First time visit to Alsace left me impressed: Germany doesn’t have a monopoly on cute little towns filled with half-timbered houses! In fact, the towns in Alsace are prettier because they are more colorful, especially these 3 along the Alsatian Wine Road.
This quaint little town is quite crowded during the day, but at night it is peaceful yet equally beautiful.
A few years ago I experimented with photographing flowers in the style of Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989). I wanted to capture something like this (Calla Lily, 1984).
I spent hours finding the right flower and setting up the lighting to get a black&white image I was happy with. Then I’d spend more time in Adobe Lightroom to adjust the image and bring out more detail and create a dramatic image. The best I could do was this:
Yesterday I tried to replicate that process using Midjourney and playing with various prompts. What took me hours previously now took about 10 minutes. Here are some of the images I created:
To me these are indistinguishable from Mapplethorpe’s pictures, and better than what I tried to create manually. I could probably show these to people and get a ‘wow, those are great pictures’ reaction. So if it’s indistinguishable from ‘manual photography’, is it still photography?
I’m sure a similar question was asked when photography first started: “If it didn’t take hours of painting with a brush to create an image, is it still art?” Photography has now been considered an art form for a long time and nobody disputes that just because it speeds up the creation of images. Is AI-powered image generation at the same stage now? Will it also turn into an accepted form of art that commands high prices at auctions? I’m curious to see where this is going.
This tree, like a many-tendriled creature, seemed to be screaming for help as the sun rose behind it.
Captured in Rattlesnake Canyon, Colorado.
Captured in Rattlesnake Canyon, CO:
Did you know that Rattlesnake Canyon in Colorado has the most natural arches in the world after Arches National Park in Utah? here are the 3 biggest ones:
Captured at Denver Int’l airport (which is the world’s 3rd busiest airport, after ATL and DFW).
Nothing beats it. Weather was perfect last weekend when I visited my son and did some hiking near Grand Junction.
Went on an early morning hike near Grand Junction, CO, to avoid the heat.
Captured over Loudon United stadium in Leesburg, VA.
RDV Winery can definitely compete with Napa:
Captured near Shenandoah National Park:
A biz trip to Cincinnati gave me a chance to see a bit of the city:
Captured in our front yard:
Captured from my hotel window during a business trip to Las Vegas.
Visited the neon sign graveyard in Las Vegas:
Captured during a business trip to Chicago:
A quick business trip to Indiana allowed for lunch at Speedway, home of the Indy 500. Half a mile away from the glitzy track is a land that time forgot.
Wonder where this one is going. While enjoying sunset in my neighborhood.
I found tiny fireworks in my yard….
A visit to 868 Estate Vineyards in Virginia.
Captured on my kitchen window:
Looking forward to this being a more inviting scene. Our local pool has been closed since the summer of 2019.
From afar:
From below:
From behind:
Captured this fall. It was the last tree to lose its leaves.
Pics of a lovely visit to Swallows Falls State Park in Maryland.
This fox has been all over our neighborhood, and doesn’t seem fazed by nearby humans:
Look behind trees while walking through the forest and you’ll find remarkable colonies of mushrooms:
My commute nowadays is a short walk through the woods behind our house. The light is hopeful and other creatures have created more beautiful structures than I ever could. 10 minutes of serenity and I’m ready for whatever the day holds in store for me.
I looked for bears in vain. The forest was beautiful nevertheless. All you could hear was the summer heat making all creatures lazy, while pine needles cushioned my feet and a caterpillar crossed my path.
Not many photo opportunities when you’re quarantined, except the view out the window. But what a nice view it is:
Captured on my last trip to India:
Captured on my current trip to India:
Shot on iPhone 11, edited with Snapseed
Captured during a one-day business trip to Philadelphia. Not much time for photography except while waiting for my train at beautiful 30th Street Station:
…of fall is hanging on for dear life:
iPhone, edited with Hipstamatic
This is Tally, who already is enjoying her new home:
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Captured on a sunny fall day:
Well, at least on my blog. The woods around our house have looked like this for a while now:
A 1-day business trip to Los Angeles didn’t leave much room for photography, except for a few shots of downtown:
We spent the last few days driving across the plains from Denver to Virginia with our new dog, Tally. There wasn’t much to photograph while driving:
iPhone, edited in Snapseed
Captured at the local YMCA:
Captured in a previous season – but now it’s a timely post. Congrats, Nats!
Captured in the KR Market near ChickPet:
Snapshots For Sore Eyes 