Libsyn Directory

Photography in the Age of AI, with Stephen Shankland

Release Date: 02/29/2024

Reclaiming a Natural Landscape, with Jade Doskow & Cal Flyn

B&H Photography Podcast

What is the role of landscape photography in a post-industrial world? In today’s podcast, we consider some possibilities in a chat with Jade Doskow, current photographer in residence for Staten Island’s Freshkills Park, and Cal Flyn author of the book Islands of Abandonment. Above image: © Jade Doskow While our two guests work in different disciplines, which leads to divergent approaches to the pictures they make, their shared purpose tells similar stories. Among the topics we discuss are a distinction between romantic landscapes of the past and a more ambivalent attitude...

Picturing World Cultures: Mark Leong – China

B&H Photography Podcast

In today’s podcast, we sit down with Mark Leong, a fifth-generation Chinese-American photographer, for Picturing World Cultures. Above photograph © Mark Leong From his arrival in 1980s Beijing on a one-year travel fellowship, to his decision to live and work there long-term over the following decades, we follow Mark’s path from his ancestral village to the Beijing art scene, and beyond. He walks us through his experiences in documenting the massive cultural shifts as Chinese society transitioned from uniformity and limited choice to a realm of consumerism and increasing...

Photography Mentors & Lifelong Learning, with Reid Callanan and Craig Stevens

B&H Photography Podcast

Today we chat with Reid Callanan, founder and director of the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and renowned photo educator Craig Stevens, formerly of Maine Media Workshops and Savannah College of Art & Design, about photography mentors, lifelong learning, and the role photo workshops play in cultivating community. Craig and Reid share plenty of insight, not just on the requisite trust that’s required in a successful mentor and student relationship, but other topics such as what it means to be truly passionate about photography, collaboration, as well as how to critique the work of others...

Picturing World Cultures: Fabiola Ferrero – Venezuela

B&H Photography Podcast

Today’s podcast has us sitting down with Venezuelan photographer and investigative journalist Fabiola Ferrero to discuss her long-term photographic projects in Venezuela, for Picturing World Cultures. Above photograph © Fabiola Ferrero Fabiola walks us through her childhood memories of Venezuela and describes how this period contrasts significantly with the country’s current climate. We also discuss how she got started in photography, and how her time spent both in and out of Venezuela helped grow her photography and more. Guest: Fabiola Ferrero Episode Timeline: 2:20: Fabiola...

B&H Podcast: Authentic Photographic Documentation vs AI Generated Images

B&H Photography Podcast

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 it becoming more prevalent, the possibility and dangers of the spread of misinformation all the way to the need to rethink how we engage with social media. These are just a few of the points raised in our discussion with them. If you haven’t already listened, This episode is part of a wider series tracing the...

Picturing World Cultures: Naina Helén Jåma – Norwegian Sami

B&H Photography Podcast

In today’s podcast, we’ll be talking with Norwegian photographer Naina Helén Jåma about her documentation of indigenous South Sami culture in Norway and her career as a press photographer in Scandinavia. Jåma details her childhood growing up in the small rural village of Snasa, where, at the age of 15, she began her career while working as a cultural interpreter and archivist at the Saemien Sijte Museum. From there, Naina takes us on a journey through her fascinating career as a photographer, from her training at the Nordic School of Photography to her work for world-renowned...

Say Less, with Dr. Greg Gulbransen

B&H Photography Podcast

In today’s podcast, we’ll be talking with Long Island-based pediatrician and self-taught photographer Dr. Greg Gulbransen, whose newly released book Say Less documents the three years Gulbransen spent embedded with Malik, the paralyzed leader of a Crips’ set in the Bronx. Gulbransen details his journey from wildlife and fashion photography to documenting the lives of at-risk members of the Bikes Up Guns Down club to his most recent (and most daunting) project: photographing members of a violent street gang. Gulbransen also touches on his years-long campaign to require auto makers to...

Picturing World Cultures: Tailyr Irvine - Native America

B&H Photography Podcast

How would you feel if all the coverage you saw about your culture was a superficial view from the outside, rather than a narrative steeped in details of lived experience? Above photograph © Tailyr Irvine This is the motivating force that led today’s guest to pick up a camera, enter the newsroom, and cultivate an insider’s perspective on contemporary Native American life, to expand the scope and enhance the accuracy of stories being told. From exploring quiet moments at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests to a revealing photo project on Blood...

