Amersham Beyond Group - 3rd Oct 2024
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The Beyond Group has been experimenting with AI for a couple of years on the grounds that we should get to know our enemies. However one downside of this has been that two of our members became disillusioned with their photography last year because AI can do everything and anything so easily and increasingly well.
The RPS and the PAGB have now published rulings that ban Generative AI in any submitted photography on the grounds that it is no longer entirely the work of the photographer. Like many other clubs and societies APS has followed suit and banned generative AI in any internal or external competition image. As well as text-to-image software this includes tools such as Generative Fill, Expand and Remove. It should be clear that not everything with AI in the title is necessarily banned. Tools that work solely on the material in the original image such as upscaling or denoising software are acceptable as are Content Aware tools.
From the perspective of the Beyond Group, our images are largely for our own enjoyment so we remain relaxed about incorporating elements from Open Source image banks where these are made freely available without restriction for amateur use. This would include sources such as Unsplash, Pexels, Openverse, Pixabay etc. However these elements should only form a part of the final image which may not be entered into internal or external competition.
Of course, there will be grey areas but if in doubt we should seek clarification and rely on our own skills and imagination.
One area that is not controversial is the use of AI to suggest titles for images where we find this difficult. AI is not yet able to do this from the image itself but could be given a description of the image or the nature of the Challenge to then output large quantities of title ideas.
MONTHLY CHALLENGES
Current and past 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;
#44 BLENDING MODES
#45 PINK FLOYD ALBUM COVER
… and the latest Challenge;
#46 NATURE AS ABSTRACT ART
One aim of the latest Challenge for the new 2024/25 season was to encourage new members to have-a-go with a relatively straightforward subject. This was successful with a bumper crop of submissions and we received over 100 images this month from 23 members in a gratifying variety of subjects and techniques.
We also showed a portfolio of ten images on this theme from the late Ray Higginbottom prepared by his wife Viv. He was inspired by the work of Mary Katrantzou’s printed textiles and dresses inspired by the collections of Walter Rothschild at the Natural History Museum Tring. Also by Paul Kenny who collected material on walks and photographed them in exquisite arrangements.
Martin’s graphic and powerful images Hope and Despair in the Baltic Forest were inspired by Ramble Drawings of Richard Serra. https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2016/r ... -drawings/
The next Challenge will be;
#47 OUT OF THIS WORLD
The aim of this Challenge is to create an image with a space theme; planets, solar systems, astronomy, science fiction, derring-do… The viewpoint could be from Earth or extraterrestrial.
Given that most of us have not been into space, open source images such as those from NASA, ESA, Unsplash, Pexels etc may be incorporated but no generative AI.
BACK OF BEYOND DIARIES
Windows 10. Support from Microsoft ceases in one year from now. It would not be a good idea to ignore this date as despite any third party anti-virus that you may have, other core vulnerabilities will cease to be patched. Upgrading to Windows 11 is free and a checker will determine if your PC is compatible. You may not want any of the new features or changes to the interface but you can’t hold back the tide. I must admit I haven’t done it on any of our three PCs yet – but I will. Interestingly 62% of PC users are still on Windows 10.
If your PC is not compatible with Windows 11 there are a number of possible remedies. It may be possible to add more memory if that is the problem and Microsoft does offer a route to try Windows 11 and go back to Windows 10 for 10 days if it is not successful. You could also give the problem to your favourite computer repairer and if you don’t have one there have been good reports of We Can Fix It near the Beech House in Amersham. A computer on Windows 10 is not at risk if it is not connected to the internet.
As a last resort you may have to purchase a new computer which has the benefit of windows 11 already installed and guaranteed.
Photoshop Crashes. I am finding quite a few frustrating bugs and annoying new features in Photoshop but if your copy crashes or freezes regularly the remedy can often be to reset the Preferences file which can become corrupted. There is an option to do this at Edit>Preferences>General. Some favourite settings will return to defaults but they are easily changed again.
Alternatively, assuming that you have paid for your copy of Photoshop, Adobe support are helpful and based in Ireland so you should be able to understand them!
NEXT MEETING
Thursday 7th November 2024 in the LARGE BARN HALL at the Community Centre.
Cheers, Steve