Photoshopping pictures

[flechero]

I'm wondering why people feel the need to photoshop pictures around here.  Are there that many people trying to find your spots?  Afriad someone sees the magic bait? (only members can see pics) I'm serious, be it baits, places, etc. we get cool pics and have choppy white edges and blank backgrounds or the ol' digital blur.  

I don't get it.  I've seen it from a bunch of states.  Anyone willing to explain it it me?

Thanks

________________________________________________________

OK, first and foremost this post is only to ask a couple of honest questions.    If anyone suggests otherwise, they are trying to cause trouble.  

[roadwarrior]

I think it's mostly Kalifornia because of so much fishing pressure.

BTW, In the background of my avatar is the Pickwick Dam. That's

where I REALLY fish! Most of "my river" is the first few miles below the dam.

8-)

[frogtog]

I'm at a lost, don't know what to say.

[Daniel My Brother]

A lot of times they just go to Bass Pro Shop and pull the biggest one out of the tank. Then they have to hide the tank by blurring the picture.

;D ;D

Seriously, if I were a guide and I had a hot spot that nobody knew about, I'd probably do the same.

[flechero]

because of so much fishing pressure.

That's kind of what I'm looking to find out...   more of them were Ca but there have been some in about 10 other states in the past year or so.  (this isn't new, I just saw 3 or 4 more in the past week and decided to ask the question)

[fishizzle]

YOU'D HAVE TO KNOW A LAKE REALLY WELL TO ID IT FROM A BACKGROUND AND THE FISH MAY NOT EVEN BE FROM THAT SPOT

[Tin]

Seriously, if I were a guide and I had a hot spot that nobody knew about, I'd probably do the same.

x2 I have not seen the other pics but I know if I had a spot like the bizzle I would do the same thing.

[Matt Fly]

Our guides on Fork take pictures with out photo shopping them and still protect the waters they fish.    

Seems to me if you know how to photoshop, you'd know on simple it is to use a camera so you wouldn't need to do that.

Sorry, I don't care to even look at the photo shopied pictures cause they have been tampered with.

[Yakfish]

The whited out backgrounds take away from the pic if you ask me but I won't fault anyone for protecting their hot spot from additional pressure. I'm sure many of those locations aren't really secrets anyway and any more boats on the water could blow it up for everyone.

Maybe a zoom and crop would better keep the "integrity" of the pic that some seem to be considered about without giving a location away because of a landmark in the background? Just a thought...

[Fish Chris]

photoshopping is certainly because of guys wanting to keep down the pressure.... Most especially in California, where you have tens of thousands of guys surfing the net, looking for the next great place to fish.... and that place might be a little bitty pond, in which only a handful of additional bass fishermen, can drastically reduce your own odds at even getting to fish the areas of that pond that you want to, let alone, catching another good fish from it.

That said, all a guy has to do is back himself up close to any steep section of bank, bushes, trees, etc, and this makes it almost impossible to tell the pond / lake, or the individual spot on it.

Secondly, if a guy is going to go through the trouble to photoshop his photos, why not just use the cloning feature to erase distinguishing features, in a way which is basically undetectable...... rather than scribbling all over the photo, or blurring it into obscurity ?

I don't know about the guys that do this, but to me, I want to show off a good looking photo, as well as a good looking fish.

Finally, personally speaking, their are things I don't like to have in my fish photos, which don't have anything to do with giving away my spot. This might sound weird, but I hate to have anything man made in the back ground of my spots. Light poles, buildings..... heck, I've even been known to erase passing boats. In fact, I feel even more strongly about man made garbage getting into my "non-fish" photography. If I couldn't erase a light pole, I wouldn't use that photo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh hey, and here's another reason for knowing how to use photoshop.....

Oh wait.... you guys haven't seen that fish photo yet ;-)

Coming soon,

Peace,

Fish

[flechero]

That said, all a guy has to do is back himself up close to any steep section of bank, bushes, trees, etc, and this makes it almost impossible to tell the pond / lake, or the individual spot on it.

Agreed.  Or even take the pic at an upward angle and kill the shore line view.

Thanks FC, I was actually hoping you'd respond because I never saw your pics photoshopped or blurred and your's are always great looking photos.  You don't seem to worried about your spots...  If it's just a matter of protecting a spot, you don't have a bunch of people running you over... and I'd think your spots would be in "high demand."  No?

I think a good fish pic has to be a good pic... regardless of the size fish in it.

Maybe it's really as simple as protecting a spot.  fair enough.  Like the original post said, I wondered why...   (or wondered if there was more to it than that.)

