Photography in the Age of Synthetic Imaging, with Fred Ritchin

B&H Photography Podcast

Where does the medium of photography stand in an era where the latest mantra encourages people to “Skip the Photo Shoot?”

How can a viewer continue to trust photographs as evidence in a marketplace where AI is touted as a “revolution,” and “the new digital camera” that we need to embrace?

And what methods can a photographer use today to be considered a credible witness with a transparent code of ethics?

These are just a few of the points raised in our discussion with renowned writer, photo editor, and educator Fred Ritchin. For more than forty years, Ritchin has kept tabs on the progressive shift from using a camera to record the visible as truth to getting the world to look the way we want it to look.

Join us, as we wade through the swampy terrain separating photographic fact from synthetic creation, as part of a wider series tracing the effects of AI on today’s creative community.

Bonus invite: In preparation for an upcoming discussion between visual artists and AI instigators Boris Eldagsen and Miles Astray, we’re soliciting listener questions. To get your chance for an on-air shout out, please post a question for our guests to the comments section below or email it to: [e-mail].

Guest: Fred Ritchin

Top shot: Synthetic image, not a photograph, generated by the artificial intelligence system DALL-E, in response to the text prompt by Fred Ritchin, “An iconic photograph from the year 1945,” 2023.

For more information on our guest and the gear he uses, see: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/podcasts/photography/photography-in-the-age-of-synthetic-imaging-with-fred-ritchin

Stay Connected:

Fred Ritchin Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Ritchin

Fred Ritchin bio from ICP: https://www.icp.org/users/fredritchin

Four Corners Project: https://fourcornersproject.org/

The Fifth Corner https://thefifthcorner.org/

Writing with Light Campaign: https://wwlight.org/

The Synthetic Eye book: https://wwnorton.com/books/9780500297391