Fotoshop Fail – The Legacy Continues

I can’t take credit for the term ‘Fotoshop Fail’, nor can I take credit for its concept – that honour is reserved for one unique individual (we’ll discuss and celebrate him later in this post).

We’re all aware of the power of Photoshop as an image editing tool. It can take the flawed and make it perfect; it can enhance and tease out textures, colours, light and environments that we didn’t know existed. But without entering into a sobering discussion about the merits and perils of Photoshop (my biggest gripe is its use on celebrities to create something that simply doesn’t exit. LIES!!! LIES!!!), I would like to formally introduce you to the concept of Fotoshop Fail. If I was standing in a lecture theatre, this is where the lights would dim for dramatic effect and the words ‘Fotoshop Fail’ would magically appear on a screen behind me.  A bit like this:

Fotoshop Fail is about applying an extremely basic image editing tool and using organic and rustic techniques to transform a photograph without actually enhancing it. Get my drift?

We’re talking ‘old skool’. Yep, we’re talking black teeth (c’mon who didn’t do that at the age of 24 12 thinking it was completely original and hilarious), unsightly growths (warts were always strangely a popular choice) and speech bubbles. And most importantly we’re talking humour. Yep, good ‘ol fashioned humour. So, as you can see the concept of Fotoshop Fail has basically got absolutely nothing to do with Photoshop. How refreshing, kinda takes the pressure off, right?

So, you’d probably like to see an example of the highly celebrated Fotoshop Fail? Again, if I were standing in a lecture theatre dramatic music would play; gasps and lots of finger pointing would ensue as the world witnessed this creative triumph. A bit like this (you should probably click on the image to maximise viewing pleasure):

So that you can truly appreciate the techniques applied within this ‘original’ Fotoshop Fail piece, I’ve presented it minus my ‘lecture theatre’ illustration. Please, feel free to take as long as you need to absorb its profoundness, its evocativeness and its downright laugh-out-loud greatness.

The creative genius behind Fotoshop Fail is the wonderfully talented Adam from the newly named ‘ChowderHead‘ blog. He has a whole post dedicated to the Fotoshop Fail concept and I strongly recommend that you check it out here.

A big thank you to Adam for taking my photograph and giving it the Fotoshop Fail treatment. You rock!! I’m thinking that this is my most successful collaboration to date!

Long live Fotoshop Fail.