"This has nothing to do with photography"
Written by Screenpunk on ChatGPT, 2025 May 2.
Images by Screenpunk on Midjourney.
On Flickr a friend commented on a Screenpunk picture. "I always enjoy stopping by here. A great portfolio with great work. It has nothing to do with photography, but it shows what you can do." This blog contains my response to the comment.
Thank you for your great compliment. You are welcome to stop by anytime, and enjoy Screenpunk imagery. I do not, however, agree with your remark that my AI-images do not have anything to do with photography, and I'll tell you why. I think photography, historically and conceptually, has always been broader than simply pressing a shutter.
Since the term photgraphy is derived from the Greek photos (light) and graphein (to draw), it literally means drawing with light. From it's very beginnings, photography was about capturing and interpreting light — and that's an activitiy that my images, even when generated with AI, include.
Photography isn't just a technical trick; it involves the way we observe and interpret reality. Roland Barthes, in Camera Lucida, explored photography as a means to create a new consciousness emphasizing that photographs carry meaning beyond mere representation. They connect emotionally, psychologically, and culturally, something my AI-generated images also strive for — drawing from artistic traditions, rules of thumb, photographic history, and visual culture to involve meaning beyond technical execution.
Finally, contemporary photography is actively reshaped by technology. Wired, for example, highlights how photographers question traditional boundaries because of evolving digital tools and AI technology. Within this frame my images can't be understood to be isolated from photography, but to partake in the artistic development of photography. They emerge from my experiences with the history of art, traditional photography, digital editing, and programming, filtered through AI models that reflect and reinterpret historical and artistic influences.
So, although you bring up a straigthtforward point, I believe my images do more than just show skills — they participate in photography’s ongoing evolution, drawing from its rich history, philosophical depth, and innovative technologies.
Article in Wired: Are You Sure You Know What a Photograph Is?
