For those unfamiliar with me, a bit of background might help explain my perspective. I haven’t owned a TV in over 45 years, ever since my teenage days. I rarely watch movies or TV shows, read the news, or follow politics; instead, I prefer to spend my time travelling, planning and leading photography workshops across Japan, teaching at various visual arts schools, camping, swimming, cooking, and enjoying precious moments with family, friends, and the participants who join my workshops. Cherry Blossom season 2026 has officially wrapped up for me, though a few trees in the highlands and Northern Japan Alps have yet to bloom. Unlike previous years, I won’t be making the long hike to see them, as I spent this winter recovering from a hairline fracture and ligament strain in my left ankle—an injury I worked through during the winter and spring. Fortunately, after a few weeks of rest and rehab, I’m about 95% healed and ready to get back on the road. Soon, I’ll head north to Yamagata, Akita, and Aomori for birding and camping, with the elusive Ruby Kingfisher as my goal. But truly, my main aim is to set up base camp by a waterfall or pond, enjoy mountain biking, soak in natural hot springs, and hopefully witness daily visits from snow monkey troops. If luck is on my side, I’ll spot that Ruby Kingfisher. Ultimately, I seek the essence of Zen and the rejuvenation of shinrin-yoku—forest bathing.

AI: The first time I heard participants and friends discuss AI outside of academic or commercial settings was during my Hokkaido photo tours a few years ago. Since then, AI has become a recurring topic—on my autumn and cherry blossom tours, on private excursions, and now almost daily. I am not against AI; in fact, I encourage my students to embrace new technologies. However, I believe that creators of AI-generated images should be transparent and clearly label their work. Perhaps I’m old-fashioned and ready to be called a grandpa, but I accept AI’s place in the industry. What concerns me is the lightning-fast pace of its development and how some photo workshop agencies now use AI-generated images in their advertisements, presenting them as if guests will see these scenes on tour. When I first noticed this, I was stunned—posting an AI-generated image for a real workshop feels unrealistic and, from my perspective, quite dishonest. While I can still recognize most AI images today, I know it will only get harder with time.

One very powerful and useful tool introduced recently in Photoshop is Adobe Firefly, a web app and family of generative artificial intelligence models for creative production, capable of selecting an entire tree, including its complex branching system. Before AI, in Photoshop, this was a near-impossible task. Even with the pen tool, I remember spending long days trying to select an entire tree, but I mostly always failed.