A Statement on AI

In our time, it has become possible to have a computer create any kind of image just by entering a few text prompts. To me, that makes craft, process, and authenticity more important now than ever.

I do not use generative AI in my work. My goal has always been to be as good at the craft of photography as possible, and that any photograph I create be free of artifice and disposability.

I have found over the years when I strayed from that principal, and over-used digital effects and editing, that the finished product was deeply unsatisfying and did not feel authentic at all. And while AI is clearly going to profoundly change the course of photography in any number of positive and negative ways, I personally chose this profession to capture honest moments of human experience and a genuine record of our time - and now more than ever that remains my most important motivation.

A digital photo (or video) can easily veer into the realm of data capture and manipulation. Because of that, and even though I primarily work with digital cameras and equipment, I have always strived to focus on good light, in-camera effects and color, and a portrayal of things as they actually are.

This is not to be disingenuous and say that I don’t use ever digital fixes when necessary for commercial work. Retouching a good picture can make it a great one - with the digital processes very similar to the analogue ones if done right. But I would hope - on balance - my work is perceived as genuine photography and not about what is digitally possible with captured data. It is a time of profound change for all of us, and I believe that makes an authentic picture of it even more important.

-Garth