Here are 10 cool iPhone photos I snapped during my flight on the way back from Las Vegas (much better than an in-flight movie experience).
When I boarded my plane from Las Vegas back to New York City after attending the NAB convention, I found a little surprise. As I sat down in my window seat, I noticed that the traditional LED entertainment screen built into the seat in front of me… was missing.
Sure, I understand that shorter flights may no longer offer this traditional amenity, but this was five-hour trip. Huh.
Instead, I read instructions on how I could stream free content from my phone using the plane’s Wi-Fi.
This is progress?
The Show Begins
So after liftoff, I turned my attention out the plane window and discovered the real show was just beginning.
It was a clear morning with just a few wispy clouds. From 30,000 feet up, I could see… the entire United States. (Well, not exactly, as we’d probably have to be in orbit for that kind of view. But it felt like I could see everything. Just not all at once.)
For the next few hours, I took in the beautiful shifting view, and it was way better than any movie I might stream on Netflix.
It’s not like people never look out their window during flights, but you really need perfect weather to maximize the opportunity. If you haven’t done this lately, I highly recommend you look out for the this experience the next time nature makes it available.
Put Your Phone’s Camera to Work
And it’s shockingly easy to snap some great photos with your phone. You just need to hold it close enough to the window to avoid in-cabin reflections.
Here of some of the photos I snapped with my iPhone 15 Pro Max along my journey home. The order is from west to east, beginning in Nevada and ending somewhere in the eastern half of the U.S. after it finally clouded over.
I recently snapped the photo on the top. I then went home and used generative AI to modify it to create the photo on the bottom. But I didn’t stop there. I continued to evolve it into a short video. The fascinating result is below.
Have you ever encountered a visual moment that you immediately felt compelled to capture with a photo? It happens to me all the time. Taking a walk on the street… hiking in the forest… or commuting to work. I just see it and say to myself, “Wow, that would be a great picture.”
I imagine you’ve experienced this too.
One Frame is All You Need
And whether you happen to be carrying your camera or can quickly pull out your smartphone, it’s often possible to capture the moment. But the visual opportunity usually lasts for just a few seconds, right? You might get off a couple shots, but then the opportunity has passed.
If you’re also attracted to the motion of the moment and you want to shoot a little video clip, that’s usually a much harder task, because there simply isn’t enough time.
That’s where GenAI video creation tools can really help. No, they can’t turn back or slow down time, allowing you the freedom to shoot that perfect video.
But GenAI can take your photo and then magically generate a few seconds of realistic action from your freeze frame.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
This faux reality is clearly not the same as recording the real deal.
But if you consider the potential of this amazing and disruptive AI video creation process as an art form, you can sidestep (for the moment) the ethical debate surrounding fake video use.
Today, we’re simply talking about using your very real photos as the creative foundation to generate video art. Think of it as a realistic-looking digital painting in motion.
And instead of having to start from scratch with just words and a series of complex prompts, your photo can instantly provide a ton of art direction for your scene. From there, you can focus more on creating the action in it.
Here’s an example of how I do this…
Start with One of Your Photos
Upload your photo to the GenAI platform of your choice. For today’s demonstration, I’m using Google Veo. I snapped this photo of a man flying a kite on the beach on a cool spring afternoon.
Animate your Photo
Then I asked Veo to bring it life.
Change the Person in your Photo
Next, I asked Nano Banana to change the man into a woman.
Create a Cinematic Video
Finally, I had Veo create a video from that new photo and add a tracking dolly move to the shot.
This cinematic motion added to the scene was especially impressive, because that would have otherwise required a video crew for the day with expensive gear to pull off.
I generated this video clip in about 30 seconds.
Impressive. Most impressive.
AI Video Creation Tip: Use a Start and End Image
Often, it’s easier to get what you’re looking for if you first upload what the first and last frame of your new video should look like (using two of your photos).
That will provide the guardrails for your Gen AI platform to appropriately fill in the middle. Otherwise, it might do anything it wants, creating entirely unwanted action. Even uploading the same photo as the first and last shot can help stabilize the output.
Perfect results are not guaranteed, but I’ve found it captivating to explore this process. Here are a few more examples based on my own photos.
Woman Sits on Church Steps in Barcelona
My original photo
GenAI video
Man and his Dog Walk to Waterfall
My original photo
GenAI video
This is Serious
So yes, this is really cool. But what’s my practical application for all this beyond showing off a parlor trick of sorts?
