The end of Year 17 feels like I am limping into this milestone.
In the past, I have represented the number as a photo. On a drive back from Sutton, I saw numbers on telephone poles and thought that might work. It didn’t. That led me to think about addresses, but that didn’t pan out either. Finally, I figured out money. $62.09. That works. I am busy. I did not plan well. Like I said, limping.
I shot the shot. Done. Sat down to post it and wanted a little brightness on one of the pennies. Nothing special. I don’t do a ton of editing, but Control-E on the MacBook sends it quickly over to Photoshop. And I get a warning. This black-and-white photo, with numerous pieces of currency, triggered the bot in Photoshop to flag it and prevent me from opening the file—because OBVIOUSLY I am trying to counterfeit money.
This is perfect.
I am sick of AI being involved in my art, my business, and my business. I mean both meanings of that word there. In my life, my news, my future, my wallet. It’s all getting to be a bit much. We are losing the battle, and yet we created the war. Who is in charge? AI says I can’t take a picture of money. AI says I can’t post my link on social media. AI took all my hard drives so now the same drive I bought last year for $299 is now $1300, and I need three a year. It’s comical.
Seventeen years ago tomorrow, I started this project with a simple camera and a longing to rediscover my photography. I hadn’t taken photos regularly for about four years, and I missed it. I had a simple idea: share a photo each day on Facebook for 31 days, starting on my birthday, to get back into it after the industry shifted from film to digital.
And it worked. Far beyond the original intent. I had regretted giving up on photography when film died. I had a film store. I worked for Kodak. I watched both go out of business. But I rediscovered the medium and built this collection of photos that made me better and led directly to where I am today.
And now, seventeen years later, I see the industry changing again. And I have that frustrating feeling again. I am better prepared for the change this time. AI has affected my industry. It has affected my business. It has also helped—I won’t lie. It has its strengths. But the thing is, I would give up the gains to see it go away because I know how to do it the old way. It is one of the reasons I have embraced film again. It is calming to me. Though in busy seasons like now, I don’t get to play with it as much. It is definitely a winter/spring sport for me.
I’m not sure what my point is here.
I have been asked by many people if this is ending, and I don’t know for sure. It feels like work right now, and that frustrates me. I also don’t want to regret giving it up, because the first time I skip a day, it is over. Those are my rules.
So there will be a DailyPic tomorrow. I can say that. The goal was recently declared to be at least 20 years. Right now, that feels farther away than Day One does, to be honest. So it is one day at a time until I get back to the passion of the project—or I don’t.
I can say I will see you tomorrow.
And more than anything, I want to say thank you to those who look. It is appreciated more than you know.
tr/trp
