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Join me on a journey through the world of photography. My blog covers a range of topics including camera gear reviews, behind-the-scenes of commissioned projects, workshop recaps, and general thoughts on a variety of photography subjects. Follow along as I share my passion for the art and craft of photography.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

XPOSURE INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL 2023 in Sharjah is here!

Photography exhibitions. Legendary, world-renowned photographers. Industry experts. Presentations. Film screenings. Workshops. Book signings. Focus groups. Competitions. Latest camera gear & Trade show. Xposure International Photography Festival in Sharjah, UAE is unlike any other and if you care about photography even a tiny bit, you can’t afford to miss it.

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.

Snow capped mountain at sunrise. In the foreground, shiny modern skyscrapers partically blocked by the low, green hills.

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From Snooze to Wow: How Time-Lapse Transforms the Ordinary into the Extraordinary

there are many REASONS

why time-lapses look better than regular video and this difference is particularly apparent at night, in the city. Let me explain why.

DEFINITIONS AND BENEFITS OF TIME-LAPSE CINEMATOGRAPHY

There are several reasons why a time-lapse video of a city at night deals a heavier punch than a standard video of the same subject. One of the key explanations is the fact that a time-lapse can capture a longer period of time in a compressed format, which can produce a sense of movement and change that is not as obvious in a standard video.

A time-lapse allows a larger range of motion and activity, including shifting traffic patterns, people moving through the streets, and changing illumination of buildings and landmarks. For the viewer, this may result in a more varied, dynamic and compelling visual experience that is difficult to capture and replicate with a video camera.

Time-lapses taken at night often outperform traditional videos because they can catch how the light changes throughout the day. A regular video clip will often have consistent illumination from start to finish. As dusk approaches and city lights come on, the illumination will change in a time-lapse, and that is one of the reasons why time-lapses rarely fail to impress.

but that’s just half of it!

Wider apertures and longer exposure periods are frequently used to capture time-lapses. This makes it possible to capture more light, which produces brighter photographs. Nighttime time-lapses of the city also appear more vivid since they frequently contain a broader variety of light sources. Last but not least, time-lapses are captured as a series of high-resolution, 16-bit RAW still photographs with a superior dynamic range and little noise. As a result, the artists enjoy the advantages of creative freedom. Their time-lapses suffer very little loss in image quality when using post-processing techniques.

In conclusion, time-lapse films have the ability to render the mundane world around us with crystal clarity, as a spectacle of dancing, vibrant lights. Time-lapses are exciting. Regular video on the other hand? Not so much.

Here’s a comparison of two still frames. On the left side is a frame extracted from a time-lapse sequence. On the right, a frame from a regular video. What is instantly apparent is how much brighter the time-lapse image appears. There are no black zones in the image where you can’t make out the detail. The colours are punchy, vivid and varied across the frame. Every type of light source has a distinct quality and tone. Cars have lovely motion streaks. The whole time-lapse scene appears alive, compelling and inviting.

The frame on the right side was extracted from regular video. It appears, well, regular. It’s mostly dark and quite dull. Video lacks the dynamic range to resolve the details in the dark areas of the image. There’s a very little variety when it comes to colours. The image is mostly yellow. There’s no real sense of motion or life. It’s kind of forgettable.

The difference between the two ways of shooting and featuring a scene is not subtle at all. The video footage captured with Fujifilm X-T3 is nice, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not exciting or special. On the other hand, motion-controlled time-lapse shot with the Fujifilm GFX100 is lively scene, combining an explosion of colours and a choreographed dance of cars and construction cranes. Time-lapse and regular videos are two different worlds, galaxies apart.

Time-lapse film featuring vistas of Dubai, captured from the penthouse on the 42nd floor of ‘Avani Palm View Dubai’ hotel and residence.

I hope you found this blog post useful, even enlightening. Owing to the advent of digital photography, time-lapse cinematography is one of the most exciting, niche filming techniques to have emerged in the past 15 years. But we all know how fast the technology is moving forward. It’s only going to get better form this point onward.

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