Why does almost everyone on WP have the inherent need to use over processed AI images?
Of all the many trillions of photographs already out there, it surprises me that people become reliant on images that look false, are patently over processed and that don’t look the slightest bit realistic.
Technology is a good thing but in my opinion this is a step too far, it’s unreal, it’s not realistic and people are preferring to create a life in photo form that they would like to see, rather than what they do actually see. Life unfortunately isn’t as perfect as the AI gods would have us believe.
I guess my many decades in this particular trade amount to nothing and I just see it as pure laziness to use such techniques. In a few words I can have a perfectly presented representation of a smiling cherub like child in the most perfect sun infused and idilic environment, that in all seriousness is as false as a suspended ceiling in a Victorian property. It’s just not right.
Yep you’re right I don’t like it, condone it and will never use it. My choice, my blog. I’ll never see it differently I’m afraid.
Take the time to either obtain a picture that someone has spent good time composing, and working hard on to get right, or just go out there and do it yourself. But that’s the problem isn’t it? Technology has made us lazy, let’s leave it to someone/thing else.
I know let’s use a faceless blind computer with overactive memory banks.
I was intrigued to know just how many days ago that the first photograph was taken.
There are a few things to consider before we make such a calculation, first a little history.
The first photograph was taken by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826, using a process called heliography. This process involved coating a pewter plate with a light-sensitive substance called bitumen, which hardened when exposed to light. The image, titled “View from the Window at Le Gras,” shows the view from Niépce’s window and took about eight hours to expose.
To calculate how many days ago the first photograph was taken, we can subtract the date of that photograph (1826) from the current year (2025).
2025 – 1826 = 199 years
Since there are 365 days in a year, give or take the occasional leap year, we can then multiply the number of years by 365 to get the total number of days.
199 years x 365 days/year = 72,635 days
So, the first photograph was taken approximately 72,635 days ago. (Give or take a few days)
Wow
That doesn’t seem as great a number in my mind compared to the 199 years, maybe because we relate to a day being considerably shorter than a year (Obviously 🤦♂️). It sounds as if you could have even been around when the photo was taken, obviously you couldn’t have been and this is just me having an early morning ramble. So the next question is how many pictures have been taken since then?
Considering the usage of mobile technology I’d suspect that the answer is unobtainable due to the sheer volume of pictures now taken on a daily basis.
But I have put this question to one of those A.I apps available on my phone, to see what it says, and here is the answer that it has given, I asked:
“How many pictures have been taken since that first one in 1826?”
Estimating the Number of Pictures Taken
Using historical data and trends, we can estimate the number of pictures taken since 1826:
Pre-digital era (1826-1970s): Assuming an average of 1 million photographs taken per year (a rough estimate), we get approximately 150 million photographs taken during this period.
Digital era (1970s-2007): With the advent of digital cameras, the number of pictures taken increased significantly. Let’s assume an average of 100 million photographs taken per year during this period, resulting in approximately 3.5 billion photographs taken.
Smartphone era (2007-present): With the widespread adoption of smartphones, the number of pictures taken has grown exponentially. According to a report by InfoTrends, over 1 trillion photographs were taken in 2015 alone. Assuming an average of 1.5 trillion photographs taken per year since 2007, we get approximately 23.5 trillion photographs taken during this period.
Total Number of Pictures Taken
Adding up the estimates from each era, we get:
150 million (pre-digital) + 3.5 billion (digital) + 23.5 trillion (smartphone) ≈ 23.8 trillion photographs taken since 1826.
Keep in mind that this is a rough estimate and should be taken as a rough order of magnitude rather than an exact figure.
Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently?
I had to ask my wife for clarification here as my mind had drawn a blank. Now the flood gates have opened. In the words of George Michael- “Turn a different corner and we never would have met.”
Yes, this question really is a closing doors moment. We all make decisions on a daily basis, lots of them, and then occasionally a big one comes up and you have to concentrate on how you respond. Not all decisions are particularly bad, but hindsight being a wonderful thing you occasionally look back and say, “ I wish I had done that differently.”
Contentment
For me that moment would have been in the late 80s. As a couple my wife and I have always had a bit of a spend thrift attitude to money, if we had it we kind of spent it. Sometimes we lived beyond our means as I’m sure we all do from time to time but we had good times and made memories and don’t regret that for one moment as you can’t put a price on good memories. They were what we used to call picture moments, we still have them from time to time and we will occasionally say to each other “This is a picture moment” and we know at that point one of us has taken a mental picture of that very moment for posterity.
In the 80s we had a chance to purchase what was our old house for about £80k. Considering we were only 17 miles from central London it was a bargain, but because of our spendthrift attitude for life it was out of our range even at that price. Instead we poured endless amounts of cash into a flat we renting, we should have realised we were lining someone else’s pockets and not ours. We didn’t care, as ignorance is bliss….isn’t it?
Fast forward about 3 years, a little wiser and settled due to impending marriage and the offer for the same house came in this time it was in the region of £140k the price had risen by £60k. This time we jumped at it, it was tough and we had to knuckle down on our finances but we did it.
Looking back yes this is a regret that I wish we had jumped at when we had the chance. If we had where would be now? Would we be in a better position or not? All I know now is we are happy, we are content and happy with our lot. We do not envy people, in fact we are happy they have done well and celebrate their good fortune, yes we could have done things differently but would we be as content with our lot?
Like I said at the beginning, George said it all in his lyrics.
Regrets, none at all, lessons learned definitely, are we better people for our experiences? You bet ya we are.
Foxes Den 
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