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Mirrors and Windows

What are the differences between photographs that are mirrors and photographs that are windows?

Photographs that are “mirrors” tend to be Romantic, expressionistic and suggestive, shot close to the subject or with a narrow angle of vision. They lean toward abstract simplicity, even a Platonic sense of types and essences. “Mirrors” were images meant to mirror the photographer’s own sensibility. Some words I can associate with mirror images are:

  • Warped
  • Naturalistic
  • Subjective
  • Self expression
  • Romanticism
  • Candid

“Windows” tend to be realistic, descriptive, taken at greater distances or with a wider angle of view. “Windows” were photos meant to act as a window for the viewer to see something that is primarily factual and external to the photographer’s own sensibility. Some words I can associate with window images are:

  • Depictive
  • Objective
  • External
  • Reality
  • Anthropocene

The exhibition Mirrors and Windows, an exhibition of American photography since 1960, opened at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in July of 1978. The curator, John Szarkowski‘s attempted to categorise photographers whose work largely sought to see outside themselves. Szarkowski wrote in the catalogue essay that accompanied the exhibition:

The two creative motives that have been contrasted here are not discrete. Ultimately each of the pictures in this book is part of a single, complex, plastic tradition. Since the early days of that tradition, an interior debate has contested issues parallel to those illustrated here. The prejudices and inclinations expressed by the pictures in this book suggest positions that are familiar from older disputes. In terms of the best photography of a half-century ago, one might ay that Alfred Stieglitz is the patron of the first half of this book and Eugene Atget of the second. In either case, what artist could want a more distinguished sponsor? The distance between them is to be measured not in terms of the relative force or originality of their work, but in terms of their conceptions of what a photograph is: is it a mirror, reflecting a portrait of the artist who made it, or a window, through which one might better know the world?

– John Szarkowski, 1978

Eugène Atget (born February 12, 1857, Libourne, near Bordeaux, France – died August 4, 1927) was a French commercial photographer who specialized in photographing the architecture and associated arts of Paris and its environs at the turn of the 20th century.

Very few biographical facts are known about Atget. The Atget family (originally Atger) were saddlers and carriage-makers who had moved from Provence to the Dordogne River region after the Napoleonic Wars. When Atget was five his father died; his mother died soon afterward. He went on to act for several years in itinerant troops that barnstormed the lower levels of the theatrical audience in the provinces. By the late 1880s, when Atget was in his early 30s, he had become interested in photography. The earliest known photographs by him seem to have been made in the north of France. These works depict rural scenes, plants, and farming technology and they were presumably made as studies for painters and illustrators. By the early 1890s, Atget was working in Paris, but it was not until late in that decade that he changed the focus of his photographic business to concentrate on the city of Paris – a subject that proved of inexhaustible interest, and one that continued to nourish his mind and enrich his work for the remaining 30 years of his life.

Hilla Becher was a German artist born in 1931 in Siegen, Germany. She was one half of a photography duo with her husband Bernd Becher. They began collaborating together in 1959 after meeting at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf in 1957. Bernd originally studied painting and then typography, whereas Hilla had trained as a commercial photographer. After two years collaborating together, they married. For forty years, they photographed disappearing industrial architecture around Europe and North America. They won the Erasmus Prize in 2002 and Hasselblad Award in 2004 for their work and roles as photography professors at the art academy Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.

Lime, an important building material since ancient times, is used in the production of mortar and cement. Here, the Bechers focused their attention on six towering brick chimneys that look as much like sprouting asparagus as utilitarian structures. The artists chose a similar view of lime kilns for the cover image of Anonyme Skulpturen (1970), their ambitious first publication. The book presents comparative sequences of different industrial forms, from kilns and gasometers to cooling towers, blast furnaces, and winding towers.

Within the Mirrors and Windows spectrum, I would place the two images above in these places as I believe they have contrasting purposes. The image by Eugene Atget is placed in the mirrors section because I feel it reflects more about the artist rather than through the exterior world is explored in all its presence and reality. This is because I found that he decided to “concentrate on the city of Paris – a subject that proved of inexhaustible interest, and one that continued to nourish his mind and enrich his work for the remaining 30 years of his life“, which tells me that he had a passion for this type of photography and wanted to pursue it further after experimenting taking photographs of Paris.

Zine: design and layout

The first thing I did was select the ‘rectangle frame tool‘ which allowed me to choose the size of the image that would be on the page.

Ctrl + D allowed me to select which image I wanted to use and paste it into the frame.

Once I had placed my desired photos into position, I right clicked and pressed ‘fitting‘, and then ‘fill frame proportionally‘ to ensure the entire image was incorporated in frame. After this, I pressed ‘display performance‘ and then ‘high quality display‘ to increase the quality and focus of each one.

Front cover:

I decided this image to be my front cover because rowing boats were a significant part of Jersey’s history. Rowing boats were used often many years ago during the cod-trade, when merchants and fishermen would use them as transport to trade Jersey’s goods. However the outstanding colours and high contrast within the image brings an element of modernity, which is important and helps give the image some life, allowing the bright coloured boats to stand out. The rich colours of all the boats contrast with the dull and lifeless seaweed in the background, which helps emphasise the eye-catching colours within. The use of one of the boats being upside down on the wooden path clearly illustrates a theme of abandonment, which again links to historical contexts as they have not been used in years. The lighting in this image is also significant as there is a large shadow hovering over the right side of the image, whereas the sun is shining on the left side. I think this looks interesting as the split between the two lightings is right in the middle of the image, which helps the boats on the left side of the photo appear more striking.

Page 2:

These two images as my second page have many similarities and differences, but from first look they could look related which is why I decided to place them together. This way, I am able to show the similarities between them, as well as how they contrast with each other. I like how they both have a similar outside frame of the photograph, with a border of the wall surrounding he doors. This allows the vibrancy of the doors stand out against the wall, making it very clear what the main subject is. Although they both share a main subject of the colourful door, they are used for different things. I didn’t find much out about the blue door on the left or what it is used for as I did not get to go inside, which gives a hint of mystery to it. Whereas the red door on the right led to a storage room that fishermen rented out for their fishing gear. I think the boots hanging off the door look effective because it adds a sense of realism, showing that there is a lot of history and background behind the door.

Page 3:

With page 3 I decided to take a different approach, incorporating black and white images of historical pilots that were recruited in May 1945 by the Royal Navy. This way I am including historical contexts into my work, which helps the viewer gain knowledge and understanding about the backgrounds of the museum. I chose to edit these into black and white for some differentiation in my zine. I think these two images work very well together, specifically because they are both taken against a brick wall, which again portrays a theme of former days. Additionally, beside each image is a small description of context behind the framed photo, which I included as it is an effective way of telling a story and deepening the viewers understanding. Overall I think the two images compliment each other very well as they share similarities within displaying different jobs surrounding The Royal Navy.

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After placing these 3 images into the page, I then decided that the top image (as well as the larger image on the right) had more depth and contrast than the bottom image, therefore isolating the bottom photo. In order to make them look more alike and purposeful, I added a border onto the bottom image to create more profundity.

Page 8 – final page:

Experimentations:

Front cover:

For my second experimentation, I chose to use this image as my front cover as I feel it best represents the different professions within the fishing industry, showing what different people do on a day-to-day basis. I feel this is an important aspect of my photoshoot and final zine because it differs to all of my other photos, illustrating a deeper dive into what goes on at the harbour, rather than just photographing the buildings. This image also has a strong sense of realism throughout, as you can clearly tell the man is moving as it was taken, which I think shows significance and gives purpose to the overall photograph. My title for this zine is “The Aquatic” which means relating to water. I chose this title because it symbolises

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Maritime Museum

Photoshoot:

Before print screening my photoshoot, I carefully went through all of the images I photographed on the trip to the maritime museum and deleted unnecessary photos or any that didn’t have as much potential as the others. Such as ones with bad lighting, angles or too much/little exposure etc. This allowed me to view all of my most successful images, in order to eventually narrow them down again to which ones I am most happy with. Furthermore, I chose my best 12 images to edit on Lightroom so they can reach their maximum potential, and so I can go forward with an evaluation of the overall photoshoot.

Editing my images:

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This was the first image I chose to experiment further with, as it has interesting factors that reflect Jersey’s history and heritage. Additionally, I chose to change the colour to black and white to exaggerate the historical sense to it, which I think looks effective as it also brings out the different tones within the image, yet it still looks minimalistic as it was taken from a deadpan angle, which allows everything to be seen. I increased the contrast and exposure by a significant amount for this outcome to turn out this way, as originally the lighting in the room where it was taken was poor.

