Photoshop Absurdity: Dave Price's 'Ghost Riders' Are Pretty Strange

Feb 24, 2021 at 3:08
by Dave Price  

Ghost Riders
Words & Photography // Dave Price


Words: Dave Price

With the lockdown blues in full swing and my rapidly depleting patience of being stuck indoors with sod all to do, I started to have a little play in photoshop after seeing one of these floating around the social media stratosphere. Yes I know its been done 1000 times before but it definitely killed a few hours of lockdown and boosted some photoshop knowledge...


Lukas Schaefer - Crankworx Innsbruck


This is where it all started.... the clone stamp warrior has been born! Yep, you've guessed it! Pretty much all of the editing for these are done with the mighty clone stamp. A nice simple one to start. Just some clouds and some mountains. No Drama!


Steve Peat - Bala


Bossman Peaty! This was the one that got my hooked for about a week, faffing around in photoshop editing bikes out of my images. Taking it up a notch, this was the first image where i've reconstructed a part of the body just using the clone stamp. Look closely are Peaty's left arm. See if you can spot then clone.....


Sam Hockenhull - 50/01 Jam


Unknown - Crankworx Les Gets


Brendan Fairclough - Peaty's Steel City


Of course the time will come where a good old copy and paste of an arm or leg seems like the way forward. Worked out ok in this one but theres still some work to do on that dodgy right knee!


Matt Jones - Crankworx Les Gets


Elliott Heap - Berwyn


Probably the hardest one to date. Reconstructing the sole of the shoe from a clip in to a flat. Clone stamp victory! Hopefully that brought a smile to your face and filled your mind with something other than CV-19. Lets roll on to March so we can finally get back to racing! The Mountains are calling!!!

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120 Comments

  • 280 4
 photoshopped
  • 116 0
 Spotted prototype invisible donut
  • 6 0
 Yeah Right!
  • 21 0
 @wheelsmith: donut hole
  • 3 0
 chopped
  • 12 0
 no the bikes just have good camo paint jobs
  • 7 0
 @owlie: Perhaps what was chopped were not mountain bikes but rather imperial speeders.
  • 1 0
 @audeo03: First thing I thought of. Still one of the best skate videos of all time.
  • 2 0
 LET'S GO DOWN THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS RABBIT HOLE OF PHOTOSHOP NOW!!!!
WHoooooooHoooooooooooo!!!!!!!

"This looks shopped. I can tell from the pixels and having been in quite a few shops in my time."

tinyurl.com/35nsw9fw
  • 5 0
 Santa Cruz is really stepping up their game on the Chameleon paint job.
  • 4 0
 All these companiues REALLY want their prototypes kept secret...
  • 2 0
 @JSTootell:
Golf applause for that one
  • 118 0
 Where were these for photos of the year nominations?!
  • 6 0
 No doubt, the most compelling images I’ve seen all year!
  • 4 0
 These are fantastic...
  • 13 2
 if we want to defeat the inevitable roost photo, this is the only way!
  • 18 0
 @ccolagio: wasted opportunity, roost shot with no bike would be guaranteed POY
  • 1 0
 @boombatz: Agreed, I love these ab-fab! Beer
  • 5 0
 These are ironically less constructed than many of the POTY entries.
  • 1 0
 i guess it depends on when they were taken.... these could be 2021 contenders! to be clear though, i totally get the point and agree. So awesome to see such a fresh take.
  • 51 4
 11 y/o daughter: "is Steve Peat hover-farting?"
  • 38 0
 What kind of environment does your kid live in where Steve Peat known, let alone visually recognized in gear
  • 18 0
 That would explain the dust trail, lol.
  • 13 0
 He's a ripper.
  • 14 0
 @me2menow: The right kind.
  • 3 1
 @me2menow: Honestly don't understand why people lie or exaggerate this kind of shit online.
  • 3 1
 @me2menow: Maybe she read the caption that identifies him? Maybe she said “that guy” and he just filled in the name so we would know which photo she was talking about. No need to be so cynical.
  • 5 2
 @TobiasHandcock: "Hey (insert daughter here),come here and take a look at this blog post on pinkbike!"
"No dad I'm playing fortnite"
"Oh come on!!! Now tell me which rider this is...santacruz, retired...come one we've practiced this one before!"
"I hate bikes" *goes to room and closes door*
  • 1 0
 Truth! @me2menow:
  • 2 0
 I mean, shee could also have read his name in the caption below the image. Maybe.
  • 27 0
 I gonna get some of that death grips even photoshop couldn’t take that from the hand of Brendan,by the way great idea and good work :-)))
  • 24 0
 Reminds me of Axel F Crazy Frog.
youtu.be/k85mRPqvMbE
  • 1 0
 Dum dum dumda dum dum dum
  • 2 0
 ding ding
  • 3 0
 @Vudu74 @benson-m-g: youve ruined my day
  • 4 0
 We need a WC track preveiw of Peatys cut out hooning down a WC track to crazy frog.
  • 2 0
 @oatkinso: Made mine. lol
  • 1 0
 pics.me.me/this-looks-shopped-can-tell-from-some-of-the-pixels-54027212.png
  • 17 0
 This is possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen. When your friends ask what you do, this is what you show them.
  • 13 0
 This is awesome. Hockenhulls foot position seems impossible, and the downhillers aggressive body position is really displayed. I'd love to see more.
  • 1 0
 @TobiasHandcock hockenhulls has gotta be a one foot nac, right? Thats all I can figure out. Sure looks insane, regardless
  • 5 0
 Brendog and Peaty still have grips. Their forearm strength is powerful, photoshop couldn’t even get them to let go.
  • 2 0
 @Jaminlk: Yeah I think so too, idk how he could twist his foot like that without a bike to push into. Really goes to show how hard these guys a throwing down seeing it like that!!
  • 1 0
 +1 - really exemplifies how aggressive they are and it's easier to visualize!
  • 1 0
 I like how this highlights the downhillers body position. Those guys are so low!
  • 1 0
 I could look at these type of pics all day! Sorry, Boss.
  • 13 0
 This bike shortage is really starting to impact the sport!
  • 7 0
 Me when my bike is broken.
  • 3 0
 This should be used for teaching/demonstrating body position! It's so hard to articulate proper form as it can be so situation dependent. @mikelevy This could be so useful for new and experienced riders alike. Would it be possible to make this happen? I'd love to see a breakdown of a good scrub for instance?....
  • 1 0
 It sounds like it's pretty high effort to shop one photo, full sequences might take too long.
  • 4 0
 I'm sure I've looked like many of these pictures if you just crop out the left or right side of the pic that has the bike in it...and me no longer attached.
  • 7 0
 Me when I’m hiking
  • 4 0
 Ah yes, we in NZ are privileged to have some of the finest bikeless riding on the planet.
  • 4 0
 Amazing!

