The eye behind the lens still matters

Last week, many of us marked World Photography Day. For me, it was not just a date on the calendar but a moment to pause and reflect on a journey that began in 2008, when I first borrowed my brother’s DSLR camera. Since then, I’ve carried my lens through rocket launches, landslides, riots, droughts and cricket matches. My photographs have documented both the extraordinary and everyday life. And in the 11 years, one thing has stood firm – no matter how much the tools change, the essence of photography and the pursuit of truth remain.

I often look at works of the masters who composed their frames on analogue cameras without the luxury of previews or instant reviews. Their work was pure, honest, and without filters. Each frame was precious, composed with thought and patience because film was limited. I missed being part of that era. Much later, a family friend entrusted me with a Rolleiflex, a 120mm German box camera with just 12 frames per roll. Every shot demanded patience. I had to manually set the aperture and shutter speed based on the lighting condition, carefully focus the image through the inverted reflection bouncing from a mirror and finally press the delicate shutter button. Then came the long wait for film developing, relying on a few experts left in the city -- and then anxiously waiting for final results, hoping all 12 frames froze a moment.

Cut to today. A couple of months ago, we had a story on dowry deaths, but there were no photographs to go with them. I turned to AI as suggested by the editor. It was not the first time. Back in 2023, for a story on digital scams using artificial voices, I generated an AI image. That became perhaps the first AI photograph to be published on the front page in DH’s long history. However, this time the tool was faster, sharper and frighteningly realistic. Once again, the AI-generated image made it to page one.

This shift is not just about tools but about trust. In April 2023, Berlin-based photo and video artist Boris Eldagsen shook the photography world when he won the Sony World Photography Award. He refused the prize, calling himself a "cheeky monkey" entry, as his submission was an AI-generated image. The incident sparked debates in photography circles and exposed the fear many of us share: if AI can create award-winning images, what happens to the craft we have dedicated our lives to?

But history reminds us of hope. In the 19th century, when the camera was invented, painters feared their profession was doomed. But did painting die? In the late 20th century, when digital cameras entered the scene, analogue photographers feared the end of film. Many adapted, some held on, and both worlds coexisted. From bulky two-megapixel phone cameras to today’s 200-megapixel lenses the size of a tiny coin, mobile phone cameras changed how we look at the world. Everyone has a camera in their pockets, but here we are, professional photographers still telling touching stories and painters creating masterpieces on canvas. Tools evolve, but truth remains.

And yet, I carry a sense of uncertainty. It feels as though we are stepping into an entirely new era of image-making, or we already have. We don’t know where AI is headed or how deep its influence might run. Hence, it is important to learn how it works, how it can be harnessed for good and how to keep truth at the centre.

For stories where no photograph can exist, like dowry deaths or scams carried out in the shadows, AI can step in. For stories that demand physical presence, like standing in knee-deep water covering a flood, or in the frontline of war, or at the edge of a riot, or capturing the roar in a stadium, AI cannot replace a human photographer.

I don’t see AI as an enemy but as a tool, a powerful and unpredictable tool. It can distort reality and weaken trust, but in the right hands, it can open new ways of storytelling. The real challenge is balance. To let technology assist without allowing it to replace, to ensure the story serves the truth and not the tool. It's a fine line, where the photographer’s eye remains the compass and AI only the brush.

Over 11 years, I have heard colleagues repeatedly say, “News photography is over.” But it never is. Tools evolve, and yet the eye and heart behind the lens keep telling stories. AI is not the death of news photography. It is a new brush, a new roll of film, and a new device in our bag. And as long as there are stories to tell, a photographer will be there. Cameras may change, and tools may shift, but when the world asks, ‘What really happened?’ it will always be the photographer who answers.