A Quick Update, Email Change, AI Comparison, Photo Tours
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Perched in Golden Swamp Light
Email Update
Just a quick heads-up — I’m retiring my decades-old bushfoto@bellsouth.net email address. If you’ve contacted me in the past, you might still have that one saved. For a while now, I’ve been using charlie@charlesbushphoto.com for newsletters and group emails, and that’s now the official address moving forward.
Why the change? AT&T/Yahoo migrated the account and broke quite a few things in the process. I recently stopped receiving mail on my phone, and the fix involved upgrading to a paid plan. That was the last straw. So please take a second to update your contacts.
Spring and Fall Photo Tours
If you're hoping to get out this spring:
👉 There’s space available for the May 18th tour – grab your spot here.
Looking ahead:
🍁 Fall tours are also open – check availability and details here.
AI Captioning and Keywording: Perplexity vs. ChatGPT
A recent client suggestion led me to test Perplexity, an AI chatbot, for generating image metadata. I started by feeding it this basic description:
"A photograph of a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in a cypress tree with an out-of-focus green background. Provide keywords, captions, and titles."
Perplexity’s Output
Keywords:
Black-bellied Whistling Duck
Dendrocygna autumnalis
Whistling duck
Cypress tree
Bird perched
Out-of-focus green background
Wetland bird
Pink bill
Black belly
Chestnut body
Gray face
Long-legged duck
Nature photography
Wildlife
Birdwatching
Waterfowl
Tree perch
Louisiana swamp (if location relevant)
Quiet natural setting
Captions:
A Black-bellied Whistling Duck perched gracefully in a cypress tree against a soft, green blurred background.
The striking Black-bellied Whistling Duck rests in a cypress tree, showcasing its distinctive black belly and pink bill.
Perched high in a cypress tree, this Black-bellied Whistling Duck stands out with its vibrant plumage and long legs.
A serene moment captured of a Black-bellied Whistling Duck in its natural habitat, framed by the lush greenery of the cypress swamp.
Titles:
"Black-bellied Whistling Duck in Cypress Tree"
"Perched Beauty: Black-bellied Whistling Duck Among Cypress"
"Whistling Duck in the Green: A Cypress Tree Perch"
"Nature's Whistler: Black-bellied Whistling Duck in Cypress Habitat"
Overall, it’s a good result — clean and descriptive, but limited. Since it lacks memory of my formatting or preferences, I’d still need to rework the output for Lightroom Classic, Photo Mechanic, or my stock site.
Why ChatGPT Still Wins for My Workflow
Then I tried dropping the same image into ChatGPT — where it already had context from our previous work. Here’s what came back:
🖼️ Image Metadata – ChatGPT Result
Title / Headline:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Perched in Golden Swamp Light
Caption (Alamy/Stock-style, 150 characters):
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) perched on a cypress branch in spring light, Louisiana wetlands, with fresh green foliage.
Keywords (50, comma-delimited):
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck,Dendrocygna autumnalis,whistling duck,perched duck,wading bird,waterfowl,cypress branch,Louisiana bird,spring foliage,wetland bird,swamp bird,duck species,nature photography,birdwatching,bird on branch,profile view,bird portrait,South Louisiana,ornithology,duck habitat,tropical bird,subtropical wetlands,marsh bird,wetland wildlife,forest bird,bright plumage,colorful bird,long-legged duck,branch perch,cypress swamp,green foliage,bird closeup,feather texture,pink legs,natural light,early morning light,wildlife photograph,swamp environment,springtime bird,American duck,wetland ecosystem,southern wildlife,quiet pose,tree limb,avian species,non-migratory bird,stillness,native duck,nature scene
Hashtag Keywords (for social/blog use):
#BlackBelliedWhistlingDuck #WhistlingDuck #DendrocygnaAutumnalis #LouisianaBird #CypressSwamp #BirdPhotography #WetlandWildlife #SpringBird #PerchedDuck #AvianPortrait
This version fits directly into my Lightroom metadata panel or Photo Mechanic presets with no cleanup needed. The keyword format, the precision, and the match to my style makes this a much better fit.
While Perplexity has potential, particularly for quick keywording, ChatGPT still delivers the better, more integrated result — especially when it already knows my workflow. And in addition, I simply needed to drop in the image to get the result.