Carson Pagnac

Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tiptoe if you must, but take the step.

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

Everybody has a happy ending. If you’re not happy, it’s not the end 💫

[Vincent Ledvina @Vincent_Ledvina]

We need to address the problem of AI-generated aurora art being passed as real photos. I have nothing against AI artists or AI-generated art itself, but countless profiles (especially on Facebook), post AI-generated content under the guise that they were captured with a camera. Even some accredited photographers and artists purposefully leave out disclosures to trick viewers.

These posts often garner thousands of likes and millions of impressions. Most accounts are monetized to capitalize off this. There are countless profiles on Facebook that sell jewelry and other apparel. They spam their product links in every viral post.

Here is one such account: North Light, which not only pumps out AI auroras but also is known to steal photographers' work https://t.co/2a5KTZF9dR you can see product links everywhere.

These accounts are an insult to photographers like myself who spend thousands of dollars on camera equipment, cold weather clothes, and survival gear, hundreds of hours hiking, freezing our as*es off waiting for a timelapse or the right aurora to appear, and countless amounts of time editing something just right.

You might say, "Vince, look at those photos, they are obviously AI! We don't need to put a disclosure in our bios or captions because they'll know just by looking at the picture."
No, you are very wrong. Over the past week, I have polled my Instagram audience of 200,000+ followers asking them if they were able to recognize an AI aurora picture I shared. 30% said they had no idea it was an AI photo.
Furthermore, look at the comment section on any viral AI post on Facebook. There are usually thousands of comments such as "Where can I see this?" "I need to see this before I die." "Share location please." "The aurora is beautiful!" "God's work," etc. etc. These comments point to the fact that many people who engage with AI photos genuinely think it is reality. Accounts posting AI photos without disclosures are PROFITING off of the naivete of the general public.

This is a major problem. Promoting a false reality of nature HARMS aurora photographers and HARMS the experience of seeing the aurora. Already in this community we have to combat the fact that cameras enhance auroras beyond what the human eye can detect. Now, we have to deal with AI artists spreading (either voluntarily or involuntarily) false hope that the aurora can appear in unrealistic ways (such as a full rainbow across the sky, perfect swirls, uniformly purple arcs, etc.).

This post is just meant as a place to dump my thoughts. Over the next week or two, I will be forming a more concrete guide and commentary on how to spot aurora images generated with AI. It is important we educate and inform instead of complain without actually doing anything. And the issues with AI auroras spreads into other genres of landscape photography as well. This is an issue we need to address ASAP before the question of "What is really real?" can only be answered by photographers. When the general public can't tell the difference between an AI photo and a real photo, it is a problem.

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@itsjustkaitlinn Girl get your game on, go play 💃

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@itsjustkaitlinn I mean it should be the way you like it so you never get bored

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

my toxic trait is thinking I have the same range as ariana grande when I’m alone in the car

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@allysonn_k I feel that it mean the posts were emma and julia

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

some actions make me laugh so much 😂

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@victoria_rodri_ moon, bikini, what I feel like, what I’m sick of seeing, what I wish I was in right now, sparkle, what I wish I was under, cheers bestie, cupcakes, pancakes, my mind, chick, sailboat, volleyball, birthday, bear, dancing queen - young and sweet only seventeennnnn

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

I should just dm this to some people 🥱

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@gabbysupton it’s giving meeee ✨amber ✨

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

scrolling back … not knowing where things went wrong hurts so much 😞

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@victoria_rodri_ @NoahSchnacky God was preparing and had his hand over Nashville all day yesterday 🙌🏻

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

My personality is who I am as a person.

My attitude completely depends on you.

Don’t confuse the two.
-SG

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

mood for today:

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@NoahSchnacky We had to make sure you ended your tour with the best show 😜

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@BruOnTheRadio @CircleNetflix @netflix AHHHHH so excited!!

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@jesseleesoffer Happy Birthday! 🎉

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@allysonn_k dang my spam texts today were about a vacuum

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@annaxsitar LITERALLY in the exact same predicament 😂

[Carson Pagnac @CarsonPagnac]

@Carson-Pagnac
#VenmoMe

[Venmo @Venmo]

It’s 2/22/22!! A once-in-a-lifetime date when anything could happen. 🤑We’re giving out $10K, so RT with your Venmo handle & you might win $222. #VenmoMe

Must follow @Venmo. No purch nec. Ends 2/22. US only, 18+. Venmo acct req’d. Rules: https://t.co/g4KLdGjvpV

[Venmo @Venmo]

It’s 2/22/22!! A once-in-a-lifetime date when anything could happen. 🤑We’re giving out $10K, so RT with your Venmo handle & you might win $222. #VenmoMe

Must follow @Venmo. No purch nec. Ends 2/22. US only, 18+. Venmo acct req’d. Rules: https://t.co/g4KLdGjvpV