Jill Medinger
What was your initial inspiration for the equine-focused images?
I have always had a fondness for horses but have had a hard time finding horse imagery that has a certain level of playfulness and levity—and especially a splash of color! So, I decided to create some of my own.
What type of prompts did you provide for A.I. (Midjourney Showcase)?
I think creating very specific prompts for A.I. is part of the artistic process. Because I am also a writer, I tend to make long briefs that include details on every aspect of the image, such as the color of the horse, the rider’s outfit, and the background of the image. I also wanted these images to feel filmic and therefore specified the aspect ratio to mimic a movie screen.
Can you elaborate on some of the technical particulars you requested?
I included specifics about what camera to emulate, what film stock to use, even what aperture to shoot at. A.I. tools truly are remarkable. Some of the details are still a surprise—stripes in certain colors, or hats can appear. And often there are glitches that I edit out; a horse will have five legs, for example! Culling is a large part of the process. I probably use one out of every 20 images that I generate.
What are your thoughts on the creative scope of A.I.?
It’s remarkable how quickly these tools have become available and how incredibly pervasive they already are. It’s hard to stay on top of the technology, as it is changing so fast. I do worry the scope of these tools will make jobs for creatives out of reach or obsolete. For right now, however, it’s an exciting development and allows for a lot of playful idea generation.
Photographer, writer, and book author Rachel Hulin has worked in New York as a photo editor for notable publications, including Rolling Stone, Radar Magazine, and Nerve.com, and has given lectures about her work and professional practices at the School of Visual Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University, and Parsons School of Design | The New School. Her work has been shown in the Jen Bekman Gallery, The Bronx Museum of the Arts, and Clamp Art Gallery, among others.
Her editorial clients include The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, The New Republic, Real Simple, and the Huffington Post.
She published Flying Henry, a fantasy children’s series, in 2013, and Hey Harry, Hey Matilda, lauded as the first novel to be told on Instagram, released in 2017.
She has a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University and a Master of Arts from New York University.