Prelude: Should you start Astrophotography and how to get into photography. Part-1

Before I answer this question and of course, before you think my answer will be in the affirmative, I must confess this will be a multi part series. I have a lot to say in this regard and I am glad to have your ear or rather in this case, your eyes. 

Let’s take a step back. Recently, many have asked or even questioned the need for photography in the time of Generative AI. Why would you do or try to photograph anything that you could generate from the tips of your fingers? 

I remember once, someone tried to explain to me that I should stop doing Stargazing camps simply because there are apps now that people can open and point at the sky. They could learn more about the night sky than a single person could teach them in one night. I have, in some sense, been rendered useless because the apps were free and I, like other living breathing humans with bills to pay, came at a cost. Ironically the Gentleman in question came from a wildlife background and could not see the irony in the very advice he dispensed, the Tigers and Birds he photographed could very well be pulled out in an app or worse, simply typed into the search box of any search engine following which; the need to travel to far flung locations could then be rendered inert nor does any reason remain to  swelter under the hot central Indian Sun waiting for a Tiger to show up.

In the years that have passed since the unsolicited comment, both wildlife tourism and Astro tourism in particular have taken off. Those who may have been the only players in the Market, now have to compete with each other at a high level to make sure we all have enough clients to keep the fires at home ablaze. Just having telescopes is not enough now, you must assume the role of a storyteller to make sure people are on board and on the journey with you. So in a way, the app thing did not work in the way it was envisioned. Certainly everyone uses an app now but the way to use it has changed.

The same is applicable for photography. When someone tells me that AI will kill photography, I am no longer sense any dread in that statement. AI has certainly helped photographers a lot in some cases and in terms of Astrophotography, some of the AI tools are literal cheat codes to producing  fantastic images. 

However, saying that simply purchasing an AI tool has a direct correlation with  making good images is the same as saying , “Oh wonderful photo, your camera must be excellent!” While for some, this is not offensive but to the photographer who has toiled to create the image, AI is another tool that he has used, to make the final product better.

A wildlife photographer does not necessarily go into the jungle to take the photograph of the Tiger but they go in because they love the experience of being in Nature, they enjoy fiddling with their cameras, they enjoy the thrill of seeing a Majestic creature walk towards them. In the same vein, an Astro photographer loves the thrill of the night, loves fiddling with different combinations of cameras, telescopes and is intrigued by the work of others who do better in the same budget or looks upon, with some measure of envy upon those to are fortunate to have either clear skies or lower light pollution levels or both.

AI will kill Photography in the same way that Photography killed Painting or rather, it didn't. Before Photography, Painters had a monopoly on expression. They alone could decide how a scene appeared. Their Artistic choice on the day revealed a place to a person sitting leagues away. There was always an element of the artist's will in the picture or rather simply said, the world was reliant upon artists to “Paint a picture” of a place. 

Now come the Photographers, who will unapologetically justify another adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” and while I'm sure a picture here does not etymologically refer to a photograph. I’m sure you will forgive me for taking the liberty where it is warranted and it certainly is here. 

Photography gave the world a different kind of artist, one not defined or limited by his abilities with a canvas or brush. One who could no longer be talked to or down about Color theory or why mixing the wrong type of colors would result in a repugnant creation. The early photographer dealt only with light and shadow, the intensity of it or the paucity thereof. The Photographer hence takes on the job of both, documenting at first and then using the light to represent a version of it, similar to the painter. I recommend the works of Ansel Adams to almost everyone who spares a thought about talking about photography and while I do not implicitly ask that you do, I must slightly nudge you in that direction if you wish to better understand the point that I just made.

It made an artist out of me, who could not draw better than the cavemen whose proud children we all are and from whom we evolved . However in terms of evolving a finer sense of brush and color control, alas my competency lies at the level of my ancestors. The camera has given an opportunity to showcase the world and the people around me in ways that has not only brought satisfaction to me but also if I may be afforded the term, brought joy to others. 

Does this mean then that the painters and sketchers have been revoked from their status as artists. Ask yourself this, when a painter paints on a canvas, do you feel you are seconds away from laughter and must remove yourself from this situation, so as not to insult the painter whom you think must be quite mad because a photograph could have been much simpler than taking the time out to come and paint a landscape?

I'm willing to take a bet on the opposite, you don't leave, you spare a moment, admire the painting and look at the painter, marveling at his creation or indeed calculating the hours it took to master this art. That's not the point. The advent of Photography while empowering Photographers, freed the painter from having to only conform to nature and therein explore other ideas of the human mind and psyche. Entirely new Genres of Expressionism and Existentialism emerged, as did the hugely thought inspiring genres of Cubism and Surrealism. I could go on but the point is that Painting evolved and such is both my prediction and hope for AI and photography. I don't think for a moment that AI will replace the photographer, in the same way that AI wasn't able to replace me as a storyteller who would take people into the dark unknown nooks and crannies of the rural landscape and illuminate the universe. 

AI may help, or we may in some short time realize that AI was never needed. In either case. It will continue to evolve and in time, if we are smart enough we may then enter forms of photography that are in some terms more freeing than what is thought of as conventional. I still resist calling some types of photography, photography. It may emerge from the fact that like most, I see the format as primarily documentational  in nature and changes to it make me feel that such forms lean more in the category of digital art rather than photography. I may have to change my views in the times to come but that's what is most fun while going through a time of turmoil in the Art. 

In either case, one must start somewhere and in the next issue we will discuss how to begin , the kind of gear you need and the other paraphernalia mostly associated with it

-Vikram Virulkar