I’ve spent my entire career in film and advertising. Making images. Obsessing over craft. Arguing about lenses. Pretending a 1% color shift matters (it does!).

AI is… a little intimidating.

Not in a doomsday way. (Yet. We’ve all seen Terminator.)
More in a “cool cool cool… I should probably understand this before my kids do” kind of way.

I don’t have answers. But after a career built on storytelling, I do feel a responsibility to lean in. So I decided to experiment using the one dataset I actually trust: memories with my kids. Moments I’d be genuinely upset to lose. If AI is shaped by what you feed it, that felt like a good place to start.

Did it create something new?
Did it just remix my feelings back at me?
Still unclear.

I brought my background in cameras, lensing, composition, and direction into the prompts—pushing for human emotion, imperfection, and restraint. What surprised me most was how familiar the process felt. It slowed me down. Made me notice motion, texture, and the messy parts of memory I usually rush past while chasing the next thing.

And I’ll admit it—I had fun.
Slightly confusing. Slightly uncomfortable.
But fun.

I’m not here with conclusions. I’m here learning in public, asking better questions, and trying to stay curious. After all these years of making images, that still feels like the job.