The thing about AI: it's not actually photography. The point of photography is capturing a real actual physical thing. Painting with light. A specific thing at a specific time. AI is about producing a rendering, a digital illustration of a generalized thing that may or may not be in any way real. It's a different tool with a different goal. It sucks in thousands/millions of photos to get it's result but the resulting images are not photographs. They are digital illustrations. So some photographic jobs may become obsolete as a result of AI, depending on what the client is looking for, but AI is not actually photography, so photographers will still have a very real purpose.
I do agree on this point based off the semantics of what defines a photographic image. AI generated imagery is closer to a collage based off of multitudes of photography data and even regurgitating it’s own creation to generate a new. I feel as of now AI imagery is extremely incestuous where it lacks personality to be honest. But as it gathers more data, overtime it will be an attractive replacement for generating additions of side imaginary to already existing set of images. Like an additional angle to a set of event photographs for example.
This is the same argument Artists used in the 1800s when Photography threatened the entire portrait industry. Before Photography, Artists were commissioned to create family portraits or just portraits in general. Instead of photographs you had broaches inlaid with a painted miniature portrait as an example. Photography was far cheaper and faster and it destroyed a a multi thousand year industry. You can still have your portrait painted/sketched, but the industry has nowhere near the same amount of influence. Photography has also eroded the price of this genre of art. Fortunately, Photography was already competing with a medium that could create anything. 3D Modeling and Animation. And any of the companies willing to use AI were already using stock photos or hiring Studios to model and create a cinematic piece/product layout for them. You also don't need 700 variations of an image for a company to pick from. Just a decent image, which entirely negates AI's ability to generate hundreds of images per second... once you spent 4 hours crafting prompts. When it comes to AI, just creating the prompt will take longer than taking 10 images and editing them. So the advantage AI has is in cost and not speed. Photography also has multiple supporting industries built around it and they won't allow AI to indirectly affect them. It's not just cameras, it's the modeling industry, the lighting industry, the bag industry, the medical industry (Regardless of the popularity of Photography, the skillsets and machines needed to make camera lenses are also used in the medical industry for glasses, MRI machines etc. This is the most important aspect to sustaining Photography as a medium as the companies that create cameras and lenses all have the majority of their vested interests in the medical industry, which has also allowed Photography to sustain itself after 2011 long enough to start growing again.) So yes, certain genres of Photography will be affected. However, just like Painting continues to be a thriving medium, commanding higher prices than it used to, so will Photography. The use of AI will and Rendering will shift Photography from an extremely generalized commercial and artistic medium, to a more focused medium centered around private commissions or Photography as an art form with higher emphasis on skill and Art Galleries rather than as an everyday throwaway commercial product. In other words, AI will take the cheap and tedious s ht away from Photography, allowing Photographers to focus on their skillsets to create rather than produce work.
On the subject of shooting the grey UK, I listened to a podcast with a cinematographer in the US a few years ago, who had just shot a feature in the American west, and to my surprise he said “Sometimes I wish I was shooting moody english skies” - it really made me realise not to take whats on your doorstep for granted.
So thoughtful--thanks. As someone who once traveled and shot extensively, I have lately become interested in the question what one focuses on when age, incapacity, caregiving responsibilities, etc, keeps one close to to home. I am coming to believe that forcing yourself, over and over, to see something new in the familiar can be a rewarding way to work. For example, I have been thinking a lot lately about Paul Strand, whose photos from around the world (including the UK) are justly celebrated, but who spent his last years photographing his own garden in France--a narrower focus, but no less deep. Thanks for the combination of interesting gear talk and process reflections.
for an accessible MF camera, I would also put the Hasselblad 500C\M in the list, 6x6 so no turning; a modular system- if you change genre's of photography, macro, portrait, there is a lot of lenses to chose, bellows, prism finders, etc. so well catered to any genre; cheap, YES, it is ~AUD$3-4,000 for a good one!, but hear me out, this is about the cost of a mirrorless cannon R, Nikon Z8/9 system, so similar investment in the system; no batteries, and simple film and lens usage, its a box, but easy enough to learn.
Not the type of episode I generally enjoy. However, I found that you did it in an interesting and engaging manner. It kept me watching to the end. Great job!
I love the Paul Graham quote. This could also apply to shooting in New York where we recently had 11 consecutive days of grey gloom, clouds and rain. You have no choice but to embrace those conditions otherwise you'll be waiting a long time for blue skies and sunshine!
I just upgraded from the GFX50R to the 100S. I shoot mainly night photography with the 45/2.8 and 30/3.5 lenses, and the ability to take hand-held shots up to 0.2sec exposures with these lenses is wonderful. Medium format with excellent IBIS is a great advance by Fuji.
Having multiple projects to work on is actually a good thing, I'm trying to juggle writing (horror and poetry) with a large photography project so I wont get tired of either one of them and that have worked fine for about two years.
Thanks for taking time to answer all of these in such detail. It’s always encouraging to hear your personal take and see you calmly plodding forward to make great work. 🎩
Thanks for your candid thoughts here. Your advice about pushing through failures, being persistent and embracing (the inevitable) suffering is the toughest to swallow. It’s the most meaningful. I’m chugging away with a Rolleicord (and a C220 Mamiya) exposing lots of HP5+, learning how to develop it well in Pyrocat HD. And, most importantly, learning how to SEE. Good luck and thanks. Your videos cause me to do the most thinking.
Agree that the price to value of the GFX series is unreal. Such great quality, and lightweight too with that 35-70mm. It's lighter than my 5DSR and 24-70mm. Appreciate your thoughts on balancing photo and video work. It's been a struggle since starting a channel so any tips like this with your experience are much appreciated!
Totally get the appeal of the H-series. With prices going down, I've found myself with a Phase One IQ160 to use on my Mamiya AFDIII and I'm really love it.
At 3:30 you got me! Best comment I've heard and that's why your videos always made me watch and come back to them! Will carry on with the rest of the video now.
Thanks for the video! Espcially your last answer, very wise, is the key for all of this, and it counts to everything, all the disciplines. Beautiful! As far as A.I. is concerned it might come down to the question of how much responsibility one wants to give up. it matches to the last question as well, because if the A.I. makes it, one can surrender to the doubts about one's own abilities, even more. It might turn into a huge problem of narrow-mindedness, or people might eventually recognize that the development of A.I. undermines real creativity and confidence, maybe it will be not too late then. Greetings!
❤ Kyle, thanks for such an extensive Q&A! Great and inspirational video! • For now I’ll stick with my GFX50R. However one day I’ll try Hasselblad H - one of their models has that CCD sensor which is very close to true medium format film size - like you mentioned. Thanks for sharing your experience and your thoughts - especially in the last part of the video. Everything you said is so true!
The GFX 100s, esp on the used market, is the best price to high res print ratio available. If large high resolution prints are the goal you can't find a better deal. The new hasselblads are nicer looking/feeling machines but in terms of the end goal of a high res print they cost MUCH more and the sensors are the same. To actually get quantifiably better images than the GFX 100s or Hasselblad you'd have to buy a 50k phase one 150MP rig.
Just discovered your channel! Love videos like these. The questions relating to preventing burnout and rediscovering inspiration are particularly timely in my case. I appreciated hearing your thoughts. I’ve now got a few more things to consider before getting back to making new work.
Hasselblad H series were made by Fuji but assembled in Sweden so they’re kinda like a Fujiblad more than Hasselblad. If I remember correctly that dark bump on the finder is a pop-up flash too
I have to say the TLR entry camera has been true forever. I shot with one of these back in the day because it was cheaper than 35. I really wanted an OM-1 but I could not manage that so I bought a TLR and developed my own B&W.
Really great video Kyle, very very useful points especially about filming yourself / making notes for videos, dealing with uk weather, and finding locations. going to implement these into my own content making for sure, appreciate you sharing. Also I’ve got the same great north road book but never read that essay at the back, definitely going to do that now!
Your remark about Resistance reminds me a lot of the book 'The War of Art' by Steven Pressfield, which I have to read quite often to keep going with my creative pursuits. You've given me a lot to think about with this one!
I was a little upset that Kodak Gold 120 doesn't have the golden-brown color of the 135 version, but I have come to love it. Personally, I think the colors look more natural than even Portra, like the film version of the default color profile on your digital camera.
I think the most accessible medium format experience is photostitching with an APSC or the like. Slow down, find subjects that are still, and take a 9x or 12x grid of photos and stitch those together in post. Some drawbacks: moving subjects and parallax can mess up images.
great look into the Hasselblad H, fyi, he is holding a H with an Imacon back, you can tell this as the Phase One adapted backs (P45+,P30) have Nothing on top, this is a safety lockout for the back switch, you need to use them simultaneously to release the back. Kyle One thing which is worth noting, the GFX has zoom lenses available, the Hasselblad is a PRIME lens system ONLY, if for one zoom lens, 35-70? but what is there is excellent, I have a H1 with a Phase One P45+ and 35/80/300 lenses with a 16mm extension tube (for use on the 300-it cant focus close without it); but for a system which can be digital AND film, and is AF and Auto exposure, with center weighted metering, and a by the way, the bottom shoe is a QR system, and this is cross compatible with the V system cameras, so one adaptor for both!! [I use this on a Gitzo classic replica{GK2380VQR} and this even copes with the 300 on if one is carefull of extension and wind conditions ] it works fine, if the battery is charged up, they drain quick, esp. if shooting digital, GET the Li-on batt. pack, it saves heaps on the CR123 cells you need for the standard tray.
For me the Leica s type 006 ccd sensor created the best images. In NYC it created its own genre called hyper realism. I don’t know if any other camera that could replicate the image quality, at that time. I still prefer the images over the new mf sensors.
In my experience, gold and eltar both hold up to home developing much better than ektar. I really started to dislike portra for a while until I started getting all my color lab developed (but still scanned at home) and realized portra is as amazing as people say, it just happens to be the most sensitive to development conditions
I had a Hasselbad H3DII-22, amazing camera. One of the biggest CCD sensors ever made, and massive 9 micron pixels. I sold it recently, the fear of servicing is simply too large. Electronics only last so long
Kyle can you please do more video about Hasselblad H (your exact model). Currently deciding btw that H3D-39 and GFX50SII as they have similar price range now 😢
Hi Kyle, chances are that ill move to the UK for work this year. Thinking about living in brighton and go to work by train, no car lifestyle. Do you believe exploration is still feasable? Seems like public transport is quite extensive compare to Quebec/Canada. Thanks :)
Hey Bianca, public transport is very convenient, and you can get to a lot of places with it. I can't comment on the cost, as I mostly drive places. But yeah, for me, a round trip ticket to london (20 mins on train) is around £25. So not cheap.
![Twenty One Pilots - “The Line” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2Rj2gQAyPA/mqdefault.jpg)
![GFX 100 II: Should Hasselblad or Leica be Worried? [minute markers in video description below]](/img/1.gif)
The thing about AI: it's not actually photography. The point of photography is capturing a real actual physical thing. Painting with light. A specific thing at a specific time. AI is about producing a rendering, a digital illustration of a generalized thing that may or may not be in any way real. It's a different tool with a different goal. It sucks in thousands/millions of photos to get it's result but the resulting images are not photographs. They are digital illustrations. So some photographic jobs may become obsolete as a result of AI, depending on what the client is looking for, but AI is not actually photography, so photographers will still have a very real purpose.
I do agree on this point based off the semantics of what defines a photographic image. AI generated imagery is closer to a collage based off of multitudes of photography data and even regurgitating it’s own creation to generate a new. I feel as of now AI imagery is extremely incestuous where it lacks personality to be honest. But as it gathers more data, overtime it will be an attractive replacement for generating additions of side imaginary to already existing set of images. Like an additional angle to a set of event photographs for example.
This is the same argument Artists used in the 1800s when Photography threatened the entire portrait industry. Before Photography, Artists were commissioned to create family portraits or just portraits in general. Instead of photographs you had broaches inlaid with a painted miniature portrait as an example. Photography was far cheaper and faster and it destroyed a a multi thousand year industry. You can still have your portrait painted/sketched, but the industry has nowhere near the same amount of influence. Photography has also eroded the price of this genre of art.
