In an AI darkly

Dear AI, how can you help me with your knowledge in photography?

“Photography has been a popular medium of self-expression for many years. People use cameras to capture moments, memories, and emotions. However, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), photography has taken on a new dimension. AI-generated photography has opened up new avenues for creativity, and it is rapidly gaining popularity among artists, photographers, and enthusiasts alike.

There are many ways in which AI-generated photography is changing the game. Here are ten variations on how AI is reshaping photography:

1. Enhancing image quality: AI can analyze images and identify areas that need improvement, such as contrast, sharpness, and color balance. AI algorithms can then enhance these areas to improve the overall quality of the image.

2. Augmenting creativity: AI can be used to generate images that are impossible to capture with a camera. It can combine different elements and create new visuals that are unique and inspiring.

3. Automating image editing: AI can automate the process of image editing, making it faster and more efficient. This allows photographers to spend more time on creative tasks, such as composition and framing.

4. Personalizing images: AI can analyze a person's facial features and create personalized images that are tailored to their unique characteristics. This can be useful in fields such as fashion and beauty, where personalization is key.

5. Generating surreal images: AI can create images that are surreal and dreamlike. By combining different elements and manipulating them in unique ways, AI can create visuals that are out of this world.

6. Creating art: AI-generated photography can be used to create art that is unique and captivating. Artists can use AI algorithms to generate images that are inspired by different styles, such as impressionism or surrealism.

7. Improving accessibility: AI-generated photography can improve accessibility for people with visual impairments. By analyzing images and providing descriptions, AI can help people understand the content of an image.

8. Preserving memories: AI-generated photography can be used to preserve memories in new and innovative ways. By combining different elements, AI can create images that are evocative of certain memories or emotions.

9. Improving search: AI-generated photography can improve image search capabilities. By analyzing images and identifying their content, AI can make it easier for people to find the images they are looking for.

10. Enhancing storytelling: AI-generated photography can be used to enhance storytelling in various mediums, such as film or advertising. By creating unique visuals, AI can help convey a message or tell a story in a way that is more engaging and memorable.

In conclusion, AI-generated photography is changing the way we think about photography. From enhancing image quality to creating art, AI is opening up new possibilities for creativity and self-expression. As AI technology continues to advance, it will be exciting to see how it will be used to push the boundaries of photography even further.”

The best compliment AI made about my photography: when trying to use one of its tools to automaticaly select or modify part of an image, it just can’t understand it. It can’t recognize faces, objects, skys… Thank you AI, I appreciate it.

New One

Happy new one everyone!

Subjective Vision continues its voyage around the world of festivals. Just noticed it received the International animation award at CRISFF in New York. I’m filled with joy when I realize that people beyond the Atlantic understand and enjoy my film and Myriam Boccara’s work.

A festival in L.A. posts videos about members of the audience speaking about the movie they have seen. Here’s the one about Subjective Vision. Many thanks for your comments. It enlighted the day I found them.

Subjective Vision Short Film, Audience FEEDBACK from Nov. 2021 ANIMATION Festival from Wildsound Festival on Vimeo.

BEST ANIMATION MOVIE AT AIMAFFESTIVAL (Athens)

This morning, producer Benjamin Altur Ortiz from Benur Films woke me up with good news to start a monday. My short film Subjective Vision: Myriam Boccara won the award for best animation film at AIMAF festival in Athens, which is a beautiful place I would like to see again. Feeling in a splendid mood, I’m already looking forward to hearing from tuesday.

Myriam Boccara : Vision Subjective (Teaser)

"How to take a photograph?"

I know you can’t sleep for three weeks, since you watched the first part of my Grand Classe on photography. I’m not a sadistic person so I will put an end to your agony. Here is the second part!

“In this episode”, I will talk about those specific subjects:

How to take a photograph? What really happens at that precise moment when you capture the world through the lens? I will tell you how I learned photography, how much efforts I had to put in acquiring the skills needed to be a photographer. You'll see there are two parts in this apprenticeship. The first one is quite brief, if you are motivated and have a spare day to allocate to learning and practising. The second one will take more time. An eternity, actually. It took me 20 years. And I don't know if there is an end to this search, this trial. I'll tell you about the gear acquisition syndrome (G.A.S.), so frequent amongst photographers and what you should think about that specific craving. What do you dream to elaborate with photography? I will draw some maps for you to go on your own path. With confidence and a smile. How is the image printed on a digital sensor? We will look at it in a revolutionary manner. I will reveal my epiphany about all those questions. We'll travel to the northern coast of Japan where it happened. Can photography bears incredible dreams? Click the play button and find out! Please subscribe to my channel and tell all your friends how helpful this film was for you. Have a good day and good luck! Script, film & music ©Lionel Samain 2020

One man said: “give a video to a man and he will be entertained once. Invite him to subscribe to your channel and he will be entertained for life”. So deep, so true!

