Spring 2023: The Era Of Generative AI Is Here

Are You Ready?

It doesn’t matter. Generative AI is here and we better adapt quick or be gone tomorrow.

The above image was created with Adobe’s text-to-image Generative AI, called Firefly. Cute name for a mammoth technological milestone with profound and dire implications for visual artists.

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So, like most people who don't live under a rock, I've been messing about with Photoshop's Beta version with a built-in generative AI components over the past few weeks. To say I was pouring expletives and my entire vocabulary of English adjectives at the screen when I first tried it would be understated. Using this technology for the first time feels akin to experiencing black magic. Imagine traveling back to 17th century and giving a modern smartphone to a person of that time. That’s how using the Generative AI feels in 2023.

My opinion as a professional, commercial photographer and time-lapse artist: despite it being utterly impressive, generative AI won't alter how photographs are made from a physical standpoint. You will still need a camera, lenses, and a tripod, as well as to get to the place, brave the weather, compose your images, and press the shutter button. If you have enjoyed this process thus far, you will probably continue to do so in the near future. After all, taking pictures involves physical activity, and the memories it evokes are grounded in actual interactions and experiences.

Example of AI as a design concept tool: I was commissioned to shoot a real-estate project in Dubai, currently under construction. The client wanted to envision the finished water canal with a promenade. Using only a photograph as a basis, I managed to generate a rough masterplan & landscaping concept with AI in less than 30 minutes. The generated visual was used a reference to create a detailed 3D CGI photo-composite.

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Having said that, AI is very good, and getting better by the day, as an image creation and manipulation tool. Batman Photographers will no doubt find great use in Generative AI’s abilities, turning Photoshop into their editing sidekick Robin. A few mouse clicks are all you need to completely transform an original image into something else entirely. No special image editing abilities are required either. If you can imagine it, and have a decent command of English language, you’re good to go.

Architectural and real-estate photographers know this pain well. The mess of the real world in which we live, the imperfections. They are the “intruders” which spoil the composition and draw unwanted attention. For this reason, they have no place in professional real-estate and architectural photos. These images require extensive post-production in which the clutter is removed and cleaned up. To retouch the above photo, I’d normally need at least an hour of intense Photoshopping. Nobody likes this sort of work, but it’s unavoidable. With new AI powered tools though, I needed less than 5 minutes to accomplish the same task, with flawless results. I actually had fun in the process!

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In terms of the work I do specifically, I believe Generative AI will dramatically accelerate and simplify the editing process which takes a lot of my time. It will make me more productive, at least until it inhabits the robots which may later decide to exterminate us all. We'll probably have to organize the resistance movement and fight back at that point. I may need to rewatch the Terminator movies. But we will deal with that problem when it gets to that.

Featured is the photo of Qasr Al Sarab hotel in Liwa, UAE. I took this shot in May 2022 in a project commissioned by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture departement. The bedouin in the foreground and camel footprints in the sand were convincinly generated with Photoshop Beta / Firefly AI. Grading was accomplished with Luminar Neo AI.

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What are your thoughts on the subject? Feeling the fear, or are you excited? Have you been exposed to AI yet, for fun or work perhaps? Staying away…for now?

Either way, do let me know in the comments below. This is an important subject which will impact all of us, sooner or later. Nobody will be spared. We need to keep this conversation going.

Lens on AI: The Controversial Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Photography

AI is inevitable

A couple of years ago, hardly anyone spoke of artificial intelligence. Today, all we read, hear, and speak about is artificial intelligence. It seems as if AI suddenly sprang out of nowhere and pounced on us from all sides. That is untrue, of course; AI has been under development for many years, but recent technological advances have made it the dominant focus of all conversations. And also with good reason.

The best chess player in the world will always lose to the AI. Expert AI systems can forecast the weather more accurately than any human meteorologist. The AI is already more accurate than any seasoned physician at making health diagnoses. The majority of automated administrative duties are performed by AI more effectively than the conventional, human method. It's impossible to discuss AI without being concerned about the future of the topic and our place in it. We require strong tools that enable us to complete the task more quickly, effectively, precisely, and affordably. After all, industrialization is what made humankind's unparalleled advancement possible over the previous 250 years. However, we are getting to the point where the AI will soon no longer act as our sidekick or assistant.

Right now, getting replaced is a hot topic. Are this civilization and the entire global economic system prepared to hand over the controls to the AI while we... What precisely is our place and function in the AI-run society? I’d love to hear a concise explanation which makes sense. I have not found one yet. Automation with the aid of AI - that’s one thing. Replacing humans with the same technology. Now that is a completely different matter.

