As somewhat of a late bloomer in the acceptance of my right brains dominance in all of who I am and what I do, photography came to me slowly, though the interest was there as with many of us since childhood. Only recently in the last half decade or so have I come to see photography not only as a passion, but a means of survival in increasing chaos in the society most of us function within.
Now as my photography enters a stage where I see each trip out with my camera (virtually every day of my life) as an opportunity to capture something beautiful which can be appreciated by many hopefully long after I am gone, realizing living in Japan offers endless opportunities for this, or so they say.. It is true, but being here for well over a decade, many trending themes of Japan, simply do no spark my juices. It’s not to degrade them as some are genuinely interesting, and artisticly pleasing. However I spent the first decade in Japan photographing many quirky things, and frankly I am after timeless beauty, and connection in this space, planet, solar system, universe, and beyond.. It’s all so big, and so small, so fragile, and so resilient, and I want to show this, that I see in every moment to others.
Enter AI (dum dum dum!)
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As I was slowly growing my artistic muscles and stretching out to reach others with my creations, this thing called Ai entered the scene.. A tool, a great achievment a demon, a competitor. Full disclosure, I do not use generative AI for any of the art I sell on my website. I have however over the past year used AI to root out problems I was having with my website and streamlining it to achieve SEO to compete with the corporate giants mass producing lesser quality photography prints of any and everything. This ironic partnership leveled the playing field in terms of what website pops up first if you search for example “Snow Monkey Photography Prints”. It is still a daily battle, as search engines are quick to throw me down the list if I do not make some type of updates to my website nearly daily. The large sites, well they simply automatically update every minute with massive uploads of a little bit of anything and everything you never needed.
ALAS (dum dum dum?)
Alas, while I have been focussed on this direct david and golliath narrative, the very AI which has helped me has also evolved to not only create art for those without the will to pick up a camera, let alone a pencil to sketch something out, but also to steal the works of others in the process. Initially I thought because I was so small, I would evade this thievery, but in recent months I have seen various traits of my photography make their way into this tapestry of pardon my english but ……… on a ……… with extra ……. …….. ……… sauce. I edited myself, it was far too graphic. Anyways, in the face of this, I’m not really effected by it personally as it was it is, and perhaps the benefit of being an old schooler in many well earned respects if you catch my drift is that I know when to fight and when to lay back and watch the shit show. I don’t pretend to know how much the market is really clammering for AI produced art, but I have to believe in my heart, there will always be those seeking the authentic and I know throughout my soul, if I am only one thing, it is authentic. Some love me for it, some hate me for it. Most authentic types share a similar life story. Sadly the truly authentic are often not reconized till after they leave their shells for the great unknowns, and I think few of them would have chosen that, and we all hope to enjoy some success and recognition before our time, but as an artist, to other artists whether comfortable calling themselves such or not.. keep on. It is art that is remembered, not fads, but if I can be a bit of inspiration and light in an otherwise dark place. Live for your self not the future, enjoy the now even if they don’t see your light, because believe me you are not alone. We occupy the same planet at the same time, and maybe that’s as it’s meant to be. Too many of us in the same room would probably be bad for the fuses or something 😉
There is more I could likely say, but this is really just the morning rant of an artist with much on his plate for the day.
Please stay tuned, many things which have been hinted at are coming very soon to this site, including limited edition hand signed washi prints, hand made photo books, and things I dare not speak of for fear of let down should they not come to fruition…
P.S. This page will likely be moved to blog in the days, hours, or minutes to come as it may not be the best marketing strategy to have people come to find art prints and see the rant of an “other”, so if you found inspiration, and would like to easily return, please bookmark it. Technology should do the rest.
Also.. I realize this had very little to do with photography perse. I didn’t plan any of this, and sometimes it’s best to just let it all flow out rather than clogging the drain, ya know..