The available literature on parallel and distributed image processing is scattered and not organized for use to beginners. Thus, there is a need of concise understanding of parallel and distributed image processing area. In this paper, we present analysis of parallel and distributed image processing with comprehensive details, so that it becomes very useful to beginners and to those who are new to parallel or distributed image processing field. We present the outcome of our study of parallel and distributed image processing with emphasis on mechanisms, tools/technology/API used, application domains, and ongoing research work. We examine the research issues in parallel and distributed image processing. We also identify some future research directions for distributed image processing. This study provides concise understanding of the parallel and distributed image processing area to the beginners.