Skipperdude wrote: "How can you tell if a pic is photoshopped what ever that means."
Many photos of this type have been "Photoshopped." If you don't know, Photoshop is an Adobe computer application that allows you to manipulate photographs, combine them, etc. in a zillion different ways.
The clues that a picture has been Photoshopped combine logic (the picture simply doesn't make sense no matter how well it's put together) and technique (shadows are inconsistent, edges of layers are obvious, etc.).
In this case, while the technical aspects of the photo merging is excellent, no kayaker in the world would continue to paddle along nonchalantly when engulfed in the mouth of a whale as this fellow is doing. Add to this the fact that whales, as large as they may be, are very much aware of every aspect of their surroundings, would not "accidentally" do something like this.
Just about every picture you see in a magazine has been Photoshopped to a degree. All the photos I've posted to this forum have been Photoshopped for example. I use the application to correct color balance, enhance saturation and sharpness, change the framing, level the horizon, etc. I don't know how to use it well enough to combine pictures and make something that didn't exist (although I do know how to do this with AfterEffects, which is the big Adobe application for manipulating video). But these days, very little of what you see in magazines, on TV, or in movies has not been treated in some way or another.
You are correct--- a photo (or video) image today is more likely to be "false" in that it does not reflect reality, than true. Given the average person's inability to detect or reason that a photo is false, we are increasingly being inundated with bogus information. This would not be an issue if it wasn't for the fact that many people will make decisions or act on this bogus information and the end result can be trouble. It's one of the things that's contributing to what I believe is the dumbing down of the population.
-- Edited by Marin on Tuesday 5th of October 2010 12:01:41 PM