How to know if the photograph is looking back at you?

“How to take a photo? How to look at it? How to know if the photograph is looking back at you? Does it make any sense? How do I know that? Relax, I will explain everything with the most simple and clear words available.”

It’s started during that long period of confinement. I was thinking about starting a tutorial channel on Youtube. Just to know how it works. I sharpened my favourite pencil, visited the interior of the earth and came back with a text about fundamental differences between analog and digital medium, with a clear technical side. I read it out loud and though: this is absolutely boring. But the last paragraph was fun. So I started again from there.

For the rest, I wanted to be a modern day man: masked with a physical distance…

Analog or digital: what is the shape of your dreams?

Some more films are coming up. So, stay tune, subscribe (or die) at that channel. Share your love for it. And I’m sure we’ll be friends.

Thomas Agrinier: Vision Subjective (teaser)

One of the film I was talking previously needed to be presented in a short, teasing form. Here it is…

Confined photographer looking for captive lights

I guess you are as confined as I am and as frustrated as hell can be.

Just before this Covid-19 situation happened, I did finish 2 portraits films about 2 painters. They took me 3 month of fastidious labor and I am completely happy by the result. They are the films I wanted to watch. I don’t want to put them online bluntly for now but if you want to have a peek, just drop me a line, and I’ll send you a link and a password.

Vision Subjective: Thomas Agrinier

Thomas has a personal website where you can discover his work.

Vision Subjective: Myriam Boccara

Myriam Boccara’s website.

Both artists’s works should be seen “in the flesh”. I’ll post infos about their next shows as soon as the world come back to life.

10 Variations About A Girl And A Dark Mirror Made Of Paper

“Under the sublimated light of the moon, we cross the surface of the paper, its patterns, its colors. By spreading the flax fibers, we reveal the intimacy of its textures, which have always accompanied mankind. We dress our dreams in linen, under a guardian moon.” That’s how we briefed ourself, at Studio Lionel Samain Photography during the preparation of those series. Sometimes, we are deadly serious with symbols. But we love those wallcovers from Arte Intern., so we were in the mood for solemnity, with a heart heavy as paper.

Maybe this work augured what is taking all my times since the beginning of 2020: cutting, tearing papers. I won’t say anything about this new project but a few words. More than ten years ago, when I was only shooting portraits, a film producer told me he was wondering what would my portraits should look like in films. That’s what I’m working on right now…

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How to find hypnosis solace in 7 films with photography

When I was a little boy, I dreamed of making animated films. I discovered where my dad was hidding his super 8 mm camera, traded some toys for a roll of fresh film and drew every images for a very short movie coming straight from my imagination and a box of crayons. After a whole summer of concentration on my story, the negative was ready to be shipped to the lab. It was epic. But the postal service lost it. And so was gone my dream.

But now, that I’m a grown photographer, I can enjoy the long, hard and hypnotic work of interpolation of frames in the intent of creating an illusion. My daily routine, briefly said.

I chose to work around Arte’s new collections of wallpapers, as I felt attracted to their bewitching paterns and had a hint about their ability to lead to a hypnotic induction.

Now, sit comfortably and press the play button. You are getting very, very sleepy...your eyelids are getting heavy...so heavy that you cannot hold them up. You are now asleep. Go deeper asleep. You are under!

Spellbound Tear Sheet

Film by Lionel Samain /Model is Dorien Pauwels/ Mup & Hair by Mathieu De Mayer /Shot in Onzième Lieu, Paris /Wallpaper by Arte Int.

There are six more variations around that theme:

Spellbound Tear Sheet - variation n°1

Spellbound Tear Sheet - variation n°2

Spellbound Tear Sheet - variation n°3

Spellbound Tear Sheet - variation n°4

Spellbound Tear Sheet - variation n°5

Spellbound Tear Sheet - variation n°6

Before diving so deep in that work, I planed my journey through the method with that first short piece.

Spellbound Tear Sheet - prelude

I was so absorbed in the making, I didn’t notice that my cat was taking selfies while napping when I was in his picture field… Thanks Mr Spock!

