Snapping a series of iconic skyline pictures around Manhattan became more than a photography exercise. It reminded me about my own identity.
When I was a boy growing up in New York City, I remember taking the Circle Line cruise around Manhattan with my mother. I was delighted by the incredible views of the iconic skyline, but it was a blip in my larger experience living in the Big Apple.
Like many New Yorkers, doing touristy activities was usually something left for… tourists.
A Tourist Comes Home
Today I find that ironic and even a bit sad. Even though I live in Connecticut today, I still commute into the city. So, I’ve tried to pay a little more attention to this beautiful metropolis that I permanently identify with and am always connected to.
I’ve recently had a couple opportunities to spend time on the water around Manhattan at dusk. And I was excited to see what photos I could capture from the Hudson and East Rivers as the sun set and the skyline lit up.
The Power of iPhone and Adobe Lightroom
I used my iPhone 15 Pro Max to capture these shots. Even in the dark, its software-driven computational photography was able to capture decent images and brighten up the sky and darker regions. It’s actually quite impressive.
Then, I pushed the limits of these images even further using the power of Adobe Lightroom. While the focus of all these shots is all about the Manhattan skyline and bridges, the river and sky occupy half the frame. So, I made the creative choice to make these portions pop a little more than reality offered me.
My Origin Story
So yes, I’m straddling the line a bit between photographer and digital painter. But I don’t think it’s a problem to enhance the glow of the city I love and often define myself by.
It simply represents how I feel about this complex place. And this little photography exercise warmly reminded me that I am forever part of it.
My father used to say New York City is the greatest city in the world. While I know that’s a bit arrogant and certainly invites discussion, you can’t debate the pride that most New Yorkers feel about their hometown.
It is my origin story, and I continue to circle it.
There is an upside to this year’s brutal, wicked-cold winter. Simply that it’s coming to an end. And now it’s time to start looking for spring.
Yes, there are colder places on this planet with more extreme winter conditions right now. But let me just say as I don my weatherman’s hat from the greater New York City area… it’s been a brutal winter.
Blizzard. Ice. Single-digit temperatures. Yeah, lots of fun.
I like to say it’s been “wicked cold.”
That line harkens back to a past life when I lived up in the Boston area and just about every winter was brutal. “Wicked cold” was simply… winter.
But I’ve softened considerably across years of experiencing coastal Connecticut’s gentler winters. And now, it’s been something of a rude (re)awakening.
I will say, however, that shoveling all the snow hasn’t been quite as difficult. Why is that? Well, we’ve got the power of a high school sophomore on our team. And that’s made a huge difference. #TeamLester #grateful.
Power Up
I’m also grateful that we haven’t lost power across these winter storms. Sure, I charge everything up, including my portable power banks. But… as we all know, without a full generator back-up system, portable power banks will only cover you for so long.
Plus, I know we’ve got an exit strategy. #thankstofriends
Wicked Fun
But here’s the really good news. Wicked cold doesn’t necessarily have to mean wicked bad. Winter can be wicked fun.
Plus, I’ll always take the bite of brisk over summer humidity.
A fire in the winter fireplace is always a special experience.
And I’ve got admit, there’s a certain satisfaction that comes with surviving a certain amount of adversity.
And suddenly, spring is right around the corner.
Hello Spring?
Yes, it’s early, but I hope we’re close to that tipping point. Not to predict, but I see early signs beneath the retreating snow line.
And to celebrate this pending seasonal shift, I present to you yet another Barrett poem.*
Ode to the Fading Winter
My weatherman’s hat is placed on my head, To report on single digits I dread. From cold New Yorks streets to the Norwalk shore, It’s wicked cold, like Boston days of yore. Though I’ve softened in the years in between, This brutal frost is a rude, chilly scene.
The shovel goes fast, I’m happy to say, With my high schooler’s strength to lead the way. Go #TeamLester! We have strength in the snow, Using three shovels and stacked in a row. With an exit plan and friends close at hand, We’re weathering storms across frozen land.
But wicked cold days can be wicked fun, More than humidity and summer sun. Fire in the hearth and pride in the soul, When you’ve survived the freeze and reached your goal. The struggle stings, but the win is so sweet, As we clear ice and the slush on the street.
Now snow retreats and the sun starts to climb, We’ve reached the tipping point, it’s about time! The signs of the green are starting to show, Peeking from patches of melting white snow. Goodbye to the ice and winter’s sharp sting, I’m ready to say a “Hello” to spring.
