25 November 2009

Grrr... I hate faked catalog pictures

Okay, I've ranted about this before here on my blog, and as a guest on Gardenrant, but this still makes me mad.
The other day I got a catalog from Jackson and Perkins -- which is good right? I've been complaining about not getting enough catalogs. But this catalog made me mad because: it is full of blatantly faked images. Don't believe me? They have the same images on their website, so you can see for yourself. Here's an example.

Go check out this item -- a single papillo amaryllis. Click though to the link and look at the picture large.
Than look at this one, a group planting of three papillo amaryllis. Notice anything similar? Like the fact that the central bloom of the group of three is IDENTICAL to the bloom of the single plant? As in, they just cut and pasted their flowers together? Look closely at the three bulbs in the pot... Funny that they are identical as well. And that the shadows on the leaves, stems, flowers, and pot aren't quite the same... As in: the entire image was assembled in photoshop from plant bits photographed against a green screen.
Are you kidding me?
How hard is it to grow just one of everything they sell, and take an actual picture of it?
Hmph.
Thankfully, I now also have catalogs from Pinetree Garden seeds AND the Seed Savers Exchange, so I can throw out J&P and indulge in delightful, REAL catalog pictures.

7 comments:

Matt DiLeo said...

That pisses me off to. Seems like it should violate truth in advertising laws...

canyon naturalist said...

OHmygosh- i KNOW what you mean! i especially despise the "blue" roses and snowdrops.(not sure if they are in J&P)-THEY are DRAWN on photos! ugh!
i, too, adore the seedsaversexchange'log- but if you like REAL pics, than you have GOT to check out Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Their catalog is awesome!
www.rareseeds.com
Thanks for the cool posts!

Wm Jas Tychonievich said...

"the seedsaversexchange'log"

Sometimes it's a good idea to put spaces between words -- so that the reader doesn't mentally insert them in the wrong places!

Joseph said...

Hmm... actually, Wm, I think I'll start running seedsaversexchange together all the time now, and giggling to myself.
And thanks for the tip about Bakers Creek -- I've not heard of them! Always fun to learn about new seed sources!

canyon naturalist said...

Hey, no problem! Always trying to help fellow gardeners! :)

Fern @ Life on the Balcony said...

The background is faked too. The lighting on the flowers and the lighting in the background doesn't match. It's close, but not coming from exactly the same angle.

Fern @ Life on the Balcony said...

Mat kinase--If that were true, almost every advertisement would be illegal. Every photo with a person in it is heavily airbrushed. Any photo with food in it probably isn't really food, isn't the food you think it is, or isn't cooked properly.