monet – Mitchell's thoughts, photos, etc.

Is it Helpful or Does it Destroy Creativity? Will it Make Coney Island or NYC’s Flowers and Rivers Look Better?

I’ve been to some in-person breakfasts and/or lunches (remember those) and attended several Zooms (we all know those) where we’ve discussed the progression of AI. Make no mistake, it is progressing.

One of the things we discussed in the side conversations or hallway chats is how it affects the arts. I had a similar discussion with people who are writing and performing their own music. They’ve played in some of NYC’s bars. Hopefully, one day, one will headline Madison Square Garden.

The big topic is: does AI help or hurt the Arts? I know people who are now creating art using AI. Is that how we should use it? Use it as a collaborative tool. It will make your work better.

We have spoken about how, in a few decades, we will enter the Guggenheim and see art created by AI? Will it rival the pieces painted by Cezzanne, Monet, Picasso, Pissarro, and Van Gogh? Unlikely. I doubt it can capture the feelings they had while painting. But it can create interesting material? Should it have an asterisk? Sort of like what they did to Roger Maris after he hit #61?

AI certainly helps you be more creative. Don’t use it to create your image or music. Use it where it enhances your work. I love using Photoshop’s new AI tools. Most of my photography is shot outdoors. My favorite sites to shoot are Coney Island, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, South Street Seaport, and a few scout camps.

Little Acorn Cabin at William H. Pouch Scout Camp

Photoshop has enhanced its tools that let me delete those annoying glares and spots from the sun. Yes, I used polarizing filters. But nothing can one hundred percent eliminate them when shooting. We have great tools on our cameras, and AI is another super tool to help. It does a few other cool things, such as removing distracting elements or fixing the colors better than it previously did. It is easier to fix someone’s shaving cut and make their face look better in the image with their children at special moments.

Sure, it can play around with clothing. I know someone who wanted to take a uniform someone wore in an image from the 30s and update it to today’s look. I said no; that’s where we should keep things the way they were.

Bottom line: when used properly, AI can do wonders. It is frustrating to see sun spots in my skies, rivers, and fields when filters could not block them all out. That is where AI is especially helpful. It can help you be more creative. Use those ideas as a starting point, not as a substitute for your own vision.

With or Without Your Phone or Your Nikon Camera

By Mitchell Slepian

I am not writing about Peter Gabriel, who wrote the hit “In Your Eyes,” or U2, whose hit “With or Without You” broke them into the major leagues of music. They were there well before that tune. Think of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” or their debut, “Stories for Boys.” Like Paul Simon, I have a Nikon camera and love to take photographs. I do have a Kodak Instamatic X-15. So, a Kodachrome, I can deal with. I bought it last summer at a street fair at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. This camera was introduced in 1963. By 1970, it had sold several million. Probably similar to the number of albums sold by Genesis, Gabriel’s solo work when he departed Genesis, and certainly U2. The man I bought it from told me it works. The other day, I was in B&H, and they told me they have film for it. I need to check the camera and see what I need. Remember film? In camp, my Assistant Scoutmaster Larry had a Polaroid. We took tons of shots that printed as they popped out of the camera.

But this story is not about cameras. But more about seeing things with your eyes. One of my closest friends is an eye doctor and a great swimmer (his swimming hole required excellent vision). Many of you have seen my photos. I share them via email and Instagram, and occasionally LinkedIn. I hope you enjoy what I have included.

Now, about seeing stuff in your eyes. I often spend weekends shooting photos at the Brooklyn or the New York Botanical Gardens, the South Street Seaport, and Museum Mile. Then, there are the days I go to one of the holiest places, Ten Mile River Scout Camps. It is a photographer’s paradise.

A few days ago, I saw the Psychedelic Furs at the Brooklyn Paramount. Before meeting a pal at the Original Junior’s Cheesecake (it’s across the street from the venue) for dinner before the show, I saw the Monet in Venice Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. Amazing. I had about two hours before what should have been a few subway stops away to Junior’s. So, I went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is next to the Brooklyn Museum. Oh, as for what should have been, blame the MTA for making it several more stops and three different trains—life as a New Yorker.

I strolled the garden without my Nikon. I kept my iPhone in my pocket. I took in the beauty of the gardens with my eyes. It was incredible. I was just so amazed to look at the flowers with my eyes and not through a viewfinder with my thumb and index finger playing with the ISO and F stop. Or clicking away and texting images of the fountain. At this point in the season, many of the flowers are dying. That’s more of a song from The Cure. But there probably isn’t a better songwriter than Robert Smith. The Cure saved me. I am sure they have saved others. The gardens were magical. I thought a little more about what I was seeing. I wasn’t thinking about lighting and what I’d be doing with the images in Creative Cloud. It was simple. These days simplicity is missing.

This experience only makes me think, I need to go back to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and other places with less equipment. Of course, the shots I take make many people smile and create great conversations. Balance is what I need.

Tag: monet

AI and the Arts

In Your Eyes