Reading mode: Light Dark

"Fake" photo in National Geographic.

Go to last post
nblaney

nblaney

Leading Member
Messages
663
Reaction score
13
Location
NYC, NY, US


This image recently appeared in the Feb. 2006 issue of National Geographic Adventure magazine. It struck me as a little "hard to believe..." but I figured hey, its Nat. Geo, so it must be real.

Well, don't you know that they printed a retraction in this months issue in response to letters they recieved questioning the authenticity of the photo.

"Early in the selection process we were assured by the photographer and his agency that the photo was real. While Hawaii is a place where magical things happen, further technical analysis proved - and the photographer eventually admitted - that the image was a digital composite."
--
http://www.istockphoto.com/blaneyphoto
http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=11729
 
It looks to me like if a humpback whale was that close to a human it would look a lot bigger, eh? Interesting that their editors couldn't zoom in close and find some PS artifacts or proof it was edited before it made it into print.

-K
 
Unbelievable. First of all, it is illegