Just a glimpse of biased photo editing, in passing

Last week I was walking along Cordova Street. As I passed this sign, what jumped out at me was the apparent phrase "Glassware toques." This created such a strange image in my head that I broke my stride to back up and check what the sign really said. Of course, the shop does not offer "glassware toques" for $14.

This got me thinking about how editing can be used to mislead, and I cropped the picture accordingly. This bit of mischief reminded me again of the need to consider all things in context. (Okay, I admit that's a familiar rant.)

But look at what can be done by cropping a picture with a certain end in mind. By manipulating pictures or words, desired reactions are suggested. Not the case here, but we live with glimpse-and-run images; it's a cautionary tale.