I bet a bitcoin that if we show the 1948’s Dalí Atomicus by Philippe Halsman to someone who was born after the 2000s, living in full swing of the ‘Instagrammification of the photographs‘ era, they would say it is pure Photoshop on a first sight. Millennials, Sirs. Know-It-All?
Photos whose images seem edited but are real: the wonderful and mystical world of optical illusions which dates back to… maybe Greeks? Long before? Who knows!
Way Before Photoshop Was Created
So for no one is a secret that the brain makes us perceive a distorted image of reality, which means that we do not see the world as it is. Aristotle, as an interested enthusiastic on the games our brains plays to ourselves, was one of the greatest pioneers intent to talk out loud about and describe it.
For example, he became aware of the illusion of movement as a side effect, the rather straightforward but not simple phenomenon in which it seems that something is in motion when in fact it is fixed.
He noticed that after looking for a certain time by a stream of water, when he looked at the still rocks that were near, it seemed that these followed the course of the river, and of course, nowadays we can experience it in a manner similar to what Aristotle probably did perceive.
In the history of optical illusions, some quite old others can be found, and although some undocumented, otherwise we cannot even enjoy some striking M. C. Escher‘s and more artists works, who were captivated by the traditional enigma transmitted from generation to generation since surely ever.
Before you start worrying about our strange intellect ways, keep in mind that albeit is possible that the brain deceives us, if it does it’s just to simplify a world too complex and to give a vision of it according to what we need.
How to Know if It’s True Love
Photoshopped
Experts will tell you that is that simple as glancing at the illustration: see if the background appears warped or manipulated, check if everything in the picture is in focus, note if you appreciate no lines or pores on someone’s face… Those are typical signs of a probably fake or Photoshopped in front of you. However, the cobbler should stick to his last!
Obviously, being Photoshopped is not the only tool to edit photos, but the most popular one, and there are very simple ways to know if this, or any other similar application, has been used to modify an image. Thus, get ready for removing some blindfolds and masks!
Here my pair of favorite web tools picture-detectives: ImageForensic.org and FotoForensics.com. So the next time you wonder the view is too good to be truth, follow your inner instincts and trust the professionals, they will do the dirty job for you.
Manipulated Photography With Zero Photoshop
Notwithstanding, not everything is lost, and I hope you have saved till this moment some faith in humanity, because yes, this post is actually an ode to the interestingly enough photographers and artists dedicated to manipulated photographs and images before the rise of the digital revolution —Or who after it, they very old-fashioned, still did not choose the easy path.
Look at the next page for these stunuing pictures
