Authentic Photographs vs AI Generated Images, with Boris Eldagsen & Miles Astray

09/26/2024Link0

In today’s podcast, we chat with Boris Eldagsen, visual artist and AI pioneer, and Miles Astray, documentary photographer, on a plethora of issues surrounding AI-generated content. Boris and Miles share a ton of insight into the nature of AI-generated images, from the implications of this technology becoming more prevalent, to the possibility and dangers of the spread of misinformation, all the way to the need to rethink how we engage with social media.

Above image: AI Generated Image “The Electrician” vs Authentic Photograph “Flamingone” Collaged diptych: © Boris Eldagsen / © Miles Astray

Mirror series, Investigation, AI generated image, 2024
Mirror series, Labyrinth, AI generated image, 2024
Mirror series, Me, Me, Me, AI generated image, 2024
Mirror series, The Family Unconscious, AI generated image, 2024
Boris Eldagsen lecturing, © Rabara Photo
Dreamboys, AI generated image
My Party, AI generated image
Pseudomnesia IV, Still Searching for the Best Version, AI generated image
Pseudomnesia IV, Decision Making Gone Wrong, AI generated image, 2023
The Teacher, AI generated image
The Assistants 2, AI generated image
Stages of the Absurd, The Meaning of Life, AI generated image
The Nanny, AI generated image
The Key to Art History, Part 1, AI generated image
Purgatory Rave, Part 2, AI generated image
Boris Eldagsen portrait, © Jan Sobottka
AI-generated images Boris Eldagsen, except author photos as noted in captions

These are just a few of the points raised in today’s discussion. And, in case you haven’t already listened, this episode is part of a wider series tracing the effects of AI on today’s creative community.

Guests: Boris Eldagsen & Miles Astray

WHEN WE ARE, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
U P E N D O N E D, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
FAR, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
B L U E T E E N S, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
D I G I T A L E Y E Z E D, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
H I M A S T R A Y A S, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
A shot 4,500 years in the making, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
A TOUCH OF NATURE, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
BLEACHED YESTERDAYS, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
Fishing tandem, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
SOMETHING'S MISSING, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
Brick window, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
F L A M I N G O N E, A real photograph, processed in Lightroom with minimal adjustments.
Miles Astray Headshot, La Paz, Bolivia 2024
Miles Astray at work in Nazaré, Portugal, 2024
Miles Astray

Episode Timeline:

3:40: Boris shares his thoughts on the difference in reception between his and Miles’ respective contest entries.

6:34: Discussing the blurry boundaries between editing photographs and generated images.

15:18: Miles shares some of his motivations behind entering his photograph, “F L A M I N G O N E” in a competition category for AI-generated images.

20:12: As AI images become more prevalent, what happens when we’re flooded by content with questionable basis in reality?

27:24: The pitfalls of generated images and living in a “post-truth” era.

29:37: Episode Break

30:52: The surprising, sometimes idiosyncratic nature of what AI models generate when entering prompts.

42:33: What the lack of guardrails and censorship with AI-generated content means for creativity.

47:55: Discussing the possible dangers of AI-generated content to the documentary photography process.

53:07: The opposing nature of social media as a news source and a business.

59:34: The prevalence of fact checking on social media sites.

1:06:53: On the lack of a perfect solution to issues with manipulated images and the spread of disinformation.

Guest Bios:

Boris Eldagsen is an acclaimed media artist, photographer, and AI pioneer based in Berlin. His work in photomedia explores the limits of what can be depicted. Using a combination of street photography, staged works, and, most recently, both still and video AI image-making tools, he deals intensively with the subconscious, which inspires him to create new worlds of images.  

Boris has taught creativity, concept development, and photographic art in both Germany and Australia since 2004. Additionally, he is a member of Deutsche Fotografische Akademie, and is responsible for their online activities.

Miles Astray is a multidisciplinary artist who combines writing and photography into art activism. He was inspired by a slow and immersive journey around the world that started in 2012, when he set out to work with grassroots nonprofits for a year.

Little did he know this would be the first step of a new chapter of a reinvented life, living and working with local communities in Latin America, Asia and Africa. When he returned home for the first time in 2018, he found home was no longer a place to settle, it was just another place to stop along the path of a greater journey. And, thus he’s still out there, not so much to find answers, but to keep asking questions.

Stay Connected:

Boris Eldagsen Web site: https://www.eldagsen.com/

Boris Eldagsen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boriseldagsen

Boris Eldagsen Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boriseldagsen

Boris Eldagsen YouTube: www.youtube.com/@boriseldagsen

Boris Eldagsen Prompt Whispering Workshops: https://www.promptwhispering.ai/workshops/

Miles Astray Web site: https://www.milesastray.com/

Miles Astray Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milesastray/

Miles Astray Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MilesAstray/

Miles Astray Twitter: https://twitter.com/milesastray

Boris Eldagsen Podcast Episode: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/fake-memories-promptography-and-generative-ai-with-boris-eldagsen

Stephen Shankland Podcast Episode: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/photography-in-the-age-of-ai-with-stephen-shankland

Fred Ritchin Podcast Episode: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/photography-in-the-age-of-synthetic-imaging-with-fred-ritchin

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