Throughout history, every great technological innovation has brought with it not only enthusiasm, but also deep fears, especially among those who feared for their role in the world. It happened in the 19th century with the birth of photography, it happened in the 20th century with the introduction of compact cameras and the first automatisms, and it's happening today with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI). But, looking back, these fears have always been transformed into new opportunities to evolve and enrich the visual language. Let's see how.
When the invention of the daguerreotype was announced in 1839, many painters felt betrayed by technology. Until then, only painting could immortalize faces, historical scenes or landscapes. The idea that a 'magic machine' could replace the artist terrified figures like Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, while the poet Charles Baudelaire dismissed photography as a soulless mechanical process.
And yet, this fear proved to be unfounded. Painting not only survived, but it freed itself from the need for realism, paving the way for revolutionary movements such as Impressionism and Cubism. Photography did not destroy painting; on the contrary, it gave it the opportunity to reinvent itself and reach new expressive heights.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the first compact cameras, such as the Leica, caused a stir among traditional photographers, who were used to working with bulky optical benches. “Too small, too simple, too unprofessional,” they said. The resistance was understandable: the transition from complex equipment to a portable tool radically changed the way we work.
And yet, the Leica not only democratized photography, but allowed photographers to tell the world in a more immediate way, giving birth to modern photojournalism. Let's think of Henri Cartier-Bresson, who, thanks to a Leica, captured “the decisive moment”, forever revolutionizing the very concept of photography.
In the 70s and 80s, the introduction of autofocus was met with skepticism. For many, entrusting the focus to an automatic system was a sacrilege. “Where is art if the machine does everything by itself?” they were wondering.
However, even this innovation proved to be a step forward. The autofocus freed photographers from the need to focus on technical details, allowing them to dedicate themselves to composition and visual storytelling. Today, autofocus is considered an indispensable tool for capturing dynamic and fleeting scenes.
In the 90s, the transition from film to digital was another ideological battle. Many professionals rejected digital, arguing that it could never match the quality and 'magic' of film. The same attitude was repeated with the advent of mirrorless cameras, criticized for being 'toys' compared to traditional SLRs.
And yet, digital technology has transformed the world of photography, making it more accessible, versatile and sustainable. Mirrorless cameras, with their light weight and technological innovation, have taken photography to previously unthinkable places, opening up new creative possibilities.
In recent years, smartphones have further shaken the world of photography. Professional photographers have often expressed disdain for the 'ease' with which anyone can take high-quality photos. However, these devices have democratized visual art, allowing millions of people to express themselves and share stories through images.
Far from destroying traditional photography, smartphones have enriched the global visual language, making every person a potential storyteller.
Today, the fear has shifted to AI. Tools like DALL-E, MidJourney, and Stable Diffusion can generate extraordinary images from simple textual descriptions. Many photographers wonder: “If a camera can create incredible images in seconds, what will happen to us?”
But, as in the past, AI should not be seen as a threat, but as a tool. Just as photography didn't destroy painting, AI won't eliminate human photography. On the contrary, it can become a powerful ally for expanding the boundaries of creativity, allowing photographers to explore new ideas and languages.
Looking back, history teaches us that every technological innovation has led to a moment of fear, followed by a phase of extraordinary progress. Painters have embraced the freedom offered by photography, photographers have taken advantage of compacts, digital technology and even smartphones to expand their visual vocabulary.
Today, AI places us at a crossroads: we can fear it or use it to reinvent photography. The choice is in the hands of the creatives. And if there's one lesson that history teaches us, it's this: art never dies. It changes, evolves and becomes more powerful. The photograph of the future, with AI as an ally, could surprise us more than we imagine.
Bibliography:
Baudelaire, C. (1859). The modern public and photography. In Salon of 1859. Editions Honoré Champion - ISBN-13: 978-2745313355
Baudelaire discusses his criticism of photography, arguing that, although it is a fascinating technology, it does not represent real art, being devoid of the creative imagination that characterizes painting.
Gombrich, E.H. (1972). The Story of Art. Phaidon Press. - ISBN-13: 9780714832470
A fundamental text that explores the history of art and how the introduction of photography has influenced the evolution of painting, stimulating movements such as Impressionism and Cubism.
Adams, R. (1996). Why People Photograph: Selected Essays and Reviews. Openings. - ISBN-13: 9780893816032
In this essay, Adams explores the evolution of photography and how it has become an art capable of coexisting and collaborating with other traditional art forms.
Manovich, L. (2018). AI Aesthetics. Strelka Press. - ISBN-13: 9781916297303
Manovich analyzes the impact of artificial intelligence in the field of visual arts, discussing whether and how AI can be considered a creative tool or a threat to traditional artistic production.
Shanken, E.A. (2009). Art and Electronic Media. Phaidon. - ISBN-13: 9780714847825
An extensive review on the integration of technology in the arts, from the development of photography to artificial intelligence and digital media, showing how these tools have always coexisted with human creativity.
Leica Q (Typ 116) - Profile comparison
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. On the left, a photograph taken in an environment with obvious lighting complexities, developed with the Adobe Color profile; on the right, the same image, but with the TheSpack profile. For this comparison, second-generation profiles were used, optimized in 2021, so they are still far from subsequent progress. This image is particularly critical because of a nuance in saturation, which, if not properly normalized, generates irregularities. Often, the result obtained with the Adobe profile leads to a negative judgment on the quality of the file and the camera itself. While using a similar tonal curve for contrast, the TheSpack profile produced a much better result. There is greater chromatic consistency, extension of detail and legibility in all areas of the image. Noise and granularity, evident with Adobe, have been reduced thanks to the structure of the TheSpack profile, designed to correctly balance the output channels. This limit in Adobe profiles often causes a drop in quality that is wrongly attributed to the technical medium. The best detail, superior tonal rendering and the absence of irregularities are not the result of post-production corrections, but of a carefully studied and developed color profile.
Panasonic S1R - Imperceptible defects
We are often used to looking at the whole of an image, losing sight of the detail that defines it. This reflection, in itself, might seem out of place, considering that photography is based on visual perception, on the impact that a subject, light, interpretation and dynamics of a scene transmit to us. It would therefore be natural not to focus on the details. And yet, here comes a great paradox: we invest in expensive lenses, glorifying their performance. We try to correct aberrations, chase resolution, apply textures and contrast masks to emphasize details, and yet we often forget one fundamental element: the color profile, which can destroy all this work. Now looking at the enlarged detail of a photograph developed with the Adobe Color color profile and the same image with TheSpack. The choice of how to intervene on a color profile, which parameters to consider and how to optimize the rendering of a sensor inevitably leads to consequences that impact the final quality of the image. This can even frustrate the work of engineers and designers who have created the highest quality optics. In the image developed with the Adobe Color profile, the light of a neon is dispersed, leaving an obvious halo around the light source. This phenomenon reduces texture in highlights, compromising texture and detail, and altering the overall quality of the photo. A small defect that, however, has a heavy impact on the performance of the lenses and is manifested throughout the image, regardless of the lighting conditions. Obviously, this consideration stems from the fact that a color profile can be generated taking into account different parameters, including those that determine the variation of hue and saturation as the brightness changes. For this reason, we have chosen to divide our system to make it effective in a wide range of situations. We have implemented specific solutions for each individual camera, so as to obtain impeccable results, regardless of the shooting conditions. This approach allows us to guarantee a consistent and accurate color rendering, minimizing deviations that may compromise image quality.
Simone Bassani in collaboration with
