Paul M Alsop

Artificial Intelligence - I've been using AI image generation software for only the last month. AI image creation has been around for decades, however, use of simple word-based user interfaces have really ramped up over the past 12 months.

This is one of my most favourite portraits ever - I've posted it before, its 'the bee man' by Richard Avedon.

For my first foray into AI art (and probably my last publically), I used the image of The Bee Man as a base image to creat the next two images.
The text prompts were:
- :this image: in a cafe with a cup of coffee
- :this image: as a manga character
- :this image: in the style of the simpsons, homer simpson, monochrome, sitting in a car

Do these new re-imagined images belong to me now, as I created them with my brain and text prompts input, (I drew inspiraiton from the original image, but they are removed from the original image as to not be an exact copy)? Do they belong to the program I created them with? Do they belong to artificial intellegence? Or do they still belong to Richard Avedon, the original creator? Do we even care!

What you wanna be.

This is the SECOND in a mini series of portraits "What you Wanna Be"

The answer was "Super CC!" - this was a super hero, she made up two years ago and had been keen to build a story up around the character".

For context to the portrait, I asked her to write a short story involving Super CC.

After choosing her own costume and make-up, I was allowed 'one portrait'.

One chance, one image. The End ..... (or is it? )

Disclaimer: To this day, I still don't know what CC stands for, but the nerd in me hopes it is 'carbon copy'.

#1851

What you wanna be.

Asking a child to invest in a portrait they are not interested in can be challenging for both the child and the photographer. You have your creative ideas, they just want to be somewhere else.
With the wet plate portrait process, it takes alot of time and effort to get often only one image.

Instead of telling the children how I want them to be, I ask a simple question - "what you wanna be?"

This is the FIRST in a mini series of portraits "What you Wanna Be"

The answer for these first portraits was "Scribble Boy! - scribble all over my face, then take a photo".

For the words that were to be scribbled, I asked the boy to blurt out what ever words came into his head over a timed period of 1 minute - the results were ..... interesting!

Once he had a list of words, we prioritised the ones he wanted to fit on his face (limited space).
After applying the words to his face, I asked him - "how would scribble boy sit for a portrait?"

The results were pretty cool, he gave me two looks. Two chance, two images. For those with a keen eye, note the writing is back to front. This is a product of the process (tintypes are always back to front).

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4x5 tintype

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4x5 tintype

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This 3 year old was super enthusiastic for a portrait, she even dressed herself!
4x5 tintype

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# alsop #1851

How it was lit.

This is a portrait of Colin, made in a collaboration with

This is a series of 'how it was lit'.

The final portraits were made with a large format camera, and the wet plate collodion process from 1851. They are a one of a kind and one of the most archival photographic processes to ever have been developed.

There is a portrait, with a BTS and a lighting diagram

Lighting power provided by Broncolor

Lighting modification provided by chimeralighting , broncolor and Mola_softlights

BTS 📷

How it was lit.

This is a portrait of Veronica made in a collaboration with

This is a series of 'how it was lit'.

The final portraits were made with a large format camera, and the wet plate collodion process from 1851. They are a one of a kind and one of the most archival photographic processes to ever have been developed.
There is a portrait, with a BTS and a lighting diagram

Lighting power provided by Broncolor
Lighting modification provided by chimeralighting , broncolor and Mola_softlights
BTS 📷

How it was lit.

These two portrats were made of Bino.
These portraits were a collaboration with

This is a series of 'how it was lit'.

The final portraits were made with a large format camera, and the wet plate collodion process from 1851. They are a one of a kind and one of the most archival photographic processes to ever have been developed.

There is a portrait, with a BTS and a lighting diagram

Lighting power provided by Broncolor Lighting modification provided by chimeralighting , broncolor and Mola_softlights

BTS 📷

How it was lit.

A portrait of Amanda.


This is a series of 'how it was lit'.
The final portrait was made with a large format camera, and the wet plate collodion process from 1851. The are a one of a kind and one of the most archival photographic processes to ever have been developed.

There is a portrait, with a BTS and a lighting diagram. These portraits were a collaboration with at

Lighting power provided by
Lighting modification provided by , and

BTS 📷

This is my container darkroom being lifted out of its tight suburban home to a new more rural location.

Lots of fingernail biting as the container was lifted high in the sky and loaded onto a trailer. This is our 3rd house in 6 years, and I wonder why my creativity has been stifled for a similar time.
I've been doing lots of wood work and DIY projects in the new place.

Last night I jacked the shed level, and supplied it with power and water, so not long now before I can once again say ...... "let's cook"