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St Helier harbour History and cod-trade

Mood Board of old St Helier Harbour:

Mood Board of new St Helier Harbour:

1700s:

As shipping between Jersey and other ports increased in magnitude in the 17th century, some form of harbour became imperative to accommodate and protect the visiting vessels from the effects of the south-westerly gales. As a result, in 1700, work commenced on the construction of a pier or ‘screen’, as it was later derisively called. This ‘screen’ was constructed where stands the old South Pier today, out of Impot revenue, but owing to the slow rate of progress it soon fell into disrepair.

1800s:

In 1790, when work finally began on the construction of the North Pier, running from the Southampton Hotel to the end of what is known as the New North Quay today. A lack of storage space caused the local merchants to construct the quay along Commercial Buildings.

1900s:

In 1877, after spending over £180,000 on the La Collette stage alone, the whole works were abandoned, and Coode was paid off, leaving the crumbling concrete blocks at La Collette as a warning to any others who might conceive ideas about taming the sea. Further inspection of the site showed that it would be better for the remainder of the Harbour Works if the Hermitage Breakwater was extended beyond the rock, by a further 500 feet.

2000s:

This 1968 aerial photograph shows clearly how the harbour dried out at low tide. The majority of the length of the Albert Harbour between the New North Quay and Albert Pier is dry at low tide, and only at the southern end, which frequently needed dredging, can vessels remain afloat.

Another aerial view from the 1960s, showing the warehouses which then ran the full length of the New North Quay, on the left, which was dedicated to cargo vessels, and mail steamers on the southern end of the Albert Pier, to the right.

Cod Trade:

Charles Robin was a Fishery trader, born in Saint Brélade, Jersey in 1743. By 1763, he was the captain of a ship working in the Newfoundland cod trade. In 1765, with his two brothers and two others, they formed a firm which developed fishing grounds off Cape Breton Island and the Gaspé region.

Robin produced two types of salted cod-fish called ‘green’ and ‘yellow’ in the vernacular. ‘Green’ was a wet salted codfish that was not dry cured and therefore did not have the same shelf-life. It was ideal selling it at markets in the Caribbean or North East Brazil as it was much shorter run for Robin’ ships on the second leg of the triangular Atlantic trade. In his own 18th century diary Charles Robin refer to it as ‘West India fish’ and it was sold to planters who would feed the protein rich codfish to its enslaved populations for increased productivity in the plantations. In exchange, Robin would load his ship with plantation produce such as sugar, rum, molasses, cotton, coffee and tobacco before sailing across on the third leg of the Atlantic triangular trade route to the Mediterranean, England and Jersey.

Yellow’ was a dry-cured cod and marketed as a premier product and sold to markets in Europe, such as Portugal, Spain and Italy with their large Roman Catholic populations having a great demand for fish for fast days on Fridays. From ports in Lisbon, Cadiz and Naples merchants traded cod-fish for other products such as salt (used in the curing process), wine, spirits, fruits and spices which they brought back to Jersey and British ports before returning to Canada. The maritime networks were complex and often financed from London. Read another article here from Jersey based critic, Ollie Taylor Fish, Finance and Slavery.

Jersey’s maritime history

What was the involvement of Jersey mariners in the Canadian cod-fisheries and the Transatlantic carrying trade?

15th century

  • 1497 Newfoundland discovered 1504 Small Norman fishing boats visited the coasts of Newfoundland.

16th century

  • 1504 Small Norman fishing boats visited the coasts of Newfoundland
  • 1562 Channel Islands boats noted on Grand Banks.

17th century

  • 1611 St Brelade and other parishes had fishermen who sailed to Newfoundland.
  • 1699 There were Seigneurs in Gaspé. A Monsieur Rivers in Mont Louis in 1699 set the industry on a permanent basis, but lack of government support led to failure. Finally a Monsieur Maillet circa 1750 got the fishing industry profitable.

18th century

  • 1758 Gaspé became British property.
  • 1789 Ship Elisha Tupper, 280 tons, built at Bel Royal for Janvrins, She was named after a Guernsey merchant.

19th century

  • 1806 4,000 tods of wool were imported into Jersey.

  • 1835 William Fruing, son of William, bought 36, La Colomberie, St. Helier.

20th century

  • 1914 Robin and Collas sold out to Robin, Jones and Whitman with HQ in Halifax, being no longer a Jersey company.
  • 1950s Clement and Company becomes the last Jersey company trading in Newfoundland cod.

Which ports did Jersey ships sail to and trade with?

Jersey has been an island for approximately 8,000 years, therefore, apart from the last 60 years, the only way for people to come to or leave the island has been by sea. Ports of Jersey was incorporated by the States Assembly in 2015 to provide lifeline public services and to create wider community and economic benefits.

