Using Artificial Intelligence To?

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This past week, I have been obsessed with a new trend in photo software. Of course AI as its referred to is not all that new, the ease of its use is new. The big question is always with new technology, is how far can it go, and is it right to use it? I also strongly believe that this will drive the real texture of bad images more to the art side of things. When everything can be made perfect, imperfection becomes far more valuable. Today I show three images of the same image to illustrate my point.

Put through a new filter that clears things up.

Put through a colorizing filter, and then that was cleaned up in Photoshop, and adjusted.

As printed in color on many brochures

So I ask, which image is better? I for sure have an opinion, but I am curious to see if I am the only one.

34 replies
  1. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    I think they all have a place where they would be best used.

    I like the rough and tumble of the old photo, but the cleaned up version is very striking!

    Want to try cleaning up this one?

  2. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    I think they all have a place where they would be best used.

    I like the rough and tumble of the old photo, but the cleaned up version is very striking!

    Want to try cleaning up this one?

  3. Murdock
    Murdock says:

    An original image is what captures the time in which it was generated.
    No reason to mess around with perfection of a defined era of available technology.
    That said, I’m all for current tech being used for forensic needs to solve a puzzle from years past. This allows closure, details missed or any number of wants met.
    Don’t mess around with history either. Learn from it, don’t erase it or be doomed to repeat it.

  4. Murdock
    Murdock says:

    An original image is what captures the time in which it was generated.
    No reason to mess around with perfection of a defined era of available technology.
    That said, I’m all for current tech being used for forensic needs to solve a puzzle from years past. This allows closure, details missed or any number of wants met.
    Don’t mess around with history either. Learn from it, don’t erase it or be doomed to repeat it.

  5. John Bailey
    John Bailey says:

    As with Photoshop and Lightroom, they are not for everyone who don’t take the time to learn how to use them. Certainly, there are simpler programs that can improve an image by hitting an ‘auto adjustment’ button.

    AI (artificial intelligence) will become another tool to recover or improve so many photos that otherwise would be considered not worth saving because they are slightly out of focus or have other issues. Perhaps, the analogy is anyone can varnish a deck, but it takes learning, time and skill for the best results!

  6. John Bailey
    John Bailey says:

    As with Photoshop and Lightroom, they are not for everyone who don’t take the time to learn how to use them. Certainly, there are simpler programs that can improve an image by hitting an ‘auto adjustment’ button.

    AI (artificial intelligence) will become another tool to recover or improve so many photos that otherwise would be considered not worth saving because they are slightly out of focus or have other issues. Perhaps, the analogy is anyone can varnish a deck, but it takes learning, time and skill for the best results!

  7. Kelly Wittenauer
    Kelly Wittenauer says:

    I prefer the original images & “cleaned up” B&Ws. I’ve also seen some wonderful “hand colored” images, but don’t much care for the AI “colorized” version.

  8. Kelly Wittenauer
    Kelly Wittenauer says:

    I prefer the original images & “cleaned up” B&Ws. I’ve also seen some wonderful “hand colored” images, but don’t much care for the AI “colorized” version.

  9. Art
    Art says:

    Matt have you ever heard the term “hand colorizing” a photo” ?
    The attached photo is a photo, which I have posted on WB before, of my mother on the fore deck of my grandfathers Luer (sp?) cruiser at the Detroit Yacht Club. It is a photo that was taken by one of the major Detroit news papers in 1930 at the , I don’t recall which one,
    We have been told that it was “colorized” by hand and have never understood what that meant……do you?

      • Matt
        Matt says:

        Here is Art’s art. hand colored is what it sounds like. People would tint the pictures by hand. It was an art-form unto itself and still a special look that is done by hand. The photo would be processed differently in the dark room for this sort of thing. Also most vintage post cards are hand painted then processed into printable things. Thats what the ink dots are in those. And why we refer to our babes here as Inkclot babes. I actually think they are a rather impressionistic and leave more for the imagination. Sometimes too much detail can ruin a good moment. But Art art here is perfect.

      • Matt
        Matt says:

        Here is Art’s art. hand colored is what it sounds like. People would tint the pictures by hand. It was an art-form unto itself and still a special look that is done by hand. The photo would be processed differently in the dark room for this sort of thing. Also most vintage post cards are hand painted then processed into printable things. Thats what the ink dots are in those. And why we refer to our babes here as Inkclot babes. I actually think they are a rather impressionistic and leave more for the imagination. Sometimes too much detail can ruin a good moment. But Art art here is perfect.

  10. Art
    Art says:

    Matt have you ever heard the term “hand colorizing” a photo” ?
    The attached photo is a photo, which I have posted on WB before, of my mother on the fore deck of my grandfathers Luer (sp?) cruiser at the Detroit Yacht Club. It is a photo that was taken by one of the major Detroit news papers in 1930 at the , I don’t recall which one,
    We have been told that it was “colorized” by hand and have never understood what that meant……do you?

  11. Steve Anderson from Michigan
    Steve Anderson from Michigan says:

    All are interesting in their own way, and add to the total picture in my head, but I would probably print the filtered B&W for safe keeping.

    The AI can’t fix what isn’t there such as the font for the Chris Craft logo on the hat, but that will come in the future as it starts looking all over the internet for similar items that are clear and fill in the data. Once that happens you run the risk of it replacing a bad reproduction (bootleg) hat with the correct original logo, which could be objectionable. Think about what it would do to the logo someone made up based on the Miller lite logo. Would it be corrected to a Miller lite logo and lose the original information?

    The Terminator movies are getting more plausible every day as the world’s militaries start implementing more and more AI

  12. Steve Anderson from Michigan
    Steve Anderson from Michigan says:

    All are interesting in their own way, and add to the total picture in my head, but I would probably print the filtered B&W for safe keeping.

    The AI can’t fix what isn’t there such as the font for the Chris Craft logo on the hat, but that will come in the future as it starts looking all over the internet for similar items that are clear and fill in the data. Once that happens you run the risk of it replacing a bad reproduction (bootleg) hat with the correct original logo, which could be objectionable. Think about what it would do to the logo someone made up based on the Miller lite logo. Would it be corrected to a Miller lite logo and lose the original information?

    The Terminator movies are getting more plausible every day as the world’s militaries start implementing more and more AI

  13. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    Art:

    I LOVE this photo every time you post it!!!

    It is AWESOME to have this kind of lineage of our parents. Here is a photo that I have posted before of my parents when they were dating. The boat is the Sea Clam on the Essex River in Essex Massachusetts. I found out recently that my cousin actually still has this boat in a shed on Joe’s Creek.

    • Kelly Wittenauer
      Kelly Wittenauer says:

      You’re lucky to have such a wonderful photo of your parents, Troy. And very cool that the boat not only still exists, but is still in your family.

    • Kelly Wittenauer
      Kelly Wittenauer says:

      You’re lucky to have such a wonderful photo of your parents, Troy. And very cool that the boat not only still exists, but is still in your family.

  14. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    Art:

    I LOVE this photo every time you post it!!!

    It is AWESOME to have this kind of lineage of our parents. Here is a photo that I have posted before of my parents when they were dating. The boat is the Sea Clam on the Essex River in Essex Massachusetts. I found out recently that my cousin actually still has this boat in a shed on Joe’s Creek.

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