I'm about to share something a bit more personal, which is usually the opposite of what I try do online and especially in my emails.

But I think this is an important topic to discuss, especially for you artists and photographers who follow me.

I almost quit photography last year.

Not entirely exactly, I don't think anything will ever be able to pull me away from photography and my cameras, I love it too much.

But I seriously considered the idea of switching careers, that the future just looked too bleak to even keep on going full-time.

Why?

Well, partly due to the economy and overall market for art. But a big reason was due to the advancements in AI art and image generation.

Look, I think AI is an incredible tool. It's a scary tool at times, sure, but it's incredible.

However, whenever I thought of AI in the past, I always imagined that it would be a tool we would use to automate all the boring stuff in our life.

A tool we could use to take care of the menial stuff while we focused more on activities that we enjoyed and made us happy, like creativity for example.

Little did I expect, that one of the first things AI would explode in popularity in was the exact thing many people thought wasn't possible: AI art.

Because art is inherently human right? It's whole nature is human creativity and emotion, so how could AI possibly replicate that?

Well I was wrong, dead wrong.

With the advancements in AI generative services like Midjourney and DALL-E, you can make insanely impressive and realistic art with a few words and clicks on the keyboard.

It's seriously impressive.

And thus, all of the thousands of hours I put into developing my craft and creating a unique photographic style felt... Wasted.

Not because I had regretted this journey and path that I had taken. But it felt like the access to creating epic imagery suddenly became 100x times easier.

So I got discouraged, and being the pessimist that I am, I figured the future for human-created art like photography seemed rather bleak.

And for a few months last year, I really didn't feel like creating much. I just lacked the motivation to honestly.

Until one day, I decided I needed to give this AI stuff a fair chance. Instead of just shooting it down and 'hating' it, I needed to see what it was like and what I could 'create' with it.

And so I did, and guess what? It was fun!

Within seconds, I could generate images representing different thoughts and ideas that I had.

Not only that, but the images looked super cool too.

I almost felt like a bit of a prompt genius per se.. (insert cringe emoji here ha)

But then very quickly I was snapped back to reality and realized, this was just the nature of AI generation.

I could type just about anything I wanted and create gorgeous imagery.

But having this immediate creative instant gratification felt... Off. This feeling of fun just didn't last for me.

And hey, I'm not knocking AI artists who do enjoy it and find creative fulfillment from generating images with word prompts.

I just quickly realized that it wasn't for me. Playing with these new tools that I was so scared and worried about, actually reminded me why I loved photography so much in the first place.

Sure, the images you can create with AI are incredible, and perhaps even more visually pleasing than most art you can make any other way.

But the process for me personally felt so... Empty.

Whereas photography has so much more creative freedom and control to it.

Sure, I didn't create the landscape and the scenes that I photograph. I believe that the One who created this planet is the greatest artist in existence.

But photography forces me to go outside and experience these beautiful scenes to the full. It allows me to appreciate nature to a whole new level than ever before.

Photography has taught me about light, composition, focal points, telling a story, color theory, et cetera.

It's given me opportunities to see the world from a whole new perspective. And to add my own unique look and vision to that world through the thousands of hours I've spent editing my images in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

I've been reminded that photography is more than just about creating pretty pictures.

Photography is a lifestyle that brings us closer to what surrounds us. It brings us closer to our inner child that just wants to create. And it brings us closer to each other.

While AI will just continue to get better and make even more 'perfect' pictures. I really don't believe it will ever replicate the feeling of going for a hike, taking a bunch of pictures, and editing your favorite ones when you get home and sit at your desk for hours listening to music.

Photography will continue to be that 'everything' type of art for me. Just as painting, writing, sculpting, cinematography, poetry, and so on is that 'everything' type of art for millions around the world.

And hey, maybe AI is like that for some too. If so, power to them!

Art is about creative expression and having fun. So whatever that fun may be for you, go for it. Go chase it.

Don't let new tools distract you from the enjoyment you've received for so many years from your creative medium.

Create something that matters. Create what gives you fulfillment. Because that's what being an artist is all about.

Sincerely,
Zach

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P.S. No! This story was not written with AI. I did have GPT-4 look for spelling errors and fortunately I only made one mistake. Everything else was off the dome. Hope you enjoyed it!

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