canals

I was having a discussion with someone the other day about old photos of mars and how the so called "canals" appear as very distinctive lines. My question is, were these original photos doctored to support the "canal" theory, and if not, why do we no longer see them in modern images?

thanks

Most of the images of Mars showing canals are not photographs but drawings/maps made by people gazing through a telescope.

But [link]
says that in 1905

"Carl Lampland (1873-1951) photographs Mars from the Lowell Observatory. Lampland and Lowell see canals in the photographs and send a telegram to the Harvard Observatory on May 27. However, the "canals" are so faint and difficult to see that no newspaper prints the images. "

We can't judge for ourselves whether these photographs show canals or whether Lampland and Lowell were just fooling themselves with wishful thinking, because the photos don't seem to be online anywhere. It's not just the newspapers that were disinterested.