What type of goods did Jersey merchants exchange for cod-fish?

Jersey cod-merchants also exported cod-fish to British colonies in the West Indies and later Brazil too in exchange for plantation goods, such as sugar, molasses, rum, cotton, coffee and tobacco which it brought to markets in America, Europe and the UK. Within that context Jersey benefitted from the profits made in the British Empire build on a capitalist model of a slave-based economy Jersey seamen also braved the ocean to bring back cod fish and oil, skins and furs.

To what extend, has the island of Jersey benefitted from its constitutional relationship with Britain and the legacies of colonialism based on a slave plantation economy during the first Industrial Revolution (1760-1840)?

 By the 1770s there may have been up to 70 Jersey ships and 2,000 Jerseymen engaged in the cod trade. By the 1840s it is estimated that the industry directly employed 4,000 people. Also, many others were engaged in manufacturing goods to be exported to the Canadian settlements.

However, Jersey was not without internal troubles notwithstanding increased prosperity. Both war and poor harvests led to increases in corn prices of such magnitudes that the poor were unable to feed themselves. Matters reached a head in 1769 when wealthy mill owners tried selling the little corn there was at very high prices to France, causing some local people to riot. The rioters went on to demand changes to the Island government which resulted in the Code of 1771, giving more power to the States Assembly.

In 2021 Jersey Heritage produced report with details of current knowledge of Jersey’s links to the transatlantic slave trade.

 Jersey Heritage report on legacies of Transatlantic slavery in Jersey

Jersey historian Doug Ford carried out much historical research in 2006 as part of the efforts to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.

 A respectable trade or against humanity?

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Nostalgia & Family

For this specific project, I chose to base my approach on myself and my own upbringing for no other reason than I know myself and my own story in the most detail. Therefore, it will be easier and sentimental for me to share memories from my childhood, as well as how they are still important to me today.

For my approach, I asked my mother to lend me a photo album from when I was little. I then photographed some of the most precious images of me during my childhood, and I will display them in a chronological order to give a more in depth effect, as well as showing a deeper meaning throughout my story.

Page spread: Design and Layout

For this experimentation, I used Adobe InDesign to create a newspaper-like layout to display my images. On InDesign I created a 4-columned layout to organise my photos in a way where they could all be seen, but emphasising the establishing shots so they were most out-standing to the viewer. Essentially, these photos are the ones I wanted to catch the viewers eye with the most, and I think having other smaller images surrounding them helped create a successful dynamic with an overall interesting aesthetic.

Variation 1:

The first thing I did was create my columns in order to layout my photos successfully. I also chose where I wanted to place my title before adding any images because I believe it is the most important element on the page spread, as it tells the viewer what they’re looking at and shows my intentions.

Next, I added in my establishing shots before any smaller images because they introduce the scenes and set up a point of view.

After this, I added in my best smaller images that link to my establishing ones, but not too much. I did this because I wanted to create an intriguing contrast between the two, showing a range of textures and abstract photographs throughout the landscapes topic.

Finally, I added placeholder text into my text box, to give me an idea of how my completed page spread will look when I have wrote my own text. Additionally, I changed my font for my title as I didn’t think the first font suited the aesthetic of my images.

Variation 2:

For my second experimentation, I first changed my top right photo into monochrome like the rest of the images on the display. This was a better decision as it helps give the overall page spread an overall theme of history, as well as showing the different textures within all the images to add to the old aesthetic.

I added another text box for additional writing and details of my photos. I think this is useful as it allows me to go into more depth with my images, which will ultimately give the viewer a clearer idea of my aim. I also changed my top left photo into monochrome like the rest of the images on the display. This was a better decision as it helps give the display an overall theme of history, as well as showing the different textures within all the images to add to the old aesthetic.

Variation 3:

This is my final variation for this page spread specifically. I like the layout of this version as it includes more text than the previous experiments, which can give a more detailed description of my work and what I am trying to achieve for future references. However, I believe the layout is very top-heavy as it includes both of my establishing shots at the top of the page. This could be a problem due to the viewers eye being drawn to the top of the picture story only, which is defeating the rest of the page spread.

Variation 4:

This is my last variation for this experiment, and I added a black box instead of my background to see if it would add more character into the page spread. Although I think this looks appealing due to the pop of colour, I had to change the colour of some of the text to white so it was still visible, however I do think this looks successful because it helps bring out the white tones in some of the images which help bring the outcome together. Finally, I added a drop shadow to my title to emphasise it against the images.

