  We use rest frame ultraviolet (UV), B, and V band images of five nearby
(z<0.02) interacting and/or starbursting galaxies to simulate deep HST
observations of peculiar galaxies at medium to high redshifts. In particular,
we simulate Hubble Deep Field (HDF) observations in the F606W and F814W filters
of starburst galaxies in the redshift range z~0.5---2.5 by explicitly account
for the combined effects of band-shifting and surface brightness dimming. We
find that extended morphological features remain readily visible in the long
exposures typical of the HDF out to redshifts of ~ 1. For systems above z~1.5,
the simulated morphologies look remarkably similar to those of the faint
objects found in the HDF and other deep HST fields. Peculiar starburst galaxies
therefore appear to be the best local analogs to the highest redshift galaxies
in terms of morphology, star formation rates, and spectral energy
distributions. Nevertheless, photometric measurements of the z>1.5 images fail
to recover the true global properties of the underlying systems. This is
because the high-z observations are sensitive to the rest-frame UV emission,
which is dominated by the most active star forming regions. The extended
distribution of starlight from more evolved populations would not be detected.
We conclude that imaging observations in the restframe UV alone cannot reveal
whether high-z systems (z>1.5) are proto-galaxies, proto-bulges, or starbursts
within a pre-existing population. Definitive statements regarding the global
properties and dynamical states of these objects require deep imaging
observations at longer wavelengths.