I'm a creative. I can't worry about AI assuming global dominance. It exceeds the scope of my concerns. However, I have some questions for my artistic peers who believe that the AI-generated art “belongs” to them because it popped up on their screens after typing a sentence full of colourful verbs and adjectives, The soulless machine, the robot which was programmed to run a code based on creations of millions of human artists found online was most definitely NOT "bent to their will." It merely ran an executable software code. You just pressed the ENTER button.

I get it; It is inevitable that AI will arrive and stay because people love to find shortcuts in life. Sadly, this also applies to art. But we better be careful about this. My suggestion is that we design the AI in way it will work with us and for us, not than instead of us. The moment we stop inventing, producing, creating, is the moment we become extinct. We should never stop to be curious. The ability to produce art in all shapes and forms from music, poetry to paintings and sculptures is easily the most defining and important human trait. If we lose our gift to create art, we will lose everything that makes us human. It may not even matter if we wake up one day and find ourselves bent to the will of the AI.

Please read my friend Rob Wilson's outstanding article published in the Frames Magazine on the subject, titled LOOK CLOSER: “AI – Machines Rising to which he invited me to add my opinions.

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THE SHOOT AT BEY EVI BOUTIQUE HOTEL IN TURKEY

Alaçati, THE HIDDEN gem by the aegean sea

Many are praising this charming little city by the sea. I went there to see why.

BRIEF HISTORY of Alaçati

Alaçati, unlike most of the towns in the area, doesn't have a long history. If you come to the city to find the signs of the past Emperors and conquests, of the kings and palaces, you will be disappointed. The wonderful old structures that are frequently associated with the area are not present here. Instead, you have a community with a calm, muted heritage that matches the atmosphere it so willingly provides.

Early in the 19th century is when Alaçati first appeared. Earthquakes on the neighboring island of Chios have ruined the homes and way of life of the Greek families occupying the area. A well-known Turkish family was also hiring workers to work on their vineyards and olive farms at the same time. They approached the Greek families in the area, who drained the swamp to create a community.

Alaçati was the name given to the worker's town, a traditional Greek village with stone buildings and cobblestone streets. The town developed into a significant commerce hub as the nearby vineyards provided good wine, and it kept expanding until after the Balkan war in 1914.

According to the terms of the Treaty of Lausanne, which was signed in 1923, Muslims who had fled Crete, Thrace, Macedonia, and the Dodecanese moved in Alatsata city in the Greeks' abandoned homes. The majority of these homes are still standing in Alaçati as tourist attractions.

WHO LIVES THERE?

Turkish wealthy and celebrities are increasingly flocking to Alaçati as a substitute for the Bodrum scene. Over the years, Bodrum has been extensively explored; Alaçati is another small, upscale resort. Less than 10,000 people call Alaçati home permanently, but during the height of the summer, that number can increase by a factor of ten. 90% of the population is Turkish in general. Although there are not many foreigners here yet, they are gradually beginning to become aware of it. High society from both Izmir and Istanbul is represented.

THE ARCHITECTURE

Stone homes with colored windows and pavement line the tiny lanes of Alaçati. Houses from the Ottoman era may be found in the city center of Alaçati; the ones that belonged to Ottoman Greeks can be identified by having an additional covered balcony area, known in Turkish as a cumba. Usually, lilac or light blue hues are used to paint enclosed cumba balconies. In 2005, the town was designated as a historical site, and the structures are now well-protected. The recently constructed homes make reference to the earlier architectural designs of the Ottoman homes in Alaçati's agora.

Today, most of the stone house have been converted into boutique hotels. Since these houses are quite old, the renovation and conversion process in Alaçati is a perpetual, visible everywhere, across the city.

BEY EVI boutique hotel; MY SUBJECT

One of the best hotels in the city is the BEY EVI (translated Gentleman’s House). I was requested to take photos of one of the hotel's smaller guest rooms where the renovations had just been finished. The chamber was actually rather large, and its interior design reflected its exteriors with real antique furnishings purchased from the region. I aimed to capture the peaceful atmosphere in the coastal city and the rustic warmth of this cottage. The hotel, in my opinion, effortlessly incorporated native Alaçati characteristics into the textures and materials used throughout. I hope I was able to capture the essence of this charming tiny hotel and pride it brings to its enthusiastic owners.

I used a Fujifilm GFX50s medium format camera with Fujinon GF 32-64mm lens.

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