Photography in the Age of Synthetic Imaging, with Fred Ritchin

B&H Photography Podcast

Where does the medium of photography stand in an era where the latest mantra encourages people to “Skip the Photo Shoot?” How can a viewer continue to trust photographs as evidence in a marketplace where AI is touted as a “revolution,” and “the new digital camera” that we need to embrace? And what methods can a photographer use today to be considered a credible witness with a transparent code of ethics? These are just a few of the points raised in our discussion with renowned writer, photo editor, and educator Fred Ritchin. For more than forty years, Ritchin has kept...

Sports Action & Image Workflow for the Paris Games, with Maddie Meyer & James Chance

B&H Photography Podcast

Sports enthusiasts from around the world will soon be glued to their nearest viewing screen, watching the action unfold during the international Summer Games in Paris. But how much do you know about the finer points of photographing elite level competition, or about the lightning-fast, high-tech journey these images make from inside a camera to a remote editing workflow, and then onward to be enjoyed by you, the viewer? In today’s podcast we’ve got the inside track on how these visual delicacies are brought to life and served up to global audiences. Our guests are Getty...

More Episodes

How much can you edit a photo before it stops becoming true? That’s the question CNET tech reporter Stephen Shankland recently asked in the opening lines of his story, How Close is that Photo to the Truth: What to Know in the Age of AI.

The article, which examines digital photography and advanced smartphone image processing in the era of AI, reaches beyond the polarizing visual minefield of generative AI by delving into aspects of this technologythat’s been quietly pre-baked into most every camera on the market these days.

The sophisticated processing under the hood of your digital camera is our jumping off point for a wide-ranging discussion with Shankland that touches on many aspects of the digital workflow, before scaling the slippery slopes of generative AI.

A few of the many points we cover include: Comparing the three primary generative AI platforms and discussing their differences, an assessment of AI manipulations and deepfakes, the ways in which a proliferation of camera phones can serve as a buttress against fakery, and the factor of a social contract in weighing the veracity of an image.

Today’s AI landscape seems to be morphing by the minute, a reality that’s reflected here with bonus content! Barely a week after our original discussion, Open AI’s new text to video application, Sora, was released to a tidal wave of interest, so we got Shankland back on mic. Stay to the end to hear our first impressions of this new technology and listen closely to discover how an AI bot got the last word in our chat.

Guest: Stephen Shankland

Top shot © Allan Weitz, https://www.allanweitzdesign.com

Episode Timeline:

2:22: How much can a photo be edited before it stops “becoming” true? Plus, the digital processing that goes on under the hood of your digital camera.

7:06: The sophisticated processing in your camera phone and how the resulting images compare to pictures made with a 35mm digital camera.

13:02: How much digital editing is too much and what’s the least amount of image adjustments possible before a photograph stops “being true.”

18:22: The matter of generative AI manipulations and deepfakes, the democratization of altering images, and how the proliferation of camera phones can serve as a buttress against fakery.

23:24: Comparing the three big generative AI platforms Stephen has worked with—Open AI’s Dall-E, Google’s ImageFX, and Adobe’s Firefly—and discussing how they differ, plus Allan’s impressions about working with Adobe Firefly, and how much of an AI-generated image is truly one’s own.

31:58: Prompt engineering, the bias of training data, the role of having fun when assessing the creative aspects of generative AI, and the factor of a social contract into reading the veracity of an image.

40:22: Episode Break

41:30: The potential for career opportunities in prompt engineering, new educational programs to arise from these new technologies, plus reasons why illustration is the creative area most threatened by AI.

48:27: The democratization of creative tasks due to computer technology, and the value of having a unique style or vision to creative success, plus the advantages of AI for stylistic

52:08: Ethical considerations, intellectual property rights, and copyright concerns in relation to AI generation.

57:03: In-camera authentication, content credentialing, and following the provenance of an image to be assured of its trustworthiness, plus whether this technology will ever show up in camera phones.

1:04:24: Episode bonus: Stephen’s first impressions of Open AI’s new text to video application, Sora.

Guest Bio: Stephen Shankland has covered technology, computing, and digital imaging as a principal writer and reporter for CNET since 1998. He’s also a professional photographer who’s particularly intrigued by new trends in AI. Stephen stumbled into journalism as a fledgling science reporter covering the Los Alamos National Laboratory. His first, and biggest, scoop was about radioactive kitty litter discovered at the town dump.

Stay Connected:

Stephen Shankland’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stshank/

Stephen Shankland’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/stshank/

Stephen Shankland’s Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Shankland/

Stephen Shankland’s Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shankrad/

Stephen Shankland’s MuckRack:

https://muckrack.com/stshank

Stephen Shankland’s CNET profile:

https://www.cnet.com/profiles/shankland/

Stephen Shankland’s CNET article on AI: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/features/how-close-is-that-photo-to-the-truth-what-to-know-in-the-age-of-ai/