02-When a Useful Pattern Becomes a Formula

I have been working with AI to develop titles and captions for the photographs in The Work. 

The photograph comes first. The words should give someone another reason to look, while leaving room for something I may never have considered. One recent exchange made me pay closer attention to the suggestions themselves.

Over several sessions, titles kept returning to time, direction, continuation, and uncertainty. There was often something unfinished: where something might go, how long a moment might last, or what could happen next.

That can be useful. “For Now” felt right for a photograph of weather appearing to move in from the ocean, with water gently lapping against the shore. The title left a question available without telling the viewer what that question should be.

But when we moved to another photograph, suggestions such as “Beyond Here,” “Regardless,” and “It Goes On” began to feel familiar in a different way. They used different words, but much of their work was the same. I asked whether a pattern was developing in the titles.

We looked back at earlier examples and discussed the distinction between a recognizable voice and repetitive suggestions. My preference for brief, suggestive language was useful guidance. The suggestions had become too concentrated on a few ways of providing that openness.

I am comfortable reusing a title when it fits. Similar language can belong naturally to the work. What concerned me here was how readily the same kind of suggestion could move from one photograph to another. Was it responding closely enough to this particular image?

The photograph we were working on showed fast-moving water cascading over several boulders. The water level had made me stop. I wanted to create a moody, forceful image.

After reopening the title, AI suggested “Water’s Weight.” There was a reason for it: the volume of water and the substantial rocks gave the flow a physical presence. But I felt the title reinforced what the photograph already showed, and said so.

The Argument

​What changes after the water recedes?​
​

We continued with “The Argument,” then explored “The Conversation.” That gave me another way to look at the water and rocks together.

The boulders divided and redirected the flow. The water made their shapes and placement apparent. I began looking at the relationship as an exchange, and wondering about conditions outside the moment the photograph showed.

How high had the water been?

What changes after the water recedes?