Is it worth taking photographs if AI can do it?

The topic of conversation in the photography world; the one I inhabit at least, is the almost unstoppable march of AI and the effect it will have on many parts of our lives. Undeniably it affects the photography world in many ways........or does it?

I start from a sceptical position about AI - It's all a bit 'Brave New World' for me and I fear for it's dehumanising impact on our lives, our work and our sense of what it is to be human. If AI can perform tasks more efficiently in our work environment, you might think that's fabulous? Efficient and cheaper...brilliant? If your job is lost to some AI programme, I suspect you might have a different view. Why can't AI do my ironing, so I have more time to do more photography, rather than AI pretending it can do photography leaving me with lots more time to spend ironing? By the way, I loathe ironing!!!

When it comes to photography and the arts in general, my scepticism becomes even more so. Although photographs have been manipulated for many, many years (Yes, even in the days of film!) ; the tools at your disposal such as lightroom and photoshop enable far more alteration of an image in virtually any way your imagination wants to head....and it isn't all that difficult. The 'machines' are doing it now and although the results can look a bit clonky, with many AI images looking obviously 'fake', the speed of change is alarming and I am sure that it will become harder to differentiate between an AI image and one taken by a human being before too long.

A dartmoor moment : The image as it came off the camera. Light and dark balanced out, but ultimately somewhat 'flat'

The processed image and one I am much happier with. Capturing more accurately what my eye was seeing at the time. Highlights lifted and the clouds darkened to bring out the shafts of light. Much more the scene I remember unfolding in front of me at the time

I have touched on this many times, but one thing I can say with certainty is that whilst AI and AI tools can alter the final image, there are so many things that it can't do.

I have been an outdoorsy person from a very young age. One who loves nature, wildlife, weather and just experiencing our natural world. I also love the excitement when I see a distant buzzard soaring over moorland, a rainbow appearing or a shaft of light reaching down from the heavens on a cloudy day. AI can't replicate that feeling.

Being out somewhere like Dartmoor or the Highlands of Scotland is food for the soul for me. If I create an image when I am out, I increasingly feel that it's a bonus. The most beneficial thing is actually being out, communing with the natural world ; birdsong all around you, the smells of a damp woodland, the feel of the wind and all the elemental forces at work. The changing weather, the changing light and all of the associated changes of mood.

One of those moments: getting very wet and cold immediately after I took this and feeling exhilarated at the same time

My mental health is improved by all of these things and taking photographs gets me out to places that excite and inspire me, but recently I have been had some wobbles in my health and coinciding with this have also not felt my most positive. Photography helps me through these darker moments, but it is often a solitary pastime: It is one aspect of photography that I have often sought - being somewhere peaceful, quiet and remote; time to think, time to escape from a world that increasingly feels fractured and slightly hostile.

I am generally a gregarious guy who enjoys the company of others. Equally I have always been comfortable in my own company, seeking an element of solitude, but when I was in Scotland earlier this year, I experienced an overwhelming sense of loneliness: something I have never experienced before in my life! In the last couple of months, I have been trying to do something about that because that feeling has stuck with me and has affected me quite noticeably.

I have undoubtedly been finding life a bit tough of late and been thinking a lot about what photography means to me. Increasingly I have been thinking how much I want to share these joys I so often feel with other people when I am actually out. When I go out taking photographs with my very good friend Pete Preston, we laugh a lot, we put the world to rights and often talk about our feelings about life.: our mental health concerns, the things that are holding us back or worrying us. In short, we talk about everything and I am so grateful for that. We also share those moments and it is always interesting that we see things differently. I might think that there is an image worth photographing that Pete doesn't see at all and certainly vice versa. There's usually a lot of welcome banter at moments like this, which is usually hilarious: laughter really is a massive tonic.....I digress.

A period of feeling low and somewhat 'lost' has really focussed my thoughts recently and a realisation of just how important those moments shared with someone are to me, has led me to exploring the idea of doing guided photography walks with some photography tuition....I want to explore this and put something in place to the benefit of others as well as myself.

Inspiration and a feeling of wellbeing. Moments like this and all is well in the world.

So, whilst AI might be taking over the world, the wellbeing benefits of being outdoors, especially when there's a moment of wonder to share, can never be underestimated. Through photography.....there's a path to happiness and joy.

One of those shared moments - my friend Pete in deep concentration at a rather spectacular waterfall recently in Wales.

Another 'shared' and memorable day. This time with georges.visuals (check him out on Insta - he takes fabulous photographs) who I met in the Dolomites and we spent a thoroughly enjoyable few hours in search of a disappointing sunset at Tre Cime de laverada; walking back in the dark and sharing the moments.

Another shared moment with Pete. A very early start, a long walk, a fair bit of moaning from me thinking we had missed the chance of a great sunrise. Love this image, but more importantly, the memories of a fabulous morning and even the parking ticket that awaited me when we got back to the car. Good times!!

I often think that I'll never capture an amazing image if I am sat at home, but have a growing realisation that getting out there is just as important as the result I am seeking. Even if I don't create or capture a stunning image when I am out, the well-being benefits of just being out in the field are huge. and sharing it with others at the time is something I want to do more.

To quote Max Boyce: 'I know, cos I was there' and it's a pretty good reason to pick up the camera, step out and go and create a memory....even if that memory is only available to yourself.

More ramblings soon, but thanks for reading. Stay positive and healthy

Mark x