[Yakfish]

That said, all a guy has to do is back himself up close to any steep section of bank, bushes, trees, etc, and this makes it almost impossible to tell the pond / lake, or the individual spot on it.

Unless some jackazz recognizes the 12 pack of empties and 20 Winston butts he left there last week.

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Can't wait to see that pic FC!

[619bassman]

I think its just silly to be blurring and all that. I mean give me a break nobody is going to find yer spot or "steal" your bait from a freaking picture

[Mattlures]

619bassman That my be the most incorrect statement ever posted on this board! I know for a fact that alot of people recognize spots from pictures. I do it all the time. Thats why I usualy post a couple weeks after I catch a worthy fish. I also do not preferr the photo shopping but I definatly understand it. I myself like to go find a nice reed patch or something similar and pull right up to it and use it as my background. It just makes a nicer picture

[Micro]

I photoshopped the serial number off the pic of my gun I posted.  And I photoshopped FishChris' arm to make it look really, really, really, really, really, really L  O  N  G .

But that's about it.  

I would never photoshop a pic of place I fish.  I always hope someone can tell me how to fish it.  

[Red]

i have wondered about this as well, just never mentioned anything.  if someone asked me where i caught a fish, i would tell them where and what i caught it on, i love catching fish but i get pumped up when my buddy catches one too.  i dont feel any need to keep my spots secret or anything like that.  

Cliff

[fourbizz]

I take those photos for ME! I love looking at my fish pictures. And I get to see my favorite spots, my bait, everything that was a part of that catch.

I DO NOT take pictures for other people! I am not going to go to another spot for the pic, and the get really close to the bank maneuver, usually tells what lake you were at.

So if other people would like to see the pics that I took for ME, then they can look at altered pics. Satisfying whiners and ruining a bite/lake just isnt worth it.

[flechero]

I take those photos for ME! I love looking at my fish pictures. And I get to see my favorite spots, my bait, everything that was a part of that catch.

I DO NOT take pictures for other people! I am not going to go to another spot for the pic, and the get really close to the bank maneuver, usually tells what lake you were at.

So if other people would like to see the pics that I took for ME, then they can look at altered pics. Satisfying whiners and ruining a bite/lake just isnt worth it.

Jay,

I think you read too much into this.  It was a question, not an accusation.

Maybe it's really as simple as protecting a spot. fair enough. Like the original post said, I wondered why...

[Matt Jungblut]

i dont do it and dont need to but heres a good story

there was a guy that last fall caught a big bag of fish for where i live

he posted pics and said where he was fishing

he found a nice cove and had it all to him self he went out the very next day and what did he find but 20 boats fishing the exact spot

so i understand why u do it

[fourbizz]

I take those photos for ME! I love looking at my fish pictures. And I get to see my favorite spots, my bait, everything that was a part of that catch.

I DO NOT take pictures for other people! I am not going to go to another spot for the pic, and the get really close to the bank maneuver, usually tells what lake you were at.

So if other people would like to see the pics that I took for ME, then they can look at altered pics. Satisfying whiners and ruining a bite/lake just isnt worth it.

Jay,

I think you read too much into this.  It was a question, not an accusation.

Maybe it's really as simple as protecting a spot.  fair enough.  Like the original post said, I wondered why...

Flech, I should have made it clear that your post did not bother me. This subject comes up all the time. On one of my local boards, the guys who suck really like to complain about blacked out backgrounds. It is never the real good sticks that complain, its the guys that want to take shortcuts. They like to suggest that if you black out the background it is because you are fishing somewhere that is ridiculously easy.

So if my post came off as being too wrapped up, it wasn't you, just the subject in general gets me fired up.

[grimlin]

If i ever catch a DD bass or one close to it...I'm photoshopping the background.

I can understand why the guys do it.

Believe me it's hard enough to find a spot holding the big mommas,even harder catching them i would assume(never caught one).Why give your location away if you don't have to?Some would call it jealously or selfishness,but i do believe these guys who hunt for these monster fish take their time and dedication finding them.

My lake everybody here pretty much keeps what they catch.I got sick and mad last year because people kept coming up to me after releasing a nice size bass asking if i catch another they want to keep it.At this point i just go home or move to another spot. >

I'm finding more and more reason for a buying a boat soon.Can't afford one just yet...soon enough though.

[Vyron]

people who learn/gain something easy , give it away easy

i agree 100% why people should photo shop their pic

i learned it the hard way

[Top]

hasn't the ice melted YET????

while a photoshopped picture isn't visually as nice as one that isn't... I don't let it bother me... I have to "photoshop" my pictures all the time because of my job... OPSEC you know.

cabin fever is in full bloom isn't it?

AL