But Dave Price refers to Dave Price in the third person in the title?
  • 3 0
 Renaissance man...
  • 4 0
 Brendog still has Deathgrip!
  • 4 0
 Definitely made me smile! Thanks
  • 3 0
 superb techniques, open chest, slight bend in the elbows and looking far ahead!
  • 1 0
 Not saying he invented photoshopping things out of photos, but Stevil Kinevil was doing this exact thing years ago and making it very public. Cred where cred is due on some level folks.
  • 3 0
 This basically sums up biking in general, just flying around
  • 3 0
 Brendan's thumb doesn't look so good lol.
  • 3 0
 Welcome to the future, MTB Hover shoes
  • 2 0
 As a fellow photoshop whizz I find these very interesting to look at. Great work.
  • 3 0
 I would pay to get these framed haha
  • 1 0
 Haha! Ill send you my bank details
  • 1 0
 @davepricephoto: love the pics dude - not sure how you monetize this but this is the coolest thing I've seen on here for quite some time! How many hours does each one take?
  • 1 0
 @RadBartTaylor: Most of them took an hour to edit. Peaty's, Hockenhull's and Heap's took longer as your reconstructing clothing, background dirt jumps and shoes.
  • 2 0
 This is hilarious, couldn’t stop laughing to myself as I went through the pictures. Thanks pb that made me smile.
  • 2 0
 We finslly have the answer to the question "Do power rangers shit in the woods?"
  • 2 0
 Awesome !
Reminds me a french court movie that won prices in the 90' : www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-07h0t0ZGk
  • 1 0
 Homage to Spike Jones. He did this in a video of skaters floating without their boards. It’s a much cooler effect in video.
  • 5 2
 This is the way...
  • 5 1
 this is the way
  • 3 0
 These are hilarious
  • 2 0
 Y’all got this wrong these are shots from parkour world champs
  • 1 0
 Oh no, we need a new word for well done photo chop lad. These are simply amazing images!
  • 2 0
 Well done - good job on editing. Smile
  • 2 0
 These are hilarious! I like it Big Grin
  • 2 0
 These see through bikes are a great ant-theft concept.
  • 3 0
 Great work Dave!!
  • 1 0
 Hahaha these are amazing. Make sure to submit them to Red Bull Illume as well. Peaty and Brendan are my favorites Big Grin
  • 2 0
 Peaty, a legend on a and off the bike.
  • 3 0
 me when im runnning
  • 2 0
 Prototype invisiframe not spotted !
  • 2 0
 Nice work ! Funny and clean.
  • 1 0
 Just imagine it is not dh race bikes bikes that have been photoshoped but toilet commodes... Great work btw!!
  • 2 0
 Haters will say this is fake
  • 2 0
 Ha. Amazing these are Dave!
  • 1 0
 Enjoyed seeing these on Insta but they are even better on my PC monitor. Very impressive PS work, must have taken you ages.
  • 2 0
 these are quite good for showing technique.
  • 1 0
 That image of Fairclough looks like me on the porcelain throne every morning......
  • 2 0
 These are awesome - need moar!
  • 1 0
 Reminds me of the invisible board segment of the "Yeah right" skate video. vimeo.com/20410660
  • 2 0
 This is how you keep spy shots of new bikes hidden from the public.
  • 1 0
 I've done a few photoshopping of mtb related stuff, pinkbike.com/u/monsterphonic/album/Photoshopping
  • 2 0
 Oh my god - I love that!
  • 2 0
 So freakin funny
  • 2 0
 Love this
  • 2 0
 Unknown is troy Brosnan
  • 2 0
 no, its a kiwi with a bell helmet
  • 1 0
 @dylansanderson2004: just noticed goggles are different. Who is it then? Who was national champ at les gets?
  • 1 0
 @makripper: What year? Could be a junior champ. My guess is Tuhoto-Ariki Pene?
  • 2 0
 Kudos
  • 1 0
 sweet photoshopping...rock on HotStamper!
  • 1 0
 What are all these parkour photos doing on Pinkbike?!
  • 1 0
 this is me when i go walking in the mountain with my family
  • 2 0
 that is genius
  • 2 0
 Brilliant!
  • 3 1
 Looks like a session!
  • 1 0
 Where is my bike dud? hahahhahaha
  • 1 0
 Someone needs to insert a Star Wars speeder bike on some of these
  • 1 0
 Awesome! Do a group of roadies or xc riders next!
  • 1 0
 Oh, what the world we be like without bikes... (boring)
  • 2 0
 Wow! This fantastic!
  • 1 0
 Brillant! And you can better analyze each rider position too
  • 1 0
 Anyone who can do this and wants some beer tokens hit me up
  • 1 0
 i can tell by the pixels





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