Tuesday 11th November: What are we going to do about AI? by Christine Widdall

 

This evening we welcomed Christine to give us a talk about AI. Christine has been using AI for sometime in her photographic images and so making her the right person for this highly debated topic. She explained that by the end of the session we might have more questions than answers, and perhaps a few headaches.

In the presentation she talked about what AI is, how it works and what it can do.  AI has been around since the 1970s in photography editing software and we have been using it, though we might not have been aware that it was AI. We use it as an assistant to enhance our images. Masking to hide or reveal part of an image especially in composite. To restore, to refine and retrieve things and removal of errors . But given all this the image has been created by the Photographer.

In recent years editing software has AI generated capabilities which have presented dilemmas for photographers and camera/photography clubs alike. In making changes to an image, such as removing noise, AI may now make changes to the image that adds new content that was not in the original image. It is now possible to generate images with a few commands without using a camera.

It is not just editing software that contains AI generated capabilities. Cameras and phones all have AI software providing more creative possibilities.

Christine showed us a selection of images, some were AI assisted, some Composite and others AI generated. She asked the group to select which was AI generated or AI assisted.  This was extremely difficult. The correct answers were just lucky guesses.

The evening was very informative and thought provoking. It showed how AI will have a profound impact on decision making for camera/photography clubs. As she said at the start of her talk, we did leave with  more questions than answers, and we have some new issues to address.

Tuesday 4th November: Wildlife Conservation by Barbara Meyer

Our speaker tonight, Barbara Meyer, left us in no doubt about her passion for Conservation of wildlife.

In the first half she spoke about Conservation, the various issues involved and some surveys that she had been involved in.  During her talk she showed some images which reflected what she was saying. She spoke very enthusiastically and with no notes. She gave us many interesting facts about the conflicts of different species living together, including the concerns in some areas between humans and animals.

After the break she continued the theme of conservation and how her photography fitted into such work. Again her talk was amply illustrated, most images were her own but occasional credit was given to another photographer. Some of her images were taken from zoos but this was mainly to illustrate how such organisations were working to ensure some very endangered species were not completely extinct. In many cases work was being done very carefully on how to reintroduce some animals back to the wild.

Barbara's raison d'être was to use her photography to highlight issues of big cats, particularly those who were on the  engendered list, and to raise awareness of the plight of some of British wildlife that were being threatened, eg badgers, seals and deer.

Please check out her website for more details of the organisations that Barbara works with. 

Tuesday 28th October Print Competition: Theme Open.

For the first competition of the new season we welcomed back Simon Ciappara FRPS to judge the prints. The theme was Open, so anything goes! Simon critiqued the photos with a keen eye, picking up on where the photographer could improve the images. He held several photos back and the well deserved winning photos are shown below. As we had time, Simon entertained us with a short video about his life and work.

Courtship by Sandie Jardine 20

Impressions of St Benets Abbey by Francesca Shearcroft 20

On the Limit by Phil Childs 20

Clouds by Mark Foscoe 19

Umbellifers in winter by Dawn Osborn 19

Winter Sanderling by Jack Mitchell 19

Crashing Waves by Georgie McCall 18

Hunstanton Sunset by Emma Moore 18

Little Egret in Winter Plumage by Jack Mitchell 18

Mevagissey Watercolour by Emma Moore 18

Mr Grumpy by Carole Martin18

Truce by Pat Weir 18

Vexillologists Delight by Andrew Stringer 18