No photoshop is involved. I still use film and do my own developing and processing. I use a technique called dodge and burn to manipulate light and grain to give the photos a sort of "not quite of this world," look. You know it's real, but it seems a bit off. This is the technique used by Helmut Newton, whose style I try to emulate, and most people think I do a very good job. You can look up Newton and get some examples. As to validity, you may check the authenticity of any photo by running it through Google Images. If the photo has been altered from an existing image, Google will show you the original, and the site where it may be found. It's 99.9% accurate, and sites like this use it all the time.