Evaluation:

Overall, I believe all 4 variations of my page spread are unique and successful in different ways. Such as the layout on each one outstands a different image, which allows me to choose which image looks best as the most eye-catching one. I also liked how I could experiment with the background of each one

My favourite variation of this experiment was number 3. This is because I had a beneficent balance of images and text, and I think the background compliments my image and completes the overall aesthetic of history. Despite my picture story being very top-heavy due to my establishing shots both being at the top, I believe this gives the smaller images a chance to also stand out as they are all the same size.

My least favourite variation of my page spread is my number 4. This is because I played with a different background compared to the others, and I feel it stands out too much and takes away from the text and the images.

Picture stories; Research and analysis

Mood Board:

I chose these 6 images for my mood board because I feel I can use the most inspiration from them compared to the rest of the ones I looked at, as well as them easily standing out. Despite them all being very different to one another, I feel they are all equally as successful as they incorporate different moods throughout due to the different colours and shades that are used. Within this mood board there is a large variety of colour, space, texture and the amount of text on them, which I will review closely so I can decide on how I want to approach these elements.

My favourite picture story on this mood board is the top middle one, because it has more space than the others. I like this because it doesn’t give the aesthetic of it being too crowded, which can often happen if too many photos are used. By spacing the images out, this helps the viewers eye wonder throughout all the images separately, as the space differentiates the photos. One of my favourite factors within this picture story is the large image on the right that takes up a whole A4 page. This caught my eye as it immediately told me that this was the main shot of the page spread, and it implies that the photographer was emphasising that this was the most important image. Finally, I like how this image is the only one with a border, which again helps it stands out against the other images as well as the white background

Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment

“Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), a French photographer who is considered to be one of the fathers of photojournalism and masters of candid photography. He sought to capture the ‘everyday’ in his photographs and took great interest in recording human activity. He wrote,

“For me the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity, the master of the instant which, in visual terms, questions and decides simultaneously. In order to ‘give a meaning’ to the world, one has to feel involved in what one frames through the viewfinder. This attitude requires concentration, discipline of mind, sensitivity, and a sense of geometry. It is by economy of means that one arrives at simplicity of expression.”

The Decisive Moment, Henri Cartier-Bresson’s influential publication, is widely considered to be one of the most important photobooks of the twentieth century. Pioneering for its emphasis on the photograph itself as a unique narrative form, The Decisive Moment was described by Robert Capa as “a Bible for photographers.” Originally titled Images à la Sauvette (“images on the run”) in the French, the book was published in English with a new title, The Decisive Moment, which unintentionally imposed the motto which would define Cartier-Bresson’s work. The exhibition details how the decisions made by the collaborators in this major project—including Cartier-Bresson, French art publisher Tériade, American publisher Simon & Schuster, and Henri Matisse, who designed the book’s cover—have shaped our understanding of Cartier-Bresson’s photographs.

The Decisive Moment, Henri Cartier-Bresson’s influential publication, is widely considered to be one of the most important photobooks of the twentieth century. Pioneering for its emphasis on the photograph itself as a unique narrative form, The Decisive Moment was described by Robert Capa as “a Bible for photographers.” Originally titled Images à la Sauvette (“images on the run”) in the French, the book was published in English with a new title, The Decisive Moment, which unintentionally imposed the motto which would define Cartier-Bresson’s work. The exhibition details how the decisions made by the collaborators in this major project—including Cartier-Bresson, French art publisher Tériade, American publisher Simon & Schuster, and Henri Matisse, who designed the book’s cover—have shaped our understanding of Cartier-Bresson’s photographs.

Here the decisive moment is described:

“If a photograph is to communicate its subject in all its intensity, the relationship of form must be rigorously established. Photography implies the recognition of a rhythm in the world of real things. What the eye does is to find and focus on the particular subject within the mass of reality… In a photograph, composition is the result of a simultaneous coalition, the organic coordination of elements seen by the eye. One does not add composition as though it were an afterthought superimposed on the basic subject material, since it is impossible to separate content from form.”

