As If They Never Left: Artist Uses AI Technology To Bring Celebrities Back To Life

Do you ever wonder what your favorite celebrities might have looked like if they had lived longer? It's sad when someone passes away at a young age, especially if they were a well-known public figure. When this happens, it feels like a piece of their art and legacy dies with them. Can you imagine what amazing things Freddie Mercury, Bruce Lee, or Princess Diana might have created if they had been given more time?
Although we can only imagine what their futures might have held, one Istanbul-based photographer named Alper Yesiltas has used his creativity and a little bit of technology to bring these celebrities to life in a new way. Yesiltas has created a photography series called "As If Nothing Happened" that features incredibly realistic portraits of long-gone celebrities as they might have looked in their golden years. To achieve this, Yesiltas used various photo editing programs like Adobe Lightroom and VSCO, as well as an AI photo-enhancing software called Remini.
Yesiltas takes great care to make the images feel as real as possible. He says that the hardest part of the creative process is making the image feel "real" to him, and he loves it when the final product looks like an actual photograph.
The results are truly amazing. Yesiltas' portraits are so realistic that they're almost eerie. Each photo is accompanied by a bittersweet message, wishing that things could have gone differently... as if nothing happened. It's incredible to see what these celebrities might have looked like if they had lived longer, and it's a touching reminder of the impact they had on the world during their short time here.
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#1. Freddie Mercury - "I wish he hadn't got that disease.”

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#2. Heath Ledger - "I wish he hadn't been affected by the exhaustion of his role."

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#3. Janis Joplin - "I wish she hadn't sought the inspiration she needed elsewhere."

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#4. Michael Jackson - "I wish he hadn't faced vitiligo."

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#5. Kurt Cobain - "I wish he had decided to stay."

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#6. Jimi Hendrix - "I wish he hadn't made such a choice."

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#7. John Lennon - "I wish he hadn't been in New York that day."

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#8. Bruce Lee - "I wish he hadn't taken that painkiller that day."

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#9. Elvis Presley - "I wish he decided to live a life where he paid more attention to the health of his heart."

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#10. 2pac - "I wish he hadn't been involved in that event"

Source: Alper Yesiltas

#11. Princess Diana - “I wish she were still here.”

Source: Alper Yesiltas

The subject of AI-generated art is quite contentious. Some people view it as a fresh and innovative medium, while others believe it lacks genuine creativity as a machine, not a person, makes it. There's also the worry that AI art will jeopardize the livelihood of real artists, just like many jobs have become automated in the past.
However, AI-generated art, when done well, can be a powerful reminder that "anything imaginable can be shown in reality," as Yesiltas has said. Ultimately, this could be said for any art form. What are your thoughts?
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