If the truth be told I can’t see using Generative AI for anything but experimentation.
My career is certainly about experimentation, but not creating images out of whole clothe. There are plenty of photographers who do.
I just read a piece about stock photographers who are waiting for their careers to end once manufacturing images becomes completely acceptable. I thought Getty Images was doing the right thing by banning them.
But, Getty being Getty couldn’t resist building their own image generator. They even changed the title of the people reviewing these newly minted images from editor to inspectors.
Oh, gimme a break.
Pleeeeease.
In the real non-photography world I keep reading that people will lose their jobs only to gain new AI-driven ones.
In one of those stories the author said that there will be plenty of jobs for people who work with their hands. Nurses, plumbers and mechanics are in short supply.
From another author comes the thought that not everyone needs a college degree. If they learn some kind of hand labor that they enjoy, they’ll start earning immediately with no large college debt hanging over their heads.
In fact, a starting plumber will earn more money over the course of their career than most college graduates. And, their jobs are portable and flexible.
Ever need a plumber or election on golden time? $125 an hour is a starting point.
Because I’m always thinking — sometimes, anyway — I came to conclusion that there is a way to save photography, at least my photography. Make photographs that only I can make. Nobody sees like me. Nobody thinks like me. And, nobody makes pictures like me.
For sure, there are much better photographers than me, but they aren’t me.
This little portfolio runs the gamut from art through documentary to photojournalism. The picture at the bottom left won every regional contest in which it was entered and has hung on a number of gallery shows. Nobody made a picture that I’m aware of.
The people in the picture are Krewe of Zulu Tramps who start the parades on Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans.
A little self promotion never hurt.