The Art of the Altered Image

My tutor recommended a very interesting article on altered images. Has image alterations only been part of the digital era or has it been part of the film era also.

Well, take a look at this image and tell me what has been altered:

Well you probably would have had to have been there at the time the image was taken to understand what was faked. In this image by Matthew Brody  he added in an extra figure.

The follow article is very interesting citing other examples of photograph manipulation.

http://lightbox.time.com/2011/06/13/doctored-photos-the-art-of-the-alteredimage/#
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To what degree is photograph / digital image manipulation acceptable? This is a debate that will continue forever since everyone will have a view and be able to detail perhaps a genre or circumstance when this is acceptable and when this is not.

The following article found in the link below examples 10 images passed off as images of Hurricane Sandy:

http://theweek.com/article/index/235578/10-fake-photos-of-hurricane-sandy

The following image was purported to be the inside of a fast food chain outlet ravaged by Hurricane Sandy but was actually from a 2009 film "Flooded McDonalds. In this instance the image wasn't altered but the time and location of the actual event versus the reported event were totally untrue:

For me personally and I suspect the vast majority of people seeing reportage type of images in the news or in the paper would expect these images to be real and reflective of what was actually in front of the lens at the time the shutter was pressed.



One of the Sunday tabloids run a recurring theme of items being found in unusual places. Its certainly eye catching and its arguably reportage photography but how many people would ever imagine that the image of a World War 2 bomber found on the moon to be true. I also recall one with an image of a double decker also on the moon. Does the image puport to be real or is it so obvious:

The following link shows an image from a blogger captured 4 years ago was used on a social website purporting to be an image taken as part of a recent and violent sectarian clash:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-24956762

In the marketing world images can be altered to help sell a product; is this an expected actuality or are sellors of items such as beauty products using altered images to encourage people to buy products to obtain a look that perhaps is not even real.

That said there is an audience for creative art where photo manipulation is both encouraged and admired.

The following image created by AtermisArt, well their pseudo name, and published on website Deviant Art is clearly a digitally manipulated image taken of what appears to be two drawings. The artist explains it is a self portrait and perhaps shows some insight of the their character or feelings:

The following image is of my identical 19 year old triplet daughters. Is this a faked image by its obviousness or is it a genuine image created in such a way as to encourage the viewer to consider its a fake until evidence is produced to disprove this? Let me know what you think: