h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This image of "Happy Magic Water Cube, Beijing Water Cube Water Park" in today's Guardian is credited to a photographer, but looks utterly computer-generated to me. What do you reckon?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/apr/06/big-picture-happy-magic-water-park#zoomed-picture

Certainly looks like it...

Its... its... it could be... no.. it can't... but... maybe...

I would guess that the credit is for the photo part (the bottom quarter or so) and the 'day dream' upper part is all photoshop.

I searched for images of the national aquatics something in bejing and found this:

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=national+aquatics+center+beijing&start=305&hl=de&biw=1280&bih=801&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=mBgVYpjHiB-coM:&imgrefurl=http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/design-architecture/in-beijing-a-second-life-for-the-national-aquatic-center/397&docid=2srVScLHslB-FM&imgurl=http://i.bnet.com/blogs/olympic-watercube-waterpark.jpg&w=470&h=305&ei=sXyBT9jLJcrCtAbt3pGvBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=598&vpy=216&dur=2666&hovh=181&hovw=279&tx=155&ty=103&sig=112747824002811439507&page=13&tbnh=138&tbnw=189&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:305,i:75

So I guess the photo is real.

That also looks computer-generated to me.

Kind of fuzzy round the edges, and all pink and slightly pop-corn like where it melds into the background, a vague inconsistancy of colours, like a long faded photograph pinned inside an office, pail but bright, in stark relief, yet gradulaly faded out of focus and morphing into its shape within what realms it currently occupies...

Looks real to me..not photoshop.

Perhaps reality has been photoshopped?

I thought that recently as well.

unless...

Isn't there an art style, photorealism or something, where the painting looks so real it's like a photo? Perhaps this is the opposite, managing to make real life look like a painting?

Deb

I think it's basically real. Maybe they did a little changing of the colors but I expect Beijing to have a pool like that.

This is more obviously a photo:

http://travel.spotcoolstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/beijing-watercube-water-park-4.jpg

I would call that a pre-photoshoped photo. The present generation seems to think that any image that has been manipulated has some semblance of reality.

http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/0808/real-life-photoshopped-forums-reality-joke-demotivational-poster-1219972454.jpg

I reckon that photo of Santorini would look better without the blue sign and arch/pergola thingy in the foreground.

Didn't you hear, Santorini dropped out of the race yesterday!

http://www.occupyforaccountability.org/sites/default/files/u6/291376141_rick_santorum_hitler_xlarge.jpeg

That means that, under Godwin's Law, Rick Santorum is now officially the next President of the United States by default. I'm sure that Obama will see out the rest of his term before standing aside graciously for incoming President Santorum...

There's plenty of Godwin's Law precedents:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6lXy4iov04c/TZ05_Zo4DhI/AAAAAAAAdFs/NLTvjLW8X7g/s400/Barack-Obama-and-Adolf-Hitler.jpeg