The Lens, The Brush, and the Algorithm

May 13

There was a time not to long ago when creativity was considered untouchable too human, too spontaneous, too emotionally rich to ever be replicated by a machine. Creativity was our masterpiece, a uniquely human spark in the dark, lighting up everything from poetry to painting, from music to photography.

But here we are.

Artificial Intelligence, particularly generative AI, is no longer science fiction. It's in our apps, in our workflows, and dare I say it in our art. It’s reshaping what it means to create. And for those of us in visual storytelling photographers, designers, filmmakers there’s a question that now lurks in every conversation: Is AI a threat to creative roles, or a tool that unlocks even more imaginative possibilities? Spoiler Alert: I lean toward the latter.

Growing up, I was obsessed with anime. I’d watch in awe, imagining if I could ever bring Nairobi to life in that soft, pastel-colored, whimsical style. But there was one small problem—I lacked the patience to draw it.

Fast forward to today: I revisited some of my street photography from Nairobi and ran them through an AI tool that transforms photos into anime-style art. What came out was... magic. It wasn’t just a filter. It was a reimagination. AI helped me do something I had long dreamed of, without replacing me. The soul was still mine. The vision, still mine. But the execution? That was a collaboration—with a machine.

Here’s the thing: AI isn’t here to steal our jobs. It’s here to do the boring stuff. It drafts, it suggests, it automates. It gives us back the time to be human again to focus on storytelling, emotion, mood, originality.

Think of AI as your behind-the-scenes editor, your brainstorming buddy, or your post-processing assistant that never sleeps. It’s not the artist, but the brush. And when used wisely, it can help you paint more vividly than ever before.

What this means for us (yes, you too) is that the creative future isn’t man vs machine. It’s man with machine, but that means you have to adapt:

Use AI. Play, experiment, create. You can’t master what you don’t use.
Learn prompt engineering. Talking to AI effectively is the new Photoshop skill. The better you prompt, the better the result.
Structure your ideas. Codify your creativity. The value of knowledge isn’t just in having it but in organizing and sharing it across platforms, teams, even generations.
Expect disruption. AI might just be the printing press of our age, and like in 1439, revolutions don’t come quietly.

So, the question is, will You Still Be You? Absolutely, but you’ll be you with superpowers a creative who leverages tools, understands the shift, and rides the wave rather than resisting the tide. Photography is about capturing the world through your lens. AI doesn’t take away the eye. It enhances the vision. So go ahead dream bigger, shoot bolder, and imagine your work not just as a product of today, but a glimpse into the creative future we’re all helping to shape.