The neighbor's kid said the moon looked fake and I couldn't let it go

I was out in the backyard last Saturday night taking some long exposure shots of the moon through a break in the clouds. My neighbor's 10 year old came over and asked if I was taking pictures of a giant light bulb. He said it looked too perfect to be real. I ended up pulling up NASA moon landing photos on my phone to try and explain how the craters and shadows work. Made me realize how easy it is for kids today to think everything is CGI. Has anyone else had to defend a simple moon photo to a skeptical kid?

2 comments

2 Comments

lee_ward5428d ago

Kids these days have no idea what real looks like anymore. I had to do the same thing with my nephew when he thought my sunrise photos were from a video game. Showed him the raw files straight off the camera and he still looked doubtful. Guess we're all living in the Matrix now.

hugog4328d ago

But hold on, are we sure the matrix isn't just better at this point? I mean, your nephew grew up on screens. His brain literally processes images differently than ours did. To him, a raw photo file is just... data. The same way we look at an old black and white photo and have to remind ourselves that those people were real and not actors in a costume drama. Maybe the real problem is that our old eyes can't keep up with how fast visual language has changed. He's not wrong for doubting the photo any more than we were wrong for doubting a heavily processed Instagram filter ten years ago. Take it from someone who has to explain to clients that their dog actually looks fluffier in person than in the photo I just took with my phone, reality is slippery for everyone.