You don’t need a $1,400 camera and a $2,000 lens to take a picture like this. You don’t even need a camera at all. You don’t need any photographic knowledge, skills, and experience either. You don’t even need to go outside. It took me less than 30 seconds to create this image on my computer.

Cropped screen capture from Photoshop.

In Photoshop I went to the Contextual Task Bar and clicked “Generate Image”. I was asked what I wanted to create. In the prompt box I typed, “bald eagle, wings spread full moon”, then I clicked “Generate”. I was given three choices and picked the one on the left, the eagle flying in front of the moon. It took less than 30 seconds and there was my image.

I am guessing the eagle comes from some kind of AI content that is a composite of eagle photos created by actual photographers that had the talent to photograph an eagle in flight. Moon images are available everywhere and not hard to come by. AI just reached into its data banks and put it all together for me.

Do I have a great sense of accomplishment for creating this image? No. Of course not! It took minimal time and no talent (other than clicking and typing in Photoshop) to create this image. No satisfaction. No failed attempts. No trudging around looking day after day with no eagle in sight. No memory of the moment when it all came together and I finally captured a good eagle image. There are images I created that I am proud of. This is not one of them.

If I was a digital content creator, it would be different. If my supervisor said “I need an eagle in front of a full moon for an advertisement”, I would be happy to be done in 30 seconds.

Bald eagle flying near a nest in Southern Iowa.

This image is different!  I am a photographer.  I want to go out and create images that use my skills. I want the satisfaction of being “out there”. Of holding the camera, choosing the settings, zooming the lens, and waiting for the right moment in just the right light. Of having to come back again and again until it all comes together. I want to look at an image and say to myself, “I did that!”  This image is an example. This was several weeks in the making before it all happened. One eagle was in the nest. This one was sitting in a nearby tree with bald white clouds behind it. Not pretty. But it took off and circled the area. I caught it with blue sky behind it! This is why I am a photographer!

Photo Data: Canon 7D Mark II. Canon EF- 100-400mm lens at 400mm. f/11, 1/800 second, ISO 400.