AFFINITY PHOTO 2 / May 12, 2024 by Andy Lightfoot

At the end of March I needed to process a bunch of photos I’d taken on a short trip to Kyoto, so I fired up my four year-old copy of Capture One Pro, my software of choice, and….crap, it didn’t work! Then I realised that the version I had wasn’t compatible with the new Mac I bought last November.

No problem, I thought, and hopped over to the Capture One website to see - what? $330 for a licence for the latest version?? (This is even worse than it seems, given the current weak exchange rate for the Japanese yen, the currency I use). Of course, they want to push you towards a subscription, which is maybe fine for a professional photographer, but for me, no thanks. The subscription was $120 a year. I don’t think so.

What to do? Then I remembered Affinity Photo 2, a PhotoShop alternative that I sometimes used for additional work on my pics. Why not update that to the newest version and just use that? For $45 it’s a bargain, with free updates and no fucking subscriptions!!

So I got it and dived in to the rather steep learning curve. The usual thing - lots of trial and error, use of great and not-so-great YouTube tutorials, some features better than Capture One Pro, some worse.

Actually, I’ve rather enjoyed learning the intricacies of Affinity Photo 2 - it’s like solving a difficult jigsaw puzzle, albeit one in which a couple of fairly important pieces are missing. It’s is not perfect, but the price certainly was.

And so I’ve just got used to it and can make reasonably good edits of my photos and then suddenly - would you believe it - Affinity has been bought up by some larger corporation whose software has - yep - a subscription model!! FFS.

The buyer quickly releases a statement to reassure existing Affinity users, mostly refugees from the pricey subscription-only Adobe Photoshop, to the effect that there will always be a non-subscription version available (translation - we’ll introduce a subscription model and make the individual licence fee so ludicrously expensive you will have to go the subscription route in the end - just like Capture One Pro, Adobe and all the greedy corporations out there).

Very annoying, but I should be safe for at least a couple of years before I’m forced into finding and learning yet another photo editing software that isn’t a complete rip-off.

A.I. ALBUM ART / March 6, 2024 by Andy Lightfoot

I released a new single a couple of days ago, and only after I’d uploaded it to the distributor did I realise that the artwork was crap.

As a photographer, I have a large archive of pictures that I can draw upon for designing album covers, but I was in a hurry this time, and the photo I’d chosen wasn’t the best, and the colour editing I’d done didn’t improve things. I quickly lo went to the distributor’s website and found that it is possible to upload new artwork, even after release, so I had a chance to create a replacement.

It was then that I suddenly thought of A.I. Last year I’d played around with a site that could produce pretty impressive images from text prompts and I’d thought that this might be the way to go in the future, but at that time the resolution offered wasn’t high enough to make it possible.

Would it be feasible now? I found Google’s ImageFX, and discovered that their pictures are both free and of a good enough quality for my needs.

A few quick experiments and I was totally blown away with the results. The images are staggering, with a wide range of stylistic choices available. And with that, I’ve changed over to A.I. for the album covers of my future music releases.

The pictures on this page were all quickly generated with just a simple sentence describing the scene I wanted. It’s both wonderful and also scary in its implications.

I mean, let’s be honest, the game is up for graphic artists, illustrators, designers and photographers. Thank Dog that I’m just a hobbyist and I don’t mind only getting a few pennies from my photo and music sales. Imagine if you have to earn a living from this!

In terms of images, A.I. is already good enough for many commercial needs. Video is on the way. Music isn’t there yet, as it can only come up with some pretty poor elevator muzak at the moment, but it won’t be long.

Universal Basic Income is really going to be needed in the not very distant future if things continue developing at this pace on the articificial intelligence front.

SUNSET SNAP / January 7, 2024 by Andy Lightfoot

My daily walk consists of a number of routes around the suburb of Hiroshima I live in, but my favourite one at the moment is the 8km stroll along the Senogawa river.

This place is just teaming with birds, despite being sandwiched between a train line and a busy highway. There are huge grey herons, loads of egrets, a few cormorants, a lot of ducks of varying persuasion, crows, buzzards, wagtails, sparrows and two very rare species - sparrowhawks (only seen them twice) and the glorious kingfisher, a couple of whom I sometimes glimpse going about their business. Today was one of those days.

Urban and suburban Japan can be very ugly, but I’m really fond of this particular area and all the wildlife that coexists with the concrete and cables.

KYOTO #7 / October 29, 2023 by Andy Lightfoot

The final temple of the day was Chishaku-in, north of Sennyuji.

Although I’ve visited Kyoto at least twenty times (probably more), it is a testament to the richness of the city that I can still easily find temples that I haven’t visited before, Chishaku-in being an example.

The temple consisted of an ornate Japanese garden (not pictured), and a large colourful main hall with very friendly and helpful staff.

KYOTO #6 / October 22, 2023 by Andy Lightfoot

A few more photos from Sennyuji Temple, a secret gem where you’re sure to dodge the noisy masses…

KYOTO #5 / October 21, 2023 by Andy Lightfoot

A few more pics from Kyoto’s superb Tofukuji Temple, and then some from nearby Sennyuji Temple, a hidden gem that is well off the normal touristic itinerary despite its splendid appearance. Taken on 30th September.

The map below shows my walking route from the west over the river to first Tofukuji, then continuing on to Sennyuji.

Tofukuji (東福寺) is affiliated with the Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism and was founded in the thirtheenth century. The oldest structures date from the fifteenth century.

Sennyuji (泉涌寺) was founded in the ninth century and serves as a mausoleum for a number of Emperors.

KYOTO #4 / October 14, 2023 by Andy Lightfoot

On the morning of Saturday 30th September I left my hotel and headed eastwards to visit my favourite Kyoto temple, Tofukuji. What makes this place special are not only the impressive large buildings but also the extensive grounds full of maple trees, and no less than two sub temples with raked stone gardens. In addition, it’s somehow off the main tourist itineraries, so you’re sure to get some tranquility and repose as you sit on the veranda contemplating the scene.