographing wildlife in their natural habitat doesn't need enhancement, you can't improve on the beauty of nature. Be that one that no one ever asks if your work is AI.. You don't need it, your skills are better than any AI..
I struggle with this myself. I am not a professional photographer, but I sometimes edit my photos. For example, my android phone tints clouds in sunrise and sunset photos orange.
I sometimes edit them to be more pink, because that results in a picture that's a lot closer to what they actually looked like! I also occasionally edit out extraneous street signs or other obstacles from what would otherwise be an unmarred shot.
For me the problem is solved by full disclosure. I think AI-generated images should be identified as such, and I should probably start adding "lightly edited" or something to my edited photos, just the way I give credit to the original photographer when I post a photo that I didn't take.
Great points, I think I agree with most. Some "flaws" can, and probably should, be corrected or toned down a bit, e.g. the too bright spot that distracts. Not take it away, but reduce the brightness enough so that it does not pull all the attention. The grass in front of the cub: leave it there, it belongs there and the image is still super powerful, I guess even more so than without the grass.
Like so many things: it depends, and it is about judgement calls, not so much technical skill, but taste.
So true Richard. Ai in social media is making me disbelieve what a I see more and more! The good thing is I don't think it is clever enough yet to ADD distracting grass to pictures to make them appear real!
Great reflections - and what a beautiful photo. I can certainly see 'perfection fatigue' become a thing in our AI-mediated future and share your sense of loss for the craft. Maybe storytelling too - through multiple images - will become a proxy for the perfect image.
Beautifully stated, Richard. As a pro photographer, I too have disregarded so many images due to the proverbial 'clump of grass' - some imperfection that bothered me. I have cloned, even AI removed things that were not easily cloned, but only if the truth of the moment stood strong despite that adjustment. I never altered the reality of the moment or subjects, just distracting elements around it/them. Yet, ironically, after just finishing an edit of my huge library and deleting over 40,000 images, I found myself accepting distractions more, if the moment transcended that imperfection. I began to see that as you stated, life is messy - reality is imperfect, and I'm more okay with that than ever before!
This image takes my breath away. I didn’t even notice the clump of grass until you mentioned it, actually. For me, this photo is absolute perfection.
Imperfection and authenticity are the only truths. Natural is never perfect, and that's what makes it interesting and appealing. Some imperfections are so rich in beauty. As for perfection... what is perfection, anyway? Because nothing is ever perfect, and if it truly exists somewhere, oh how superficial, bland, and boring it must be (as photos or images generated by AI often are)... Make way for natural, make way for the beauty of imperfection, of authenticity, make way for different emotions, because that's what makes us feel "alive"...
Beautifully said, Richard. I am more often now duped by AI images and it is maddening and depressing that people are sitting at their computers missing out on photographing real life. And calling it photography! Your image here is magical.
I shared this writing with two of my friends and we are totally on board with making this the “year of authenticity”. Your words really spoke to us as we strive to make our mark in the wildlife conservation space. Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts.
I really enjoyed what you wrote! Lately especially, I've felt let down when I see something that's too perfect, or hard to believe. Seeing those things leave me cold. Mad.Reels in Facebook sometimes would have something delightful. Now, I'm not sure if "it's real or Memorex". I've seen faces that are just a little off in their features, then I realize they're A.I.
Last week something was so clearly unbelievable, I wrote such a nasty comment. I just had to. I didn't want ro be taken as a fool. I hate stories that sound possibly real, but end up being "for my enjoyment". If the event didn't happen, I'd rather not see it. At least not where real things would have been.
It's taken the joy out of a lot of things now. I appreciate having the ability to use it "only for good", but as far as I'm concerned, more & more of what I see isn't for good. It's to deceive and that really makes me mad. It's exhausting and upsetting to feel like I have to second guess almost everything that I'm seeing. If I wanted fake, I'd use crayons.
Thanks again for your exceptional "Year of Authenticity".
Richard, this is wonderfully said. Seeking or expecting perfection in life is an illusion and self defeating. Yet the world drives us to believe we should be perfect in everything we do to be accepted. The truth is that nature in the raw is actually as it should be and is perfect. Photographing wildlife in their natural habitat doesn't need enhancement, you can't improve on the beauty of nature. Be that one that no one ever asks if your work is AI.. You don't need it, your skills are better than any AI..
I struggle with this myself. I am not a professional photographer, but I sometimes edit my photos. For example, my android phone tints clouds in sunrise and sunset photos orange.
I sometimes edit them to be more pink, because that results in a picture that's a lot closer to what they actually looked like! I also occasionally edit out extraneous street signs or other obstacles from what would otherwise be an unmarred shot.
For me the problem is solved by full disclosure. I think AI-generated images should be identified as such, and I should probably start adding "lightly edited" or something to my edited photos, just the way I give credit to the original photographer when I post a photo that I didn't take.
Great points, I think I agree with most. Some "flaws" can, and probably should, be corrected or toned down a bit, e.g. the too bright spot that distracts. Not take it away, but reduce the brightness enough so that it does not pull all the attention. The grass in front of the cub: leave it there, it belongs there and the image is still super powerful, I guess even more so than without the grass.
Like so many things: it depends, and it is about judgement calls, not so much technical skill, but taste.
So true Richard. Ai in social media is making me disbelieve what a I see more and more! The good thing is I don't think it is clever enough yet to ADD distracting grass to pictures to make them appear real!
😃
Thanks. I'm with you on this. Good piece.
Great reflections - and what a beautiful photo. I can certainly see 'perfection fatigue' become a thing in our AI-mediated future and share your sense of loss for the craft. Maybe storytelling too - through multiple images - will become a proxy for the perfect image.
Yes to all of this! 🙌🏻 Interestingly, AI is actually motivating me to share the work I used to consider not good enough.
Beautifully stated, Richard. As a pro photographer, I too have disregarded so many images due to the proverbial 'clump of grass' - some imperfection that bothered me. I have cloned, even AI removed things that were not easily cloned, but only if the truth of the moment stood strong despite that adjustment. I never altered the reality of the moment or subjects, just distracting elements around it/them. Yet, ironically, after just finishing an edit of my huge library and deleting over 40,000 images, I found myself accepting distractions more, if the moment transcended that imperfection. I began to see that as you stated, life is messy - reality is imperfect, and I'm more okay with that than ever before!
Real life is not perfect.
just what i needed!❤️🙏
P.S. I love that photo! Clump of grass and all.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😊🎈