Photoshop Before Photoshop Existed...

These days, photoshop is almost part of everyday life.  Digitally based editing programs can change everything from pictures to video and can alter almost anything in it in every possible way.  Before photoshop, doing such editing was strenuous mixtures of exposures and lots of trial and error.  Here are some of the most unbelievable images that you won't believe aren't real!

General Ulysses S. Grant:

Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in front of his troops at City Point, Va., during the Civil War. 

Researchers at the Library of Congress say it isn't real, instead it is a composite of three separate prints. The head is a photo of Grant, the horse and body from a photo of Alexander M. McCook and the background is a photo of Confederate prisoners captured at the battle of Fisher’s Hill, Va.

Abraham Lincoln:

This nearly iconic portrait (in the form of a lithograph) of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is a composite of Lincoln’s head and the Southern politician John Calhoun’s body.

Generals:

In this photo by Mathew Brady, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman poses with his generals. Gen. Francis P. Blair, far right, was added later. The image on the left is from the same sitting, which Blair did not attend.

Cottingley Fairies:

Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, two young cousins, took a photos that appeared to be of fairies. The public, including Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, loved them. It was decades before the two admitted the images were photos of cardboard cutouts of drawings, and they continued to maintain they had actually seen fairies.

Herbert Hoover & Charles Curtis

This famous campaign photograph showing Herbert Hoover with his hand on the shoulder of his running mate, Charles Curtis, was manipulated. One of Hoover's press directors, Edward Anthony, explained in his autobiography, that two separate pictures were used and the hand was painted in by an artist.

Stalin:

Stalin routinely had his enemies air-brushed out of photographs. In this image, a commissar was removed from the original after falling out of favor with Stalin.

Hitler:

The doctored photo is on the left, and the original is on the right. Adolf Hitler had Joseph Goebbels (second from the right) removed from the original image.


Originally spotted at: http://www.fourandsix.com/photo-tampering-history/

Anthill Art

I always knew anthills were large and complex, but I had no idea that they were like this!  Check out this "casting" of an anthill and be amazed at the vast complex these industrial insects inhabit!

Beauty from Garbage- Landfill Harmonic

First World Problems, they always seem so trivial, especially when you encounter something like this.  This community lives near a landfill and they recycle the garbage and sell it for money or make interesting things from it... like this:  



  

Impossible Art

I just discovered this photographer today, and he’s amazing!  If you like optical illusions, fantastical photographs and unique concepts, you need to check out the work of Erik Johansson.  He uses composite imagery to create these unbelievable photographs that will just blow your mind!

Macro Snowflakes

If you’re anything like me, you hate the winter.  When I say hate, I really mean it.  I hate the cold, I hate the snow, I hate winter coats and hats and gloves and boots.  If I could have it be any of the other seasons all the time, I would.  (Which makes me wonder why I live in Iowa and not near a beach somewhere…)  I do, however, love things that are beautiful.  Even though I hate snow, I am forced to admit that these snowflakes are truly beautiful and am just amazed at their unique and striking beauty.  Please enjoy today’s Atmospheric Noise!

Starry, Starry Night

For millennia, humans have been looking to the stars- for life, to travel, to dream.  We have built telescopes, spaceships, and devoted billions of dollars into researching the universe.  I myself have always been interested in the sky, from clouds to stars to moon, though I’ve never been very good at photographing them.  I guess I really should invest in that telephoto lens someday- especially after seeing these images.  These amazing images are done two ways- the first is by doing a single frame long exposure (which is really tricky because you really have to know your camera and plan ahead for the long night of exposing your image) or by doing a multi-image composite.  (I only know this because of my photography background, with my nighttime photographs being a particular influence in this knowledge)  However they’re done, you’re going to be amazed and awed… this I guarantee.

Surreal Landscapes

There are a lot of times that I wish I could do more traveling- there are so many outstanding places in the world that are such a part of nature that you rarely get to experience.  I’ve been compiling a list for a long time of all the fantastic locations that I have found and would love to visit in my lifetime, I hope you enjoy them as I have!

Tufa columns of Mono Lake at sunrise

Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park in Gansu Province, China

Tunnel of Love in Kleven Ukraine

Door to hell Karakum Desert

Beautiful green thermal lake called Devils Bath in Wai-O-Tapu Wonderland, geothermal area at Waiotapu, Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand

Tianzi Mountains in Wulingyuan, China

Spotted Lake near Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada

Lake Hillier, on the Middle Island of the Archipelago of the Recherche in Western Australia

Salar De Uyuni

Why are your eyes so Stupid?

