# Warped Historical Portraits Manuel Birnbacher Modifies Old Photos in Bizarre & Humorous Ways By Jason Soy | Published 2012-05-31 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/manuel-birnbacher References: [juxtapoz](http://www.juxtapoz.com/Current/manuel-birnbachers-civil-war-portraits) Depending on the type of person you are, you may find these altered photographs by Manuel Birnbacher ominous or humorous. After all, pictures with [distorted faces](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/first-kiss-at-last-light) are often used in horror movies as an omen, but the cartoony manners in which Birnbacher has altered these [historical portraits](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/glass-portraits) leaves viewers smirking even if they don’t want to. Manuel Birnbacher chose civil war photographs specifically for this collection, giving his work an air of authenticity since [photo manipulation](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/animate-old-photos) was more uncommon in an era without Photoshop. Many resulting images are extremely surreal to look at, from men with two faces to cookie monster-esque eyeballs being glued to a person’s ocular sockets. Birnbacher currently works as a freelance art director and graphic designer specializing in animation, typography, print, publishing, web design and fine art. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.0/10 - Popularity: 66% | Activity: 16% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Distorted Reality:** Opportunities for augmented and virtual reality technologies for creating surreal, interactive digital art - **Retro-futurism:** Using modern digital tools to bring old photos back to life in a futuristic aesthetic - **Dark Humor:** Exploration of humor in horror as a way to subvert audience expectations ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Fine Art:** Integrating digital art and traditional techniques to create new forms of expression - **Graphic Design:** Incorporating innovative photo manipulation techniques to create unique visual designs - **Entertainment:** Using dark humor in horror movies and games to create subversive and engaging content ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Stylized Portrait Generators](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/face-to-all.md) - [Stunning Origami Portraits](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/origami-portaits.md) - [Distorted Burger Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/ailloween.md) - [Caricature Creation Tools](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/photo-to-caricature-pictures.md) - [Viral Face Generators](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/crazyface.md) - [Digital Archetype Sculptures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/christian-rex-van-minnen-1.md) - [AI-Generated Poetic Photo Series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/emilio-alarcn.md) - [Whimsical AI Portraits](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/clayify.md) - [Imperfect Photography Celebrations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nonnas-cam.md)