10/16/2025
Yes, this is all REAL!
Looking at this beautiful session, I could not help but think of the AI craze right now. In the photography world, people are using AI to create entire worlds that simply don't exist.
Imagine for a moment, you have just lost your person. The one who raised you up. The one you turned to first every time your world cratered. The one who made you feel more loved than any other.
You start frantically searching through photos, boxes, and old albums for memories that you are terrified of losing. Looking for something tangible from this beautiful soul that was your everything.
What do you find? A world that doesn’t exist. A field of flowers that were never smelled, an ocean that was never swam in, a castle that never presented its history, a forest that was never walked. Stories that were never told. A life that was never lived.
Instead of photographing real moments in real places, the person responsible for capturing your life story (and believe me, it is a responsibility), opted to create an artificial world instead because it looked more compelling than how they could capture the real thing and may get a few more “likes” on social media.
Perhaps your person also has a camera roll full of images shot with filters to make him/her look more desirable in the online world. When you look at the wrinkles that have been erased, eyes that have been enlarged, a body that has been slimmed, and nose that has been narrowed, you will not see your person. You will not see all of the laugh lines from the moments of uncontrollable laughter you shared. You will not see the body that wrapped around you when you felt like you would surely die of heartbreak. You will not see the eyes that shined for you, so bright and so full of love. You will not see the lines of anguish etched into the forehead of your person. The kind of lines that remind us that we are not alone. They, too, have felt the great sting of a life fully lived and they wear it proudly to remind the rest of us that we can LIVE.
You would give anything to go back for one day or one hour, but you can’t. There isn’t a whiff of a real memory to hang on to.
It's tragic.
It is beyond tragic. We are so focused on creating even more of an artificial world, in lightening our load, in gaining more of a social media presence, we are losing our ability to appreciate the real, true, gritty, hard, imperfect, incredible, mysterious, awe-inspiring, beautiful life. The one and only life we get to live, right here and now.
Visit the forest. Run barefoot. Read the book. A real paper book. Smell the pages, gather your thoughts, and write your own dang paper. Think critically. You cannot do that when a machine is thinking on your behalf. Breath in the wild air. For the love of all things good in this world, let it fill your lungs. Plant the flowers and feed the bees. See the world. Go on an adventure.
Be BORED for a little while. Creativity lives there. I promise, you are capable of generating ideas of your own, creating your own beautiful art, and adding your own magnificent voice to the collective of humanity. You don't need AI to do that. You have it all in you.
Capture the memories. Real ones in real places. Go out and get bit by mosquitos. Discover beauty that makes your heart swell and your eyes fill with wonder. Brave the sharp winds. Let the sun warm your face. Gather with the ones you love more than anything. When your children ask about their childhood images, tell them the stories behind the memories. Tell them where you went, who you met, and how it felt. Tell them what it all means. These images are the map of your life. Make them count.
