Yes, Lynn, rather dull here a couple of days before Christmas .

You've opened an age old controversy about "altering" photographs. As you said, debated a lot. Personally, I draw line at ADDING to the photo. Subtracting from it, like cropping or removing the twigs are ok with me. Placing the tortoise on top of the cheetah was not seen. So not ok. I did not alter the positions of the tortoise and cheetah. That again to me is not ok for nature photos. Maybe flipping the photo left-right made it look that way? Flipping left/right I do buy. So, YMMV

Anyway, I just love what can be done today with digital photography. From the cameras to Photoshop to printers. It could be so frustrating with 35mm slide film at times.

regards - tom

I should have used the term flipping or rotating, not altering. I've flipped and rotated pictures.

Now I am really starting to wonder what the tortoise on the cheetah head would look like.

Oops, I thinking I am treading onto Hari's sacred ground with this bit of cheetah ridicule.

Hey Lynn,

Too funny ...... but, i'm just wondering 4 cheetah, eh? plus the three brothers in the area ...... are they all going to hide when i'm around though, that's the question ......

Merry Christmas and happy holidays

Hari

Tom
What software did you use to alter the photo? I've only ever managed to crop my photos and never tried anything more sophisticated.

Morally, it seems wrong to alter them too much but it looks so much fun!

Lynneb - I use Adobe's Photoshop CS2. Photoshop also sells "Elements" which I think is a scaled down version of CS2. But I've never used Elements. You can download a free trial version of it.
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/

Photoshop is simply amazing. It was difficult (for me) to learn on my own. Take a taught class if you can. Without it digital photography would no longer be nearly as much fun.

Altering photos, yes some of our "news" media does it. The LA Times was caught using altered photos of Iraq. They blamed it on the photographer himself. (They would have said Pres. Bush did it if anyone would have believed them).

regards - tom

Altering photos was around long before photoshop. I took a workshop from one of Ansel Adam's long time assitants. He told stories that AA carried a machete in his kit and if there were plants or small trees in his way he would just wack them down. A pioneer of conservation and ecology! He also had his assistant doctor his negatives to remove leaves and branches he did not want in the compostion. He also thought the idea of photoshop manipulation (although he did not live to see it on a mass basis) was something he would like to have. Photos are a manipulation of reality even if no photoshop is used. Just thinking out loud. Happy holidays.

Ansel Adam's books on printing and making photographs are very informative for his explanations of the visual effects he strived for. Still applicable today. For instance, on most every print he "burned in", darkened, all around the border just a tiny bit. This helps direct the eye back into the print. You too can do this today, in the comfort of your own home, using Photoshop!!!!

regards - tom