Dear SeeingHappy Community,
We are living in a moment where creative mediums are rapidly evolving.
With the rise of accessible AI tools, artists can now extend their images beyond what a camera can capture. Yet at its core, creativity still begins with a human moment, an experience, a feeling, a perspective.
Imagining Well-Being invited participants to explore this intersection. Each submission paired an original photograph with an AI-augmented version, along with a reflection on how imagination and technology shaped the final image.
The result was a powerful global exploration of how creativity, well-being, and emerging tools can coexist in intentional and meaningful ways.
Virtual Showcase
Selected works are being spotlighted in the SeeingHappy booth as part of the AI and the Future of Well-Being Summit, hosted by the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), taking place March 23 to 27, 2026.
Announcing the Winners
After reviewing submissions from around the world, we are honored to recognize the following photographers whose work stood out for its creativity, intention, and depth.
CONTEST PROMPT: Can you photograph a moment that makes you feel happy and then, using AI tools, augment it through imagination and possibility into something more?
🏆 1st Place Winner: Mimi Darmstadter
MY BODY AS TEMPLE
By Mimi Darmstadter
“I have been a practicing yogi for over a decade and recently I had the opportunity to practice with 500 people at the National Cathedral in DC. It was surreal. It occurred to me that our bodies are “temples” as well. I am not a religious person but essentially, quoting spiritual text, our bodies depend on “care and honor.” I wanted to create an AI image that both mirrored the opportunity for “Cathedral” within ourselves and showcased yoga, specifically, as the conduit for light, awe, stillness, sacred space.”
This creation demonstrates how AI can be used not to replace reality, but to deepen its meaning. The original moment, a shared yoga experience in a cathedral, already holds a sense of awe and collective presence. Through AI, Mimi extends that experience inward, transforming the body itself into a sacred space. Rather than simply enhancing the image, the augmentation reflects the core idea that the body is something to be honored, a site of stillness, light, and reverence.
🥈 2nd Place Winner: PAUL BARNEDO
“88th”
By Paul Barnedo
“At first, I was skeptical about AI in art, fearing it might diminish the human touch. But I soon realized that AI is not a replacement—it is a tool that amplifies the artist’s vision. Every image begins with a human idea, guided by intention, creativity, and emotion. AI helps explore possibilities, refine concepts, and transform fleeting moments into something enduring, but the core idea always remains human. This photograph was captured during a photoshoot for my grandparents’ 88th birthday using my 50mm Sigma lens. Among the shots I took that day, this image stood out, though it was slightly blurry and cropped due to the spontaneity of the moment. Using AI tools, I restored focus, enhanced clarity, adjusted color and light, and extended the background—all while staying faithful to my original composition and vision. The final image transforms a simple, intimate moment into a polished and expressive work. It celebrates not only my grandparents’ remarkable milestone but also the enduring power of human creativity. It shows how AI, when guided thoughtfully, can elevate a fleeting scene into something timeless. Ultimately, this photograph is a reminder that technology cannot replace imagination—it can only amplify it. Art remains a human story, and every tool we use should serve that story. This image is not just a photograph; it is a tribute to family, vision, and the lasting beauty of creativity. AI Softwares that I used : Topaz Labs, Lightroom, Gemini Pro”
Paul’s work offers a grounded perspective on AI as a tool for care. The original image captures a fleeting family moment shaped by spontaneity. Using AI, he restores focus, enhances light, and extends the frame while staying true to the original composition. This piece highlights how AI can support the preservation of memory, not by altering what happened, but by helping us more fully hold onto it. It becomes a reflection on time, family, and the desire to carry meaningful moments forward with greater clarity and care.
🥈 2nd Place Winner: MAYOWA AKANDE
TGIF: THE PHYSIOLOGY OF JOY
By Mayowa Akande
“At first, this photograph captures a simple moment of laughter. The image was taken on a Friday afternoon in Sunderland. I politely asked the woman in the photograph if I could take her picture, and she happily agreed. In a spontaneous gesture, she opened her jacket and laughed, expressing a sense of ease and excitement that I could only attribute to the familiar feeling many people experience as the weekend approaches. Research on weekly mood patterns, including studies using Gallup’s daily polling data, shows that people tend to report higher levels of positive emotions such as enjoyment and laughter on Fridays and weekends compared with weekdays. Her expression seemed to hold that universal feeling of relief and anticipation in a single instant. The original photograph documented something real and unguarded. But I found myself curious about what was happening beneath the surface, and what this joy might look like if it could grow beyond the frame. Positive emotional states activate complex neurological processes: neural pathways fire, neurotransmitters surge, the whole body participates. AI allowed me to amplify what was already present, extending the image beyond what the camera could physically capture. Colorful networks resembling neurons and cellular energy emerge from the subject, visualising the unseen physiological activity that accompanies joy, and imagining how that energy might radiate outward, continuing long after the moment passed. The AI did not replace the photograph. It helped make visible something we cannot normally see: how a single moment of happiness might grow, persist, and quietly shape the world around it. In a world that can often feel overwhelming, brief expressions like this one remind us of the ways our bodies and minds respond when we feel truly alive, and invite us to imagine those feelings rippling forward into the people, places, and moments that follow. AI tools used: Lightroom, Photoshop, ChatGPT. Prompt: ‘Explosive visualization of joy: colorful neurons and cells erupting from the body, layered over the photograph, darkened background to emphasize glowing physiological energy.'”
This image explores what lies beneath a moment of happiness. The original photograph captures spontaneous laughter. Through AI, Mayowa visualizes the unseen, translating joy into networks of color, energy, and movement inspired by physiological processes. The result bridges art and science, offering a glimpse into how emotions might expand beyond what we can see. It is a compelling example of how AI can make the invisible visible.
🌟 Honorable Mentions
SHARED HORIZON
By Thaciane Lareska Vaz de Sousa
“The expansion made by AI did not merely alter the image; it deepened the feeling that was already present. The scene of the father and son sitting side by side carries silence, waiting, and contemplation, but also complicity. By widening the horizon and emphasizing the vastness of the sea before them, AI transformed a simple fishing moment into a symbol of sharing and continuity. If the focus once rested on a solitary chair, the presence of the two now reshapes the meaning of the moment: it is no longer just waiting, but shared learning. The act of holding the fishing rod ceases to be merely technical and becomes an act of transmission of values, stories, and time. Fishing turns into a metaphor for something greater: casting something into the sea without knowing exactly what will return, trusting in experience and hope. The horizontal expansion reinforces this idea of an open future. The broader horizon suggests possibilities, paths not yet traveled. Father and son are not simply watching the water; they are contemplating what lies ahead. The image gains a sense of legacy: the adult teaches, the child absorbs, and the sea remains the silent witness to this exchange. This process led me to reflect on the values I consider essential, quality time, genuine presence, simplicity, and connection with nature. AI did not create a new feeling; it revealed what was already implicit in the scene. It functioned as an emotional lens, enlarging the invisible: inherited affection, silent dialogue, and the building of memories that extend beyond the moment. More than editing the image, AI collaborated with me in constructing meaning. It helped me imagine not only what lies beyond the frame, but what is being built between them, something that, like the sea, is deep, constant, and full of possibilities.”
FROM WASTE TO WISDOM
By Debarun Biswas
“AI was used as a creative tool to reimagine and transform the original reality of the image. Instead of merely editing small elements, AI helped reconstruct the entire environment, replacing smoke-filled air with soft golden dawn light, turning heaps of garbage into green open fields, changing a sack of waste into a schoolbag, and relocating the buffalo from a polluted dump to a peaceful grazing space. Through generative enhancement, the technology extended the photographer’s imagination beyond documentation and into possibility. It did not erase reality, but offered an alternative vision one shaped by hope, dignity, and harmony. The final image expresses the power of imagination as a pathway to well being. It shows that a small shift in perspective can transform despair into opportunity. The child walking toward school symbolizes education and future potential, while the calm buffalo in a healthy environment represents balance between humans and nature. Together, they create a narrative of peace, responsibility, and coexistence.”
WILL COME TRUE
By Hicham Filali Zehri
“Now I feel obsessed as I see the dream in front of me. AI helps make a vision concrete. I have ever had this project idea since 2018. To turn a rural house I own to a rural for humanity project. Things vary; a library, a ki degarten, a training center, a museum…anything that last after we leave life. Many times, I disappointed that I can’t still do anything and I even am putting the property to sale. Now,things look real. This happens when you see the project in real image. AI is doing magic and I should be a magician to turn the dream to a truth.”
Join us in Our Mission
Across all submissions, one idea remained clear:
AI does not create meaning. It extends it.
Each image began with a human moment and used technology to amplify, reveal, or reimagine what was already there.
Thank you for being part of this evolving conversation at the intersection of creativity, reflection, and well-being.
Follow SeeingHappy (@seeing.happy) for artist stories, featured works, and upcoming initiatives.
With gratitude,
The Team at SeeingHappy