Image analysis:

This image taken by Cartier-Bresson is composed as a dejected image with a clear subject of a person. I believe that this image is successful as it focuses on a natural, common everyday scene, which draws the viewer in forcing us to question why the photo was taken and which message is the artist trying to get across. From a first glance I can gather that Bresson is presenting a mood of sorrow, which is also inferred through the black and white filter and the use of a puddle also adds to the melancholy. This is because the puddle reflects the man in the foreground’s shadow, which essentially exaggerates his loneliness. Similarly, there is also a man in the background who is also by himself and looks as if he is looking at nothing, implying he is deep within his thoughts. In addition to this, the size of the puddle could also suggest misery as it implies that it has been raining, which we can rightfully associate with sadness. Another effective element in the image is the ladder as it is lying down and not standing up, which shows that there has clearly been a storm, perhaps suggesting people should not be outside.

In addition to this, the way Bresson has taken the photo is practical because a slow shutter speed has been used, giving the image a candid effect. This is an important technique in street photography as it tells us that the subjects behaviours are not changing for the purpose of the image. This helps the outcome look more realistic and believable for the viewer, which makes us feel sympathetic towards the subject. I like how the background is in focus, as we can assume that Bresson’s attention was drawn to the background rather than the foreground.

AI experimentation

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities. On its own or combined with other technologies, AI can perform tasks that would otherwise require human intelligence or intervention. As the hype around AI has accelerated, vendors have been scrambling to promote how their products and services use it. Often, what they refer to as AI is simply a component of the technology, such as machine learning. AI requires a foundation of specialized hardware and software for writing and training machine learning algorithms.  general, AI systems work by ingesting large amounts of labeled training data, analyzing the data for correlations and patterns, and using these patterns to make predictions about future states. In this way, a chatbot that is fed examples of text can learn to generate lifelike exchanges with people, or an image recognition tool can learn to identify and describe objects in images by reviewing millions of examples. New, rapidly improving generative AI techniques can create realistic text, images, music and other media.

  • Learning. This aspect of AI programming focuses on acquiring data and creating rules for how to turn it into actionable information.
  • Reasoning. This aspect of AI programming focuses on choosing the right algorithm to reach a desired outcome.
  • Self-correction. This aspect of AI programming is designed to continually fine-tune algorithms and ensure they provide the most accurate results possible.
  • Creativity. This aspect of AIuses neural networks, rules-based systems, statistical methods and other AI techniques to generate new images, new text, new music and new ideas.

AI is important for its potential to change how we live, work and play. It has been effectively used in business to automate tasks done by humans, including customer service work, lead generation, fraud detection and quality control. In a number of areas, AI can perform tasks much better than humans. Particularly when it comes to repetitive, detail-oriented tasks. AI tools often complete jobs quickly and with relatively few errors. Because of the massive data sets it can process, AI can also give enterprises insights into their operations they might not have been aware of. The rapidly expanding population of generative AI tools will be important in fields ranging from education and marketing, to product design.

Advantages of AI:

  • Good at detail-oriented jobs. AI has proven to be just as good, if not better than doctors at diagnosing certain cancers.
  • Reduced time for data-heavy tasks. AI is widely used in data-heavy industries, including banking and securities, pharma and insurance, to reduce the time it takes to analyse big data sets.
  • Saves labour and increases productivity. An example here is the use of warehouse automation, which grew during the pandemic and is expected to increase with the integration of AI and machine learning.
  • Delivers consistent results. The best AI translation tools deliver high levels of consistency, offering even small businesses the ability to reach customers in their native language.
  • Can improve customer satisfaction through personalization. AI can personalize content, messaging, ads, recommendations and websites to individual customers.
  • AI-powered virtual agents are always available. AI programs do not need to sleep or take breaks, providing 24/7 service.

Disadvantages of AI:

  • Expensive.
  • Requires deep technical expertise.
  • Limited supply of qualified workers to build AI tools.
  • Reflects the biases of its training data, at scale.
  • Lack of ability to generalize from one task to another.
  • Eliminates human jobs, increasing unemployment rates.

I chose these objects to add into my experimentation of the past because they provided the first means of fast travel. This sped up migration, trade, and communication between cultures. I also added a black and white filter as it is known to make people feel nostalgic.

My reasoning for adding a man on his phone is because today’s society has brought technology into every aspect of our life, and has changed the way we behave and operate. In the background I placed another two people with shopping bags to add to the modernized affect.

For the future I added robots because in the last 10 years we have seen a significant increase in advanced technology, with many businesses beginning to replace humans with robots.

Step 1: Adding my past image

Step 2: Adding my present image

Step 3: Adding my future image and a drop shadow to each frame to give a 3D effect, which adds a sense of realism.

To display my final images, I laid them in a virtual gallery in chronological order so it is easy to interpret the differences between them.