Well, clearly, this is all about the future of video creation. And GenAI video will only continue to become more realistic. Again, beyond the ethical questions surrounding this topic, there are massive implications that are already rewriting the rulebook for the entire video production industry.
I created this fictional NASA mission viewing room and AI generated people. But the center displays a very real moment. And it represents an important lesson I learned while watching the splashdown of Artemis II’s Orion capsule.
I spent Friday night glued to my TV watching NASA’s feed of Artemis II’s Orion capsule reentry and splashdown. I tuned in a half hour before Integrity reached the edge of Earth’s atmosphere and those six terrifying blackout minutes. Then, the multiple parachute deployments and splashdown! I stuck with the feed all the way till the two helicopters dropped off the four astronauts onto the flight deck of the retrieval ship.
My several-hour experience felt something like streaming a movie. As I got up from my couch and turned off my TV, I reflected on my Friday night flick.
One the one hand, it might be one of the more boring movies I’ve ever seen. There were long stretches where nothing really happened, and then the audio feed went entirely silent.
On the other, it was perhaps the most stunning and gripping event I’ve ever watched.
Because this was no movie. This was reality.
Houston, Will We Have a Problem?
This was real drama. A space capsule hurtling into the atmosphere at almost 25,000 mph. Will the heat shield hold? Will all the parachutes unfold? Sure, we heard optimistic audio commentary from mission control. But anyone could read the room and understand the clear risks.
Forget special effects… Did you see that real-time video shot from Integrity’s window as the scorching plasma ring began to envelop the ship. Whoa!
And that spotter plane’s unbelievable broadcast feed that followed Integrity plummeting downward from 100,000 feet with no net before the parachute phase began. Such a crazy, cool shot.
If I had walked into our family room at that moment, I would have certainly asked what sci-fi movie was playing and commented on how realistic the special effects looked.
Better than Any Movie
That’s so ironic, because our visual understanding of space travel for the past half century has been primarily informed by Hollywood. So, when I’m exposed to the real thing, it’s entirely jarring.
And let me tell you, reality can still run rings around Hollywood.
Sure, every shot may not be as ‘cinematic.’ Some of the imagery was shaky and blurry. It’s raw. It’s real. And then other shots locked in perfectly to blow you away.
That chopper shot that showed the first helicopter returning the astronauts… It was a silky-smooth tracking shot over the water at golden hour… better than any movie.
Then, there was the Navy ship’s robotic camera coverage that documented the helicopters touching down onto the ship’s deck… Yes, it was a little jerky, but also stunning.
Is This a Rerun?
You may feel like you’ve seen this all before, but you haven’t… not in real time. It’s one thing to watch a History Channel documentary on the space race. It’s entirely another experience not to know how the Artemis 2 mission ends.
And if you’ve only been peripherally paying attention to an admittedly not so compelling NASA program since the Space Shuttles, you might be blurring facts with fiction.
Don’t we already have a moonbase? No, that’s from “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
How about Mars? No. Except for some robot rovers and an unlikely little helicopter, all the imagery you might recall is from Hollywood.
Even if you’ve got your facts straight, you may not feel the realty. So, spending a little time watching reality offers an important reminder that space travel is difficult and dangerous… and the real deal is always remarkable.
Powerful Storytelling
Nobody has experienced a manned Moon mission since 1972 and Apollo 17. And the last act is always a doozy.
This little capsule-turned-into-a-fireball thing as it races through the atmosphere felt very “Project Hail Mary” to me.
I know NASA knows what it’s doing, and we’ve returned from the Moon before, but NASA has clearly evolved its storytelling game by simply sharing more of the visceral experience with viewers.
I think that has a lot to do with better camera tech. (More powerful lenses and advanced transmission technologies.) But it also demonstrates NASA’s commitment to better share its own story.
Class Dismissed… For Now
So, I watched each key moment as our Artemis II astronauts traveled from outer space to their big splashdown in the Pacific. And then I watched the Navy go to work. So impressive.
I cannot think of a better way to spend a Friday night. Sure, anyone can watch the 30-second recap the next morning. But it’s not the same. I got the full experience… the complete lesson on how it’s done. (And I highly recommend it.)
At Home with Tech 