Photorealism (collection of images)

I am occasionally asked "What's the point of creating photorealistic images? Why not just settle with a photo?" Well, apart from the fact that they are a joy to do (which is reason enough in my books), an airbrushed image offers a quality that no amount of retouching can bring to a photograph. Although applications such as Adobe Photoshop enable photos to be manipulated a greater extent than was possible before, advertising agencies still like to employ the skills of an airbrush artist (although Photoshop's airbrush tool has largely replaced the old DeVebliss, which is now useful for blowing dust out of mechanical parts) because of this very quality. Note the reflective surfaces of the Buick hood. No car ever left a factory with such a flawless surface.

Click on an image to see an enlarged view.