I’ve enjoyed photography for as long as I can remember, though I’m not sure why exactly. Given that the photos from my oldest camera (dated ~2011) are mostly of clouds, I’m sure it had something to do with that weather hobby of mine…

And then something very cool happened: Stable Diffusion got released in late 2022. You could generate seemingly photorealistic images on your own computer - if you had one with a gaming GPU. The tools have since massively improved, including the proprietary ones by Big Tech. It is obviously having an effect on (professional) artists and designers, some of which negative. Think of how OpenAI stole Studio Ghibli’s anime style, the Adobe Firefly controversy, and, fundamentally, it being harder and harder to know what you see on the internet is real.

So, what is still the point of taking a photo and post it on the internet, where it competes against viral AI slop or photorealistic fakes? After my hype of generative AI wore off, I simultaneously lost my motivation to go out and take photos.

I have had some time to think about that question of why I enjoy photography in the first place. Now, having renewed motivation, I realize it comes down to the following two things.

Capturing the real world. In any form of media one increasingly has to question the truthfulness of what you see, read, or hear. Real photographs have a special quality which, I believe, will make them more valuable. At least I am 100% sure the photos I take are of real events in the real world. There are various photographers, artists, friends, etc who I also trust. I’m not convinced we will find a way to prove real photos with 100% certainty that is not based on trust, but even before Gen AI, photoshop doctory and misleadingly over-edited photos existed (read more about how I edit my photos).

Enjoying the creative process. Being at the right place at the right time for severe weather, or getting up at 3 AM to hike to be on mountain top before sunrise, to then capture a potentially amazing scene as truthfully as possible, print it out, and hang it on a wall, is simply a very enjoyable, satisfying process - even if you succeed in 1 in 10 times. Trying to capture something beautiful is half the fun already. All the failed attempts, or unplanned lucky shots, are just practise.