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Amersham Beyond Group - 1st Dec 2022

Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2022 3:14 pm
by spb
MONTHLY CHALLENGES
All our Challenge images can be seen at Amersham Beyond Group on Flickr

For APS Members only, the images are also available for viewing and commenting on Facebook here.

The current Challenges are;

#32 MOBILE APP ART
I have again updated the list of recommended apps in October’s meeting notes.

#33 FINE ART FOUND OBJECT
For clarification – the found object does not have to be a fine art object. The aim is to take an everyday, perhaps mundane, object, then extract and present it to encourage the viewer to really look at it.

… and the latest Challenge,

#34 LIGHT IN THE DARK
We viewed a lot of lit things in dark places. Don't forget the other possible interpretations.

The next Challenge is;

#35 DECONSTRUCTED LANDSCAPE

The landscape could be rural, urban, seascape, skyscape etc. It could be deconstructed in several ways eg,
- overlaid with areas that are out of place, rotated, inverted, unfocussed, differently processed etc.
or
- composed of details of the scene as though glimpsed by a non-photographer on a walk, maybe in a grid.

All elements of the deconstructed landscape should be of the same location although not necessarily at the same time. The image may be constructed by post-processing or by a montage of printed elements.

BEYOND US - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The acronym AI has been around for several years and has crept into photography through apps and online services that can fix problems with images, change backgrounds etc.
I have just used Topaz Sharpen AI to fix unintentional camera movement that created an unacceptable double image in an otherwise promising image. I actually had to dial back the effect as it was too sharp and the result was a competition winner.

In recent months AI image generators such as Midjourney and Dall.E have burst onto the scene. These only require a series of words or a sentence to indicate a subject and style. They will then generate one or more images which can be evolved or enhanced further until an acceptable photograph, painting or drawing is produced.

It feels like this technology will be extremely influential, quite possibly a threat, but we shouldn’t ignore it so I propose that we try accepting AI images in response to monthly Challenges or indeed other creative projects under the title Beyond Us. Members are therefore invited to seek out a suitable application and give it a go. The title of the image should be the input words used plus the name of the application and the member’s name eg.
#34 Photograph of Dickensian city at night with street lights by Night Café AI via Steve Brabner.jpg
Please obey the maximum pixel size and send it directly to beyondsec@amershamphotosoc.com as it won’t satisfy the image checker at the usual address.

Although AI image generators will probably require money sooner or later, many offer a trial period at no cost. More popular ones may limit the number of images and there may be a lengthy waiting list before you get access.

Another interesting AI offering is Deep Nostalgia from myheritage. Once given a portrait image it can animate it very realistically. It can be very spooky/emotional to see your long-gone friend or relative apparently alive and looking around.

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting will be held on Thursday 5th January 2023 in the Drake Hall.

BACK OF BEYOND – DIARIES
Creative Cloud Subscription. Adobe, in their corporate money-grab, make it hard to buy an annual subscription to Creative Cloud Photography Plan (+20GB). At the moment only a monthly plan is offered from Adobe at £10. I have no intention of paying that much or paying monthly. Beware Adobe, Affinity Photo beckons and I only need a push.

Amazon do offer annual subscriptions with email activation at around £119. Furthermore they have short-lived price reductions – for Black Friday it was £72. The best way to hear about these short term offers is to register for email notifications at camelcamelcamel Set a realistic discount and you will be notified as soon as the price is equalled or bettered. This works for any Amazon product and I also use it for annual subscriptions to MS Office which is also heavily discounted for a few days a year.

Cheers, Steve