Lets face it, sometimes the parts of our body can't fully reconcile with our brain- we sometimes speak before we think, we move before we look, and sometimes we perceive something different than we're actually seeing.  Your eyes are tricky and as this video points out, they're also stupid.

Sad Dog Diary

This is totally NSFW, but totally HILARIOUS.  Please watch and enjoy the sad thoughts of sad dogs!

9 Famously Haunted Items

You've heard of Haunted Houses.... Have you heard of Haunted Objects?

The Haunted Cane

In December 2004, the first "ghost" was sold on ebay.  A woman from Indiana placed for auction grandpa's cane because her son believed it was haunted with his ghost.  (Ebay doesn't allow auctions of intangible items, such as ghosts, however the woman was selling the physical cane that the ghost seemed to inhabit)  In case you're wondering, the cane sold for $65,000 to Golden Palace Casino, to be part of a traveling tour which already includes a Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

Annabelle The Haunted Doll

Touted as one of the most unusual cases of a possessed object, Annabelle the doll was originally bought from an antique store and given to a young woman by her mother.  After a short time, the girl and her roommate started noticing strange things about the doll.  First they noticed small movements, which grew to bigger movements and eventually they found the doll changing rooms entirely!  About a month after receiving the doll, they started finding small messages, which looked to be penned by the hand of a child, and they all stated some variation of “help.”  Not only were they strange notes, but they were also found on parchment paper, which neither of the roommates kept in the house.  Then one night, the girl came home to find that the doll appeared to be covered in blood, and she sought the help of a spiritual medium.  The medium came in and confirmed that the doll was possessed by the spirit of a 7 year old girl named Annabelle.  After this, the doll was investigated by Ed and Lorraine Warren, who called a priest in and determined that the doll was not really possessed by a spirit, but instead by a demonic entity who was looking to acquire a human host.  The doll is currently locked up in the possession of the Warrens, on display in their small paranormal museum.

Screaming Skulls

The tales of screaming skulls seem to be most familiar to Britain, with many of the more famous stories originating there.  Some of the stories are enough to send chills up your spine!  One of my favorites is that of Burton Agnes Hall in East Yorkshire.  Anne was a young maiden who was fatally stabbed.  On her deathbed, she had her sisters promise that they would remove her head and keep it in the great hall of their manor.  The sisters ignored her plea, and upon the completion of the great hall, it was filled with strange moaning and odd sounds.  Finally, the sisters could take it no longer and they went out to the family vault and retrieved the skull, finally placing it in its desired resting place.  Sometime later, a servant who did not believe the story went so far as to throw the skull out onto a passing wagon, causing the horses to rear in fear, and all the pictures fell from the walls in the great hall.  Needless to say, it was returned and later bricked up in the wall to protect it and keep it in its rightful place.  If you would like to read more about screaming skulls, check out this great website.

Haunted Bunk Beds

Purchased at a second hand shop, these are not your everyday bunk beds.  Since the Tallman family found them and put them in their children’s bedroom, a slew of bad events started happening.  The children fell ill, the radios started taking on a life of their own and objects started moving around the house.  The doors around the house would bang open and shut, the family heard voices and the entire family was scared of the haunted happenings in the house.  The last straw was when a skeptic relative was staying over and saw something strange.  The family finally moved, destroyed the bunk beds and never looked back.  They have since been haunting free and the house remains spirit free to this day.

Robert the Doll


Once owned by painter Eugene Otto, the doll is allegedly cursed. Otto got the doll as a gift in 1906 from a servant who was supposedly skilled in black magic. Neighbors reported seeing the doll moving from window to window. Otto would scream at night and claim the doll turned over furniture. When he died in 1974, the doll fell into the hands of a 10-year-old girl who also screamed at night and claimed that the doll tried to kill her. Robert is now in the Fort East Martello Museum and Gardens in Key West, Fla., where guests can take a picture with him. A word of warning: you must ask nicely, or Robert will curse you.