Behind The (Color) Wheel

Late 20th century philosophers Dave Gahan and Martin Gore said in one of their famous creations: “Tonight I'm in the hands of fate. I hand myself over on a plate now”. Fate, plate… Those words keep melting together in my mind. I though: what if one was behind the wheel and crashed into another dimension? Maybe there will be a bang of colours. Maybe something more…

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Here are the result. Or results as they came from several alternative worlds.

Behind The (Color) Wheel

Direction & photography by Lionel Samain - Makeup & hair by Mathieu de Mayer - Model is Tatiana Platon

BTCW Capsule

Direction & photography by Lionel Samain - Makeup & hair by Mathieu de Mayer - Model is Tatiana Platon

BTCW: a making of!

A day in the life of the photoshooting backgrounds

A music video

I did mention month ago this one. Here it is, at last!

Tatiana Platon is a writer and singer, when she is not performing as a fashion model. As she claims it in this song, she can be color blind, which could be one of those things we have in common.

How to sign 250 prints for a client?

It’s quite easy. You just get a good pen, 250 copies of the photograph I made from the Emerge campaign, some patience and a little of organization. Of course at some point, you’ll feel like Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in Kubrick’s The Shining… Anyway, it was pleasure to go through this ink marathon for a beloved client, Periscope Agency.

A singing flick

Some times has passed since I had the opportunity to shoot a music video. But I was glad to draw some images around the music of Tatiana Platon’s songs. Stay around to watch this flicks this autumn… Meanwhile, here are some sketches and photograms.

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Ring of the Ring

I spend some times toying around Periscope’s logo and maybe, in the end, it turned into a personal obsession. At least it weaved a story around a ring of the ring.

At last! Some one is watching!

Approved for all audiences

Here are some spins of from the film Emerge by Digital made for Periscope. I couldn’t stop editing and cutting the rushes…

Capsule II

Capsule III

Capsule IV

Behind the scene scenary

Motion, motion, motion, framed and stopped in their vivid attitude. Or are they part of the global communication plot? You tell me, I’m just the messenger…

on the set of Emerge for Periscope.

It’s not my main focus, usually, but sometimes, I like to get a sharp point somewhere in the picture. Thanks, Dorien to hold this mark for me.

Not doing a selfy would be a waste of time, 2018 wise.

A very short making of.

Photography is not all photographs

Where do ideas of photographs come from? I like to think that they emerge first from the mind (hopefully). Then they take a nap on the surface of a sheet of paper. That’s where they are the most vulnerable. They could be torn apart, scratched by a giant cat, sent to oblivion by a splash of coffee… Yeap, it is almost for them as it is for a defensless prey in the harsh wildlife.

Preparation sketches for Emerge /Periscope

Mr Spock, quality control agent.

The Making of Emerging by Digital

I'm not a big fan of "behind the scene" explanations, but it may be pleasant to explore some memories. Those one are related to a recent job we did for a communication agency, Periscope. They asked for a carte blanche. So anything starts with ink on paper. And dianthus, when the season is right.

And with some help of my furry friend. 

50% inspiration, 50% guru. 100% cat. Selfportrait of the artist as a young cat.

It's never stressed enough to point the importance of shooting in a confortable, nice and warm environment. In this case, in Onzième Lieu, Paris.

Ephemeral light tattoos.

It delivers energy to wonder on the paths of your idea.

A beacon in the digital noise

Yellow like one happy Pikachu.

Capsule I

If your purple horizon is wrong, all your life is wrong.

Carte Blanche for Periscope agency

What would the words «Emerge by digital» look like in pictures? What would be the visual story behind this tagline? That is what the french agency Periscope asked me some weeks ago. And I was extremely enthousiastic to storm my mind around the edges of this concept.

How to picture the «digital»?

First, let’s clear the obvious: escape from clichés, use your instinct as a compas to chart new territories. Yeld to an odd siren call. Slope down to deep waters where imagination takes over mundane triviality. And emerge to the hidden face of ideas. At last, vibrations take shapes, light becomes language, the world transmute into harmony and meaning. Then, it sounds right.

Challenge accepted! Vibes, liquids, colours, I couldn’t wait to put my hands on them and film this emerging universe, life.

Model Dorien Pauwels is staring as the siren under the supervision of makeup artist Mathieu De Mayer.

EMERGE by DIGITAL - Made for Periscope agency

Direction & photography by Lionel Samain - Makeup & hair by Mathieu de Mayer - Model is Dorien Pauwels