Photoshop your Asian carp blues away
A dark cloud with a big mouth is forming over the Great Lakes, and we need your help to blow it away.
The voracious and invasive Asian carp is on its way into the Great Lakes, pitting governments, environmental groups, shippers, boaters and anglers against each other over what ought to be done to stop it.
Regional and national media have latched on to the story like a lamprey on a lake trout, and a week rarely goes by without an editorial admonishing the Army Corps of Engineers or Chicago and Washington politicians for sitting on their hands. The Toledo Blade’s Tom Henry, in his assessment of the situation, even invokes the Christmas underpants bomber.
Yikes.
Environmental issues are prone to doom-and-gloom trappings. If we don’t solve the problem, we will deprive our grandchildren of the diverse ecological paradises through which we’ve frolicked and taken for granted; If we do solve the problem, all of our jobs will head to China while Al Gore builds another gas-powered bowling alley for his mansion.
In an attempt to inject some levity into a potential environmental catastrophe, Echo presents: the carp bomb.
Before
Swimmers enjoy a peaceful Lake Michigan
After
Carp bomb!
Photobombs are a recent phenomenon of the wild world of the Internet. They happen when something or somebody sneaks into a photograph, both ruining it making it hilarious. One famous example is the squirrel who dropped in on a couple exploring Canada’s Lake Minnewanka.
To help us adjust to the coming carp, we’re Photoshopping shots of our new high-flying, gaping-mawed overlords into unsuspecting Great Lakes scenes. And we want your help.
There are a few ways you can get in on the action:
- If you’re Photoshop savvy and have a flickr account, join our flickr group and upload your creations to the group pool.
- If you’re Photoshop savvy but flickr isn’t your thing, just attach your work to an e-mail and send it to greatlakesecho@gmail.com.
- If you want nothing to to with Photoshop or flickr, but have a digital picture of the Great Lakes that could use a carp plastered to it, e-mail it to us. If it looks viable, we’ll do the rest.
Getting started
If you don’t have your own image to drop a carp on, use flickr or Google’s advanced image search to find public domain or Creative Commons images. Once you have an image, you can use our collection of pre-cut carp:
Click on one for the big version, then right-click to save.
To give you an idea of what we’re looking for, here’s what we have so far. Click for the original photos.
Those are pretty tame. You can also explore a science fiction dystopian angle.
By the time the carp make it to the Straits of Mackinaw, they'll probably be pretty big.
Once your carp-bombed masterpieces start rolling in, we’ll feature them here on Echo’s Catch of the Day.
Crasher Squirrel meets Aquatic Invasive !!!
LikeThis is awesome.
LikeThis is stupid. Great Lakes Echo seems to suffer from shallow reporting. Is this devised to distract us from that fact?
LikeLoved the whole thing! Want to create my own carp bomb.
LikeIndeed, quite dumb. Especially considering not all CC licenses allow this.
LikeI liked the carp bombs. I haven’t played with photoshop in a while.
Like[...] But this week, we are reminded that the invasive species battle has several fronts. And we’re not just talking about Echo’s carp bombs. [...]
Like[...] decision has come back to haunt them, according to today’s carp-flavored photobomb from the Conservation and Restoration [...]
Like[...] forget to submit your own carp bomb. And check out the waves these bombs are making in the local press. var addthis_language = [...]
Like[...] the pressurized air canisters! And ready your photo editing software and Flickr accounts! var addthis_language = [...]
Like[...] scientists! But don’t let them ruin your fun. Instead, learn how to make and submit your own carp bomb. var addthis_language = [...]
Like[...] in on the carp bomb photoshop fun? Learn how to create your own. var addthis_language = [...]
Likeis this realy how american science works? the results would indicate : distinctly possible
LikeWhile these photos are great to look at the problem is beyond serious. Please join State Representative Judy Nerat’s fight to stop the invasion before it detroys Michigan’s fishing, boating & tourism industries. Join the fight at: http://www.noasiancarp.com
LikeLeave your response!
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Great Lakes Echo is a project of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.
Reporting is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Additional content is provided by MSU's Capital News Service.
Technical assistance by MSU's Department of Telecommunications, Information Studies and Media with support from the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.