Oh, really?
Photorealism, and you can look that up if you want to, too, is also used when reffering to rendered graphics that replicate the real world well enough that the onlooker is fooled into believing that the picture is indeed a real photo. The term was, of course, derived from the artistic style of photorealism which strives to create an artificial picture that, again, replicates a real photo close enough to fool someone into thinking it is just that.
So, yes, this thread is indeed very spot on with what's being shown. Besides, go and take a loook at, say, Speedhunters and the kind of pictures you're seeing there and tell me whether they're just trying to take pictures that could "appear in an encyclopedia".