*Editor’s note: I prompted the videos and structure of this poem into existence using a little GenAI assistance via Google Gemini and Flow. Thank you! (My ice photos are still the real deal.)
Using generative AI to create images from your life in cartoon form is one way to reflect the essence of a memory, especially when you don’t have a photo.
I’ve always been a bit obsessed with capturing family photos to document our story. And I often refer to my photo library as the official record of our lives. More than just the images themselves, the metadata of the ‘where’ and ‘when’ is quite useful.
But the photos we collect may not always live up to the memories we hold onto.
And this limitation often crops up for me when I sit down to design and print a photo collage card. Sometimes the pictures from yesteryear just aren’t there.
So, I’ve just tried an experiment…
Text-To-Photo Prompts
I decided to generate new images for a photo collage from my memories. No, this is not science fiction. Thanks to the magic of generative AI, I scanned through my memories and turned a few into photos.
How? Simply through some simple AI text-to-photo prompting.
I didn’t try to create photo-real images. Instead, I decided to visualize my past in cartoon form… as far away from reality as you can get. That way, it’s just the essence of a memory that’s represented. That’s all I wanted.
4 Steps to Bring the Past Back to (Cartoon) Life
So yes, I sat down at my computer and created cartoon scenes from my life to weave into a photo collage.
Here’s how:
Design your character prototypes. You can type in the physical characteristics or use a photo as a reference. A partial similarity is all you need to get to. Remember, it’s just a cartoon. I’m going for fun here… not accuracy.
Once you’ve got your character blueprints, upload them as your subjects.
Then simply type in a couple sentences from your memory as your prompt.
If you happen to have an actual photo from the location of your memory, you can also upload that as part of the ‘scene.’
I found this process remarkably easy and successfully generated a variety of fun cartoon scenes from my life to stitch together into a unique photo-collage card.
I used Google Whisk for this first experiment, but there are many other generative AI platforms to use, including Adobe Firefly.
Cartoon Barrett
Let me share a few examples how this all works. First, here’s cartoon Barrett I created.
This is the blueprint.
Then I got to work reviewing some of my recent trips and thought about a few key moments that weren’t photographed.
I accompanied a group of hikers for this challenging trek, but I was a real slow poke. After a couple hours, I was pulling up the rear. Near the top, I realized I had fallen so far behind, there wasn’t a soul in sight. And the trail through the rocky surface had disappeared. Then, there were a few minutes when I was totally alone… and effectively lost.
I’m on a mountain, next to a glacier, and it’s cold. Now what?
My heart pumped harder. I had no choice but to keep moving. Fortunately, I walked in the correct direction and soon spotted the lead from our group (who was looking for me).
So, my ‘moment’ was really just for a moment. Still, I hold onto this vivid memory.
Crashing a New Orleans Parade
During our 2022 vacation to New Orleans, I captured some great street photos. But there was this one amazing scene I walked through that I just couldn’t get a shot from. It all happened too fast.
We were strolling through the French Quarter, turned a corner to cross a street and crashed into one of those glorious small parades with music and dancing down the avenue. I was literally in the middle of it all, and before I knew it, they were gone.
The lingering memory feels something like this…
The space was much tighter as everyone swarmed around me, but this cartoon does a good job capturing my feeling.
This represents the great photo in New Orleans I never snapped.
A Wild Turkey Flew into My Car
One of the freakiest driving experiences I ever had was during a spring road trip with my family. I was driving through the countryside, and a wild turkey flew into our car.
Thankfully, it wasn’t a direct impact. As I tried to veer away, the turkey clipped the passenger’s window and tore off the side mirror. Fortunately, we were all fine (not sure about the turkey).
This is certainly not a moment you’d expect to get a photo from. This representation does plenty justice to the absurdity of it all.
Camera Overboard?
The truth is none of these memories could really have accompanying photos.
The fact that I can now quickly generate images (however silly) with a few clicks to reflect my experience is quite powerful.
And sometimes, it’s the story behind the story. Like the time I worried I would lose my camera overboard on our cruise while I shot a few timelapses.
This never happened. It’s simply a memory of how I felt. (Now, we’re drilling deep into my head.)
A New Way to Tell Your Story
Whether reconstructing past moments or simply visualizing old feelings, this AI-fueled image creation process is just another way AI is empowering us with new artistic and storytelling skills.
At Home with Tech 