Commentary Archives - PhotoTrice Studio

Memory and Truth

I’m reminded constantly these days that memory and truth are not immutable. One of the first lessons one learns when taking up photography is that capturing a fraction of a second in an image does not represent truth. It is just a moment in time. It is equally true that memories are liable to change by the very act of recall. Life, love, past deeds whether heroic or dastardly get rewritten in time.

By the same token tools used by artists do not define the validity of the work created. Art is not in the expert use of tools but the ideas brought forward by the artist. New methods of working, even AI automated tools are not the death of human creativity. They are just another way of working.

Technical skills such as drawing are sometimes said to represent art. It seems to me that art is much more that dexterous tool use. I’m careful not to define my images as art. However someone using the same tools could produce art. It’s all about intention.

Shelter In Place

Shelter In Place – The New Duck and Cover

The recent history of gun violence in U.S. schools makes the phrase ‘Shelter In Place’ a common expression. Now it seems with the latest posturing East and West, it has new meaning; ‘Duck and Cover’. My childhood fear revisited as an additional burden on young people of today.

I remember seeing the Duck and Cover safety films in in grade school class. Nowadays we laugh about the cute turtle teaching us to avoid the nuclear flash and find shelter. It was absurd to think about surviving such an attack.

Being free to explore and feeling safe were the things I took for granted growing up in America. At least my schoolrooms were safe from assault rifles. Now it seems children must consider another unthinkable danger.

Next Time Take the Train

The governor looks into the camera and says, “Sure, I’d drink the water”. I wonder whether he would be so cheerful if he had to drink from that well for the rest of his life? Maybe not.

The railroad CEO says, “We are committed to making sure everything gets cleaned-up and back to normal. Well I guess they could reroute the river, dig up a square mile of soil and destroy a few houses. That would be a start. Maybe not.

As I sit here with the background hum of my oxygen concentrator, I’m skeptical about life returning to normal after a massive toxic spill in any small town. My fear is that a few hundred residents of a crossroads village are small sacrifice for the governor and the CEO. Both will likely move on and forget the whole episode.

Looking at the hopelessness in the eyes of residents, you know, they know the score. Another day in paradise.

Persona Roulette

Perhaps not the best title in the world but an interesting subject. Humans are hardwired to trust members of their tribe. At some level it’s a matter of survival. We are social beings who depend upon one another in many situations.

The problems is we can’t actually know anyone but ourselves. Trust is as much a matter of faith as it is judgement. What can we do to be safe? Stay away from the edge of the herd and hope for the best.

It never hurts to keep your head down just in case of unexpected events.

Dream Whisperer

The Dream Whisperer

Dream whisperer fills the mind between conscious thoughts. Conjuring subtle mysteries from the edge of nothing into the beginning of something, The magic just happens, we don’t know why.

It is cold today here in Texas. Creativity favors cold and dark as days become shorter. It could be the whispers get louder this time of the year. Be careful out there!

Dark Sky

What do we see in the dark sky?

Dark Sky

What do we see when we look into the night sky? Unseen dangers lurk in the darkness. To be safe we must step back into the light. Stay close to the fire and hope for the best.

City Mirage

CITY MIRAGE

Trust yourself to know truth from illusion. Certainly truth often seems to have an imaginary quality. The artful Topsy Turvy world of spin keeps us guessing.

About the Image

This image evolved in the early hours this morning when the house was completely still. It combines at least half a dozen image sources using masks and blending modes. Looking back the flow of work felt like automatic processing. Perhaps a surrealist moment or maybe an illusion.

Click the icon below to see in Pinterest.

New Beginnings

The MidJourney Ahead

I started doing non-professional photography a couple of decades ago. It is a passion of mine. There is creativity to be found in making photos but also constraints. My photo archive could be used as inspiration or direct source material for other kinds artistic image making.

My goal in using MidJourney is to create ‘mixed media’ images that have unique character. Combining photography, MJ and other source materials seems to be a way to extend my creative reach. I’m not trying to duplicate photographs. The photography community is rather conservative about accepting non-traditional images.

So far my projects combine MidJourney output, photos, textures and digital watercolor to create abstract or surrealistic finished work. Certainly I have no reason to expect genuinely artistic results.You never know until you try.

So what about MidJourney?

MidJourney is an example of image creation software that uses text based descriptions to indirectly control graphic output. Basically you type a description and instructions for what you want to see with perhaps a reference image. The software then creates something on-the-spot. Chances are good the results will not be what you were seeing in your mind’s eye. But they may very well be interesting perhaps even what you could call artistic.

Humans make art. Machines even fancy ones create something that might be called AI art. A human can use AI art as a component or idea for making actual artistic work. Unfortunately the hype over this is causing great distress among some visual artists.

Making a Start

From the point of view of a techie, ‘Hello World’ is the way to announce something new. Except this blog is about art, design and creative thinking. However we are living in the twenty-first century using modern tools and communicating over the internet. It should be interesting blending traditional and new ideas. You never know.

Glad that is out of the way. Making a start is always a struggle.