The Dibbuk Box

The definition of a Dibbuk box is a wine cabinet which is haunted by a restless evil spirit called a Dibbuk.  It is mainly believed to be folklore, however there are some odd stories of Dibbuk boxes throughout time.  This one became famous after it was listed on ebay.  It had belonged to a woman who had recently passed, who had been a Jewish survivor from a concentration camp during WWII.  When she immigrated to the US, this dibbuk box was one of the only items that she brought with her.  She had warned her family to never open the box, that they would be harmed and she asked to be buried with the box.  This was against their religious belief, however, and the granddaughter ended up selling the dibbuk box to an antique dealer.  Once it was in his possession, strange things started happening in his shop.  The antique dealer did what any good chap would do, he gave the box to his mother.  Within a few days, she suffered a major stroke.  He then attempted to gift the box to others, but everyone always returned it, either because they did not like the box or they felt something evil coming from it.  It was sold on ebay, and presumably, the antique dealer finally had the peace he wanted.

 "The Anguished Man"

This painting is just plain creepy. It doesn’t really need a spooky story to have it send chills down your spine, but it does anyway.  The story that was told to the owner was that the artist who created the painting mixed his own blood in with the paint and that he killed himself shortly after completing it.  Voices and weeping sounds were abundant, along with shadowy figures roaming the house.  The current owner has taken some video to back up his claim, see if you believe it for yourself.

The Cursed "Chair of Death" Kills All Who Sit in It

In 1702, a convicted murderer named Thomas Busby was about to be hanged for his crimes. His last request was to have his final meal served at his favorite pub in Thirsk, England. He finished his meal, stood up, and said, "May sudden death come to anyone who dare sit in my chair."

The chair remained in the pub for centuries, with many a brave man daring one another to sit in it.  It could be coincidence, but during times of war it was noted that soldiers that sat in his chair did not return.  After a long string of deaths that were tied to people who had sat in the chair, the owner of the pub donated it to a local museum in 1972.  The museum has the chair on display hanging up on the wall so that no one is able to sit in it and suffer the same fate.

The Women from Lemb Statue

Nicknamed “The Goddess of Death,” The Women from Lemb is a statue carved from pure limestone that was discovered in 1878 in Lemb, Cypruss. The item dates back to 3500 B.C., and is believed to represent a goddess, similar to a fertility idol. The statue was first owned by Lord Elphont, and within six years of having the statue in his possession, all seven of the Elphont family members had died from mysterious causes.
Both of the next two owners, Ivor Manucci and Lord Thompson-Noel, also died along with their entire families just a few short years after taking the statue into their homes.

The fourth owner, Sir Alan Biverbrook, died as well, along with his wife and two of their daughters. Two of Biverbrook’s sons remained, and though they weren’t big believers in the occult, they were scared enough by the sudden and strange deaths of four of their family members that they decided to donate the statue to the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh, where it remains today.

Shortly after the item was placed in the museum, the chief of the section where the statue dwelled suddenly died as well, though no museum curator will admit that the statue may have supernatural properties. No one has handled the statue since that first museum worker who passed away, and the item is safely under glass and protected from human hands.

8 Most Haunted Locations in the World

We thought it only fitting to include the most haunted locations in the world with this months topic.  Some of them have a more dramatic past than others, though almost every visitor reports experiencing some sort of phenomena.  Some of the ghosts have names and stories while others are just a mystery.  Whether or not you believe in ghosts, some of these stories will send shivers up your spine!

The Myrtles Plantation

This plantation began in 1796, built by General David Bradford, in St. Francisville, Louisiana.  Not all of the history of the house is agreed upon, as some historians believe that up to 10 murders happened here, however only one murder has been officially confirmed.  One thing that is known, is that strange things happen here.  Some of the reports that have come in from the plantation are of children playing on the veranda, footsteps on the stairway, the piano plays by itself and random ghosts of slaves show up looking for work.   If you'd like to experience it for yourself, you're in luck.  It's now a bed and breakfast!  

"It was a spectacular place to stay, if you keep an open mind. While taking the guided tour, I saw what looked like a heavyset African-American woman wearing an apron walk by the door, on the porch. Thinking it was a worker in period dress, I peeked out and no one was there. We stayed in the children's bedroom, and my best-friend (who was a non-believer at the time) experienced quite a bit of paranormal phenomena. She was held down in the bed and constantly poked all night. She was unable to move or cry out for help. She didn't think the stay was as great as I did. They let you ghost hunt on the grounds whenever you like, but you can't ghost hunt in the main house without an escort. I suggest setting up a video camera in your room and bring a tape recorder to obtain EVP."  ~Stacey Jones, Central New York Ghost Hunters (found on paranormal.about.com)

Here's some of the spookier pictures that turned up on a search:

Look in the Mirror:

Image from hauntsofamerica.blogspot.com

Here's Chloe:

Chloe herself has an interesting story- She was a governess who accidentally killed off part of the family she cared for and then was hung for her misdeeds.  

