Now you see it, Now you don't

Once upon a time I could look at a picture and know it showed reality. Those days are over. Now I wonder about every picture. Is it real?

Take for example the background picture I'm using on the cover of my upcoming book (soon to be released). 

I took this photograph last fall at Oak Island, North Carolina, when I was on vacation with my family. The colors fit the mood I wanted to set for my book cover. The ocean plays an important part in the book, in fact, the word "ocean" is in the title. So bingo. That fit what I wanted. 

I began to add layers. Text. Other pictures. But the fisherman didn't quite fit into the time period, the fifties, when my main character left. So I got rid of him.

Here's a close up of my first tampering efforts. The man is gone. Poof.

I left the beach chair because I knew it would be covered by the featured portrait of my main character. (I can't wait to tell you more about that!)

Then I realized the man's fishing pole was still visible. Look carefully at the edge of the water and you'll be able to see the pole floating around as if it is Harry Potter's wand.

So I tampered more. I erased the fishing pole. I also deleted a light that was in a building on the right, but I still left the beach chair.   

And there it is. A picture that fits my needs exactly as the background of the book cover. The fact that it isn't real doesn't matter in this case. I got what I needed.

But still. If I can play around with a picture and eliminate a person as if said person never existed in the picture, then wow, is it real? This tool is not a toy despite my joy at being able to alter reality to fit my needs. Imagine the future with photograph manipulations as the norm. What can we believe?

Scary.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen