I took the image of the daisy at Pike Nursery and disappeared the background in Photoshop just by asking it to “select subject,” and copy/pasted it to a black background. Then I asked Generative Fill in Photoshop to give me a “Swallowtail Butterfly” in the space I had drawn on the background, selected the one I preferred, and here we are. I could have asked for a “yellow daisy,” as well, but I already had a perfectly acceptable image of the daisy.
Cheating? I can manipulate images using only my camera by slowing the rush of a waterfall adjusting only the shutter speed, and change the “depth of field” by adjusting the aperture. I can make far away bison appear to be close up by using a telephoto lens, or make everything appear to be in focus by using a wide-angle lens. And where does the line lie between acceptable artistry and cheating? I am going to do what I need to do to produce an image with impact.
There are several ways of producing a mirror image with water. I can walk up on a waiting scene, and I enhance my chances of doing that be getting there early in the morning before the breeze begins to stir on the pond or lake. I can wait for the wind to die down or the children to stop throwing stones in the water. I can come back another day. And I can take the picture of the image I’m after with ripples and waves in the water, select the subject without the water, flip the subject upside down and attach it to itself on my computer, creating a mirror image, and there we are. Every sunrise/sunset is a mirror in the making. “Is it real or is it Photoshop?” Where does enhancement become lying, cheating, stealing?
I can remove distracting power lines and add desired reflections. And I will to produce an image with impact. Let the viewer beware.
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 