would you believe the following photos are real?

 (probably got his inspiration for this from this shmuck)

they are stunning examples of the work of Robert Jahns.  and they are pictures posted on his Instagram.

you and I both know that they aren’t real.  but what about younger (or even older and in between) ages that are a bit more impressionable?  there is no age restriction to Instagram, so quite literally anyone with a smart phone can join.  when do you tell the person that has come to love these photos that they aren’t real?  when do you decide to dash their imagination?  probably the same time you come to let them know that the tooth fairy is just your mom (or dad) and not the individual below.

sorry if I burst anyone’s bubble with that statement.

what happens to younger audiences that grow up thinking the world looks like this?  the ones that are never told that when they travel the world, it won’t always look exactly this way.  don’t get me wrong, the world is a beautiful place.  but some, if not most, of these images simply come from the imagination.  when is it ok then to suspend reality and live in the imagination and when is it time to come back down to Earth?

images kindly borrowed from Mashable.