through the looking glass
November 3rd 2023
With a heavy dose of impostor syndrome I recently led a discussion on AI and it’s impact on photography with my local photography group. As an film based photographer with a basic use of mobile, my experience is as much an observer as practitioner, but I am fascinated by the way technology and photography have been intrinsically linked since day one. Each new generation of technology stimulates new forms of creativity. I opened by referencing a reaction of an artist, Paul Delaroche, seeing a daguerreotype for the first time in 1838.
It’s worth noting AI’s impact ranges from the benign, enhancing a photographer’s original work like a digital darkroom, through to the harvesting of original photographs as raw material for the creation through prompts of new artworks. The subsequent impact on the photographer’s historic IP and future income as well as the veracity of images is evident. For some the horse has bolted and it’s about a rearguard action to protect images, by disruption or by design.
For others this presents a new form of image creation. Promptography has entered the language, for how long we’ll see. It’s certainly prompted the established order to respond. Echoing the debates of the 19th century, we’re reminded of the roots of the word, painting with light. In response I’d like to quote one of the current pioneers…
“…I love photography, I love generating images with AI, but I've realised, they're not the same. One is writing with light, one is writing with prompts. They are connected, the visual language was learned from photography, but now AI has a life of its own.” Boris Eldagsen, 2023