A Little Better All The Time

Thirteen years ago, I received a Canon DSLR as a birthday gift (I did ask for it). I wanted the camera to capture life moments of our kids participating in sports. I did use the camera for that purpose for the first five years or so. Later, when the kids were grown, I started experimenting with my camera and trying to make art. I liked to draw and paint when I was younger, so I thought this could be something I’d enjoy.

At first my shots were more of the “snapshot” variety, you know the pictures I talking about. You see something happening and you take a quick snap. Gradually, I started to learn more about the camera settings and began to see in my mind’s eye what I wanted to capture.

Of course, visualizing your shot and actually achieving it are two different things. Over the years, my skill improved and my processing of each photo also improved. One thing that helped me improve was doing a 365 project, which I did back in 2012 (and yes, I should do another one). Having to take a “decent” photo every day really gets your mind thinking! I’ll share a link to those image below.

The second thing that has helped me become a better artist (with my camera) is the Photography Scavenger Hunt. This group of wonderful photographers gets together online every couple of months to share their creations from a list of given Hunt words. The Hunt is currently on round 30 and I have participated since round 2 (It’s hard to stop!). I have met many of these scavengers in person, first local folks then later by going to their yearly meetup. Everyone in the group is passionate about photography and willing to share and help newcomers as well as veterans. A very welcoming group and tons of fun!

Another way I have improved my photography was learning to use post processing tools. Of course, there is still much to learn, but I love to make my image the best it can be! I currently use Lightroom, Topaz plugins, Photoshop and a few other programs to edit my photos. Recently, I’ve gotten some recognition and more and more people have told me they love my photography.

My 365 project from 2012 is here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/wadebrooks/albums/72157628260820863

Here's one of my favorite recent images

Cheers,
Wade

Poetry and the Midjourney AI

I have been testing out the Midjourney AI for a while now and have loved exploring what it can create from a simple prompt. You can see my creations and prompts on Instagram at @artbywadeai . Recently, I tried feeding the AI two of my poems and was very impressed with the results. The first poem I gave the AI was my Sunshine Reaching one. Go take a look and then check out these great images. The prompt I used for the Midjourney AI was the text of the poem with the parameters --chaos 25 --ar 3:2 appended at the end as shown below: With rays of warmth, he embraces her soul. Arms, iron strong, surround their love. Sunshine reaching, fills the room. With feathered whispers, they embrace the day. --chaos 25 --ar 3:2 Here are the first images returned. From these, I choose the second and last to render as full size images or upscale. Here are those results. After this experiment, I gave the AI my Strength poem and was very pleased with those results. Here is the full prompt for Strength:

AI Generated Art for Scavenger Hunt Words

I wasn't able to take any photographs for round 38 of the great Photography Scavenger Hunt , so I thought I'd see what Midjourney AI could create for me. Here are the nine words from the Hunt with the bonus tenth word thrown in just for fun: Monster The AI Prompt was: a pile of clothes on a chair in a dark corner that resembles a monster, shadows --ar 4:3 --chaos 25 --v 5 Vessel The AI Prompt was: vessel, movie still --ar 5:4 --style raw --chaos 25 Treasure The AI Prompt was: treasure --ar 4:3 --chaos 25 --v 5.2 See The AI Prompt was: see, movie still --ar 5:4 --style raw --chaos 25 Flag The AI Prompt was: flag, movie still --ar 4:5 --style raw --chaos 25 Eight The AI Prompt was: eight, movie still --ar 5:4 --style raw --chaos 25 Code The AI Prompt was: code, movie still --ar 5:4 --style raw --chaos 25 Aquamarine The AI Prompt was: Aquamarine, monochrome, abstract, painting --ar 5:4 --style raw --chaos 25 Skull The AI Prompt was: animal skull, movie still --ar 5:4 --style raw

Dreaming of the Weekend

I have been trying to improve my images by making them have a little bit of fantasy in them. I know we all like to escape from time to time. Here is my latest creation. Let me know what you think. Prints: https://wade-brooks.pixels.com/featured/dreaming-of-the-weekend-wade-brooks.html

Art by Wade

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