If you want to know more, this is a great resource on the Myrtle Plantation.

Borley Rectory

The derelict building in the photo above is not a place to enter lightly. Though the small village of Borley, near Sudbury, UK, is not the sort of place one would associate with ghosts, it has a dreadful reputation because it was the site of the infamous Borley Rectory, reputedly the ‘Most Haunted House in England’.

Built in 1863 for the Reverend Henry Bull, it sits on the site of an ancient monastery. The ghost of a mournful nun who patrolled the so-called 'Nun's Walk' had often been seen there. An old story claimed that she had fallen in love with a monk from the Borley Monastery – to much outrage – and the two had tried to elope together but had been quickly tracked down. The monk was executed and the nun bricked up in the cellars of the monastic buildings!

Stanley Hotel

There are countless tales of ghosts from all over the world, but some are more skin-crawling than most. Many of us remember the superb horror film The Shining, based on the novel by Stephen King. The book was inspired by a stay at the Stanley in Estes Park, Colorado. Assigned Room 217, King reportedly heard ghost children playing in the hallway. Many have experienced paranormal activity here, but these real-life ghosts seem harmless. Many spirits are said to haunt the place, while guests and employees claim to have heard faint music coming from the ballroom and seen the piano keys moving.

Woodchester Mansion

Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire, England, is another building with a ghostly reputation. Building work has never been completed here, and in the last 200 years workers have repeatedly run from the place and seven builders are rumoured to have died in inexplicable accidents.



The Skirrid Inn

One of the most notorious haunted sites in England is the Skirrid Mountain Inn in Llanfihangel Crucorney, Wales. According to folklore, in its 900-year history over 180 people have been hanged from a beam on the staircase, which is still in place today, with rope marks, apparently. The first floor of the inn is thought to have been a courtroom in the past.

Glasses often suddenly fly across the room of their own accord, faces are seen at windows and people feel nooses around their necks. Guests who stay there often report waking to icy room temperatures – even when the heating is on – and the feeling of being watched. 17th-century barmaid Fanny Price is thought to be the most active spirit among many, but everyone agrees that this really is one scary place to stay.

Rose Hall

You might not think that Jamaica would be the site of an infamous haunted house, but Rose Hall in Montego Bay is exactly that. This huge house is inhabited by the ghost of voodoo priestess's daughter, Annie Palmer, who reportedly causes bloodstains to appear and disappear randomly. She was murdered in her bed after an 11-year reign of death, torture and nymphomania.

Annie murdered three husbands and a succession of slave lovers by poisoning, strangulation and witchcraft, before forcing other slaves to carry bodies through a tunnel to be buried on a beach. According to legend, it is not just the tormented Annie who roams the house, but also ghosts of the slave babies she sacrificed in rituals. Reports have it that her male victims have actually been not only heard but also captured on camera. Not a pleasant place to spend the night.

Bell Farm

The Bell Farm haunting is recognized throughout the paranormal community as the only known account of a ghost that caused the death of a living person. During the years of 1817 and 1821 a woman entity terrorized the Bell family. She became known as the Bell Witch or 'Kate'. She had tortured John Bell so much that it led to his death. He did suffer from a nervous system disorder, and Kate’s antics made his condition worse.
Beside John’s deathbed was found a vial of black liquid. When paranormal experts asked Kate what it was, she claimed she gave it to him. It was thought that the liquid Kate gave to John is what killed him. To test the validity of the liquid, they placed a drop of it on the family cat’s tongue which immediately killed it. Current residents near the Bell Farm believe Kate is still up to no good.

Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is reputed to be one of the most haunted spots in Scotland. And Edinburgh itself has been called the most haunted city in all of Europe. On various occasions, visitors to the castle have reported a phantom piper, a headless drummer, the spirits of French prisoners from the Seven Years War, colonial prisoners from the American Revolutionary War – and even the ghost of a dog wandering in the grounds' dog cemetery.