Fortunately, Photography was already competing with a medium that could create anything. 3D Modeling and Animation. And any of the companies willing to use AI were already using stock photos or hiring Studios to model and create a cinematic piece/product layout for them. You also don't need 700 variations of an image for a company to pick from. Just a decent image, which entirely negates AI's ability to generate hundreds of images per second... once you spent 4 hours crafting prompts. When it comes to AI, just creating the prompt will take longer than taking 10 images and editing them. So the advantage AI has is in cost and not speed. Photography also has multiple supporting industries built around it and they won't allow AI to indirectly affect them. It's not just cameras, it's the modeling industry, the lighting industry, the bag industry, the medical industry (Regardless of the popularity of Photography, the skillsets and machines needed to make camera lenses are also used in the medical industry for glasses, MRI machines etc. This is the most important aspect to sustaining Photography as a medium as the companies that create cameras and lenses all have the majority of their vested interests in the medical industry, which has also allowed Photography to sustain itself after 2011 long enough to start growing again.)
So yes, certain genres of Photography will be affected. However, just like Painting continues to be a thriving medium, commanding higher prices than it used to, so will Photography. The use of AI will and Rendering will shift Photography from an extremely generalized commercial and artistic medium, to a more focused medium centered around private commissions or Photography as an art form with higher emphasis on skill and Art Galleries rather than as an everyday throwaway commercial product. In other words, AI will take the cheap and tedious s ht away from Photography, allowing Photographers to focus on their skillsets to create rather than produce work.
2:57 I know portraits are not the main area of your work but this is just an exceptional picture.
Thank you. It is something that I do enjoy and plan to do more of.
On the subject of shooting the grey UK, I listened to a podcast with a cinematographer in the US a few years ago, who had just shot a feature in the American west, and to my surprise he said “Sometimes I wish I was shooting moody english skies” - it really made me realise not to take whats on your doorstep for granted.
That portrait at 2:57 is just phenomenal!
I couldn’t agree more. Already saw it over on Instagram and was amazed by it!
🙏
Kyle, this is one of the best Q&A videos on photography I've seen. Hope you can occasionally do more.
Glad you enjoyed. I like doing them, but always wonder if people want them. So that's cool to hear.
could listen to your thoughts for way more time - thank you for taking the time to answer all these different questions.
Happy to hear that. Cheers.
So thoughtful--thanks. As someone who once traveled and shot extensively, I have lately become interested in the question what one focuses on when age, incapacity, caregiving responsibilities, etc, keeps one close to to home. I am coming to believe that forcing yourself, over and over, to see something new in the familiar can be a rewarding way to work. For example, I have been thinking a lot lately about Paul Strand, whose photos from around the world (including the UK) are justly celebrated, but who spent his last years photographing his own garden in France--a narrower focus, but no less deep. Thanks for the combination of interesting gear talk and process reflections.
for an accessible MF camera, I would also put the Hasselblad 500C\M in the list, 6x6 so no turning; a modular system- if you change genre's of photography, macro, portrait, there is a lot of lenses to chose, bellows, prism finders, etc. so well catered to any genre; cheap, YES, it is ~AUD$3-4,000 for a good one!, but hear me out, this is about the cost of a mirrorless cannon R, Nikon Z8/9 system, so similar investment in the system; no batteries, and simple film and lens usage, its a box, but easy enough to learn.
Not the type of episode I generally enjoy. However, I found that you did it in an interesting and engaging manner. It kept me watching to the end. Great job!
Happy to hear that. Cheers.
I love the Paul Graham quote. This could also apply to shooting in New York where we recently had 11 consecutive days of grey gloom, clouds and rain. You have no choice but to embrace those conditions otherwise you'll be waiting a long time for blue skies and sunshine!
I have the opposite issue, living in New Mexico always looking for clouds and rain
I just upgraded from the GFX50R to the 100S. I shoot mainly night photography with the 45/2.8 and 30/3.5 lenses, and the ability to take hand-held shots up to 0.2sec exposures with these lenses is wonderful. Medium format with excellent IBIS is a great advance by Fuji.
IBIS certainly is nice in some situations.
Having multiple projects to work on is actually a good thing, I'm trying to juggle writing (horror and poetry) with a large photography project so I wont get tired of either one of them and that have worked fine for about two years.
Thanks for taking time to answer all of these in such detail. It’s always encouraging to hear your personal take and see you calmly plodding forward to make great work. 🎩
You're welcome. Cheers.
MY GREYNESS QUESTION ❤❤❤ Thank you for answering my bro xx
Thanks for your candid thoughts here. Your advice about pushing through failures, being persistent and embracing (the inevitable) suffering is the toughest to swallow. It’s the most meaningful.
I’m chugging away with a Rolleicord (and a C220 Mamiya) exposing lots of HP5+, learning how to develop it well in Pyrocat HD. And, most importantly, learning how to SEE.
Good luck and thanks. Your videos cause me to do the most thinking.
Agree that the price to value of the GFX series is unreal. Such great quality, and lightweight too with that 35-70mm. It's lighter than my 5DSR and 24-70mm. Appreciate your thoughts on balancing photo and video work. It's been a struggle since starting a channel so any tips like this with your experience are much appreciated!
The 35-70 is a great lens. Nice and compact as well.
Totally get the appeal of the H-series. With prices going down, I've found myself with a Phase One IQ160 to use on my Mamiya AFDIII and I'm really love it.
All these questions have been bothering me for the last few months... Thanks for the video, just in time!
At 3:30 you got me! Best comment I've heard and that's why your videos always made me watch and come back to them!
Will carry on with the rest of the video now.
Thanks for the video!
Espcially your last answer, very wise, is the key for all of this, and it counts to everything, all the disciplines. Beautiful!
As far as A.I. is concerned it might come down to the question of how much responsibility one wants to give up. it matches to the last question as well, because if the A.I. makes it, one can surrender to the doubts about one's own abilities, even more. It might turn into a huge problem of narrow-mindedness, or people might eventually recognize that the development of A.I. undermines real creativity and confidence, maybe it will be not too late then.
Greetings!
❤ Kyle, thanks for such an extensive Q&A! Great and inspirational video! • For now I’ll stick with my GFX50R. However one day I’ll try Hasselblad H - one of their models has that CCD sensor which is very close to true medium format film size - like you mentioned. Thanks for sharing your experience and your thoughts - especially in the last part of the video. Everything you said is so true!
The GFX 100s, esp on the used market, is the best price to high res print ratio available. If large high resolution prints are the goal you can't find a better deal. The new hasselblads are nicer looking/feeling machines but in terms of the end goal of a high res print they cost MUCH more and the sensors are the same. To actually get quantifiably better images than the GFX 100s or Hasselblad you'd have to buy a 50k phase one 150MP rig.
Yeah, I just saw one today for sale for £2900. Prices are getting really good for them.
Just discovered your channel! Love videos like these. The questions relating to preventing burnout and rediscovering inspiration are particularly timely in my case. I appreciated hearing your thoughts. I’ve now got a few more things to consider before getting back to making new work.
Glad you enjoyed. Cheers.
Hasselblad H series were made by Fuji but assembled in Sweden so they’re kinda like a Fujiblad more than Hasselblad. If I remember correctly that dark bump on the finder is a pop-up flash too
I really dig Gold 200 as well but I have had my worries with its grain being a little overpowering at times
I have to say the TLR entry camera has been true forever. I shot with one of these back in the day because it was cheaper than 35. I really wanted an OM-1 but I could not manage that so I bought a TLR and developed my own B&W.
Can't go wrong for the price and amount of options.
Great episode. Really got me thinking.
Really great video Kyle, very very useful points especially about filming yourself / making notes for videos, dealing with uk weather, and finding locations. going to implement these into my own content making for sure, appreciate you sharing.
Also I’ve got the same great north road book but never read that essay at the back, definitely going to do that now!
Cheers, Eddy!
Hi Kyle, enjoyed this video, lots of ideas to think about. Many thanks.
Your remark about Resistance reminds me a lot of the book 'The War of Art' by Steven Pressfield, which I have to read quite often to keep going with my creative pursuits. You've given me a lot to think about with this one!
One of my favourites. It had a huge impact on me when I first read it.
I was a little upset that Kodak Gold 120 doesn't have the golden-brown color of the 135 version, but I have come to love it. Personally, I think the colors look more natural than even Portra, like the film version of the default color profile on your digital camera.
I think the most accessible medium format experience is photostitching with an APSC or the like. Slow down, find subjects that are still, and take a 9x or 12x grid of photos and stitch those together in post. Some drawbacks: moving subjects and parallax can mess up images.
great look into the Hasselblad H, fyi, he is holding a H with an Imacon back, you can tell this as the Phase One adapted backs (P45+,P30) have Nothing on top, this is a safety lockout for the back switch, you need to use them simultaneously to release the back.
Kyle One thing which is worth noting, the GFX has zoom lenses available, the Hasselblad is a PRIME lens system ONLY, if for one zoom lens, 35-70? but what is there is excellent, I have a H1 with a Phase One P45+ and 35/80/300 lenses with a 16mm extension tube (for use on the 300-it cant focus close without it); but for a system which can be digital AND film, and is AF and Auto exposure, with center weighted metering, and a by the way, the bottom shoe is a QR system, and this is cross compatible with the V system cameras, so one adaptor for both!! [I use this on a Gitzo classic replica{GK2380VQR} and this even copes with the 300 on if one is carefull of extension and wind conditions ] it works fine, if the battery is charged up, they drain quick, esp. if shooting digital, GET the Li-on batt. pack, it saves heaps on the CR123 cells you need for the standard tray.
Just bought that very same book from the photo show on sunday!
For me the Leica s type 006 ccd sensor created the best images. In NYC it created its own genre called hyper realism. I don’t know if any other camera that could replicate the image quality, at that time. I still prefer the images over the new mf sensors.
In my experience, gold and eltar both hold up to home developing much better than ektar. I really started to dislike portra for a while until I started getting all my color lab developed (but still scanned at home) and realized portra is as amazing as people say, it just happens to be the most sensitive to development conditions
Great vidéo as Always. Tkank you Kyle
I really enjoyed this, thank you for your thoughts very interesting and inspiring :).
I had a Hasselbad H3DII-22, amazing camera. One of the biggest CCD sensors ever made, and massive 9 micron pixels. I sold it recently, the fear of servicing is simply too large. Electronics only last so long
Understandable. I have my fingers crossed mine will last. Relatively low shutter count on the body.
Thank you...
great q&a, thanks Kyle
Glad you enjoyed it!
I love your work!
Really enjoyed the video!
great chat Kyle.
What a beautiful picture do you have in your studio, what equipment do you use to get such soft light transitions and such a pleasant contrast?
Just a big ole softbox on an aperture light.
2:39 *megapickle
Gigapickles 🥒
Kyle can you please do more video about Hasselblad H (your exact model). Currently deciding btw that H3D-39 and GFX50SII as they have similar price range now 😢
Would love to see some samples of the H3Dii and the GFX 😊
Hi Kyle. Love your work. Is your book An American Mile available in the UK?
Yes it is shipping to the UK.
Now I want to eat a mega pickle.
Now you’re making me drool too!
Hi Kyle, chances are that ill move to the UK for work this year. Thinking about living in brighton and go to work by train, no car lifestyle. Do you believe exploration is still feasable? Seems like public transport is quite extensive compare to Quebec/Canada.
Thanks :)
Hey Bianca, public transport is very convenient, and you can get to a lot of places with it. I can't comment on the cost, as I mostly drive places. But yeah, for me, a round trip ticket to london (20 mins on train) is around £25. So not cheap.
It's sad to know that hasselblad discontinued the H series cameras.
Yeah, I agree. I will always have a soft spot for OVF.
2:40 100 megapickles
have you tried ilford ortho plus?
Just one roll, a while ago.
There's one Hasselblad H system for sale in my country 😂 almost 6000Usd
"old tech" - you wait mate. I will get that thing I sent you working haha.
Hahaha, I would love to see that in action!
100 mega pickle 😂. Btw love the video!!
Back to the 100s huh…. When did that happen?
3ish months ago.
The thing about re-generative AI “art”: It’s soulless. It has no humanity in it. Art made by no one is pointless.
WHALLOP
The greyness of the UK, WHAT?????! 🤣
A favourite.
@taranspictures you got a shout-out! =)