R help - Sep 2010 - How R converts data between objects

Hello everyone. 
I would kindly request your help concerning how R converts data between 
different structrures.

In the following example please keep attention on the following two
1) 
I create 
f <- GaussRF(x=x, y=y, model=model, grid=TRUE,param=c(mean, variance, nugget,
scale, alpha))
with 
image(x,y,f)
   and
image(f)
I get exactly the same image.

then
2)I try to store f inside a raster layer using:
r <- setValues(r,as.matrix(f))

then comes the tricky part. I am trying to use image again and get the same 
output as the ouput I got by image(f).
I tried
image(as.matrix(getValues(r)))
which give a completely different output. 
image function expects a matrix... but for some reason as.matrix(getValues(r)) 
returns a huge vector :(
also tried
as.matrix(getValues(r),ncol=ncol(r),nrow=nrow(r)) to force as.matrix to return 
the appropriate matrix but this also failed and I only got back a vector again

Could you please let me understand why this might happening?
Best Regards
Alex

P.S Below you will find part of my code.



...................(lines omitted, declarations)
x <- seq(1, dimx, step)
y <- seq(1, dimy, step)
f <- GaussRF(x=x, y=y, model=model, grid=TRUE,param=c(mean, variance, nugget,
scale, alpha))

# image(x, y, f) Displays the matrix
# f is a 2x2 matrix of dimension (x,y)

r <- raster(nrow=dimx, ncol=dimy)
r <- setValues(r,as.matrix(f))
# getValues(r)



      
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