180books vs DALLE-2 -Sunday Sunset Edition
Since I’ve been working with DALLE-2 for a few months, I thought I’d experiment with a few sunset photos for #SundaySunsets, a beautiful theme that takes place on the first Sunday of every month on Twitter. #ICYMI DALLE-2 is an AI system that can produce images from words. You can read more here, where I reimagined my favorite photos as paintings by famous painters. Sunset photos can be a real ego booster for aspiring photographers. Even without a foreground of the dazzling composition, most sunset photos are beautiful. Wow! #NoFilter #iphone #ImInstantlyAPro!
At first, I didn’t want to post AI work, but I know someday soon, Twitter will be littered with them. Think about it, keyboard warriors who are more used to trolling than traveling can now post amazing images without leaving their house. Well, it’s going to happen anyway, so I thought I’d be one of the first to set foot in these waters, ahead of the masses. For this experiment, I entered the words you see in the headlines below, into the AI system. There were some surprises, both good and bad in store for me!
Fisheye Lens View of Incredible Sunset from Tup Kaek Sunset Beach Resort, Krabi, Thailand
This photo will always be special to me since the next morning I shattered my ankle, leaving our THAILAND 180º book project in limbo. You can read more about that soap opera Here. Although I would have preferred some palm trees to frame this shot, there is plenty of texture to reward the exploring eyes.
Your Turn DALLE-2
Well, I guess the AI system has seen a sunset on Tub Kaek Beach before! After all, it was reportedly programmed with 650,000,000+ images from Flickr. It’s not exactly a fisheye lens image either. Granted that someone with more experience creating AI art could do a better job of writing the prompt, but this is my first and only attempt. Normally when I create an image with DALLE-2 it takes a few rewrites to get an image that I’m satisfied with.
Fisheye lens view of Incredible Sunrise Over the Ganga River in Varanasi, India. There is a Large Mural of Ganesh on a Wall On the Left Half of the Photo
I like the way the mural of Ganesh almost upstages the sunrise. It was the morning after Maha Shivaratri, and you can read more about this image capture Here. I’ve heard the sad news that this wall has been repainted, which makes this image even more special.
DALLE-2?
Hm, DALLE-2 Did deliver what I asked for. I admit I was disappointed, but everything was going right for me on the morning I made my photo in Varanasi. I must say once again that I’m new to working with a machine and others might be able to do better. Hell, if I tried 10 more times, I’d do better too.
What do You think? Do you hate AI art and rue the day it’s everywhere? Let me know in the comments below.
NFTs? Yeah, We Do That!
About the Authors
Photographer George Edward Giunca and his Thai wife have traveled around Thailand armed with a circular fisheye lens to create a photo essay on the rich cultural diversity, and abundant natural beauty of the Kingdom of Thailand. Fleeing from angry water buffaloes, slapping huge mosquitoes, watching exotic festivals and religious rituals, gorging on delicious spicy food, applying aloe vera cream to sunburned skin, wading through rice paddies, getting drenched to the bone by heavy monsoon rains, and gawking at breath-taking scenery; made it a journey of epic proportions! The result is the book, THAILAND 180º. Later, they traveled extensively through Myanmar, Malaysia, and India, gathering a massive collection of 180º photos. They currently live in Bangkok, Thailand.
Here’s How to Order Your Copy of THAILAND 180º Collectors Edition Today!
In Thailand —>>>http://www.thailand180.com/thaiorder.html
The Rest of the world: We are offering our book on Amazon.com, below list price http://amzn.to/1knDPRR
Not Familiar with Our Book???
This show details the origin of 180 Books, a series of art/travel books illustrated with a circular fisheye lens. By using infographics, pictures from our THAILAND 180º book, and never seen before images from our vault, we’ll demonstrate this unique lens and present our unique books.
