Seeing is Not Believing

You cannot trust photos as evidence.

We used to think that because we saw a photo of something, it was evidence that it was real or true. Ever heard the comment “seeing is believing” and “photographic evidence” for examples?

Sometimes it is obvious that what you see isn’t real. For example, my fairy photos.

But sometimes, a photo is staged or altered in a way to enhance or create an image for aesthetic reasons, yet it looks real. For example, my tractor in a field, beloew. There was no tractor, and there was not a cloud in the sky.

There are people who will cry, “That photo is fake”, which can be annoying, because they cancel out photography as a creative medium, and believe they are exposing fraudulent images.

But for more concerning is when something is accepted literally and at face value, when it is not. It is a concern when people share the hell out of an image and use it to evidence something that is not true.

It is not just the advent of photoshop which has allowed images to be manipulated. There are much older film images which are not as it was in reality. Photoshop has just made it really easy to work with images.

I, clearly, love manipulating my images and it is usually obvious. I love the freedom of expression it allows me and use it as a tool to create. It is my thing.

But I do think we need to keep an eye out for subtly adjusted images, and images used out of context, which may be used to spread misinformation or malcontent.

Keep aware, and be vigilant. Make sure it is only images that are being manipulated (for fun), and not you!