Supercharged Reality XL

We live in an era of special effects, where nature experiences are described using the language of movies, 3D games, and Netflix fantasy series. Take, for instance, my visit to the Lofoten Islands in Norway; my host eagerly recommended a location he described as the ’closest thing to Middle Earth,’ evoking the cinematic landscapes of ’The Lord of the Rings.’ Similarly, when watching a YouTube video on landscape photography in Iceland, the excited author compared its vistas to scenes ’straight out of Game of Thrones.’

This ’cinematic reality’ is often presented as superior to the real, as something worth striving for, akin to Plato’s world of ideals. Landscape photographers are aware of this; common advice in the field is to adjust the tones in photos ’as you remember experiencing it.’ Thus, they aim to capture their subjective emotional experience of nature rather than its raw form, evoking the spirit of Romantic paintings.

Overall, our entertainment-driven culture perceives nature through a ’cinematic lens,’ via HDR-enhanced smartphones, image filters and stunning drone flythroughs. We increasingly seek out this perspective in our own adventures, striving to replicate extraordinary ’Photoshop moments’ and to experience firsthand the amplified grandeur of nature, where the drama of lighting, color, and emotional impact is brought to its zenith.

There is, however, a crucial balance to be struck—our supercharged experiences must retain a degree of authenticity. Emotional resonance should reach its peak while preserving the belief that ’this could be real’; otherwise, the magic fades. Belief in the worlds presented and identification with the characters are essential; without this connection, the spell is broken.

With the advent of artificial intelligence superpowers, the production of these lifelike dreams no longer requires a team of cinema production professionals. The imagination is now the only limit, which may quickly lead to a market saturated with a variety of enhanced reality experiences. Furthermore, many of us will soon be using VR glasses to immerse ourselves in a 360-degree ’superreality’ that is more vibrant, more exciting, and more emotionally engaging—surpassing anything we’ve previously known.

’Supercharged Reality XL’ explores our evolving perception—the fine line where reality meets illusion. It exaggerates the drama of nature, boosts vividness, and amplifies the emotional expression of the environment, all while preserving a sense of credibility (’this could be true’). Most of the images were created using diverse AI tools and advanced image processing; however, I included some genuine photographs from my personal journeys. Can you discern which ones are real?

Through this lens, I investigate our changing understanding of reality: Will the hyper-real become the new standard? Does it matter if environments are real or AI-created? Are we moving toward a VR-enhanced future where augmented, AI-generated experiences are preferred? Will plain reality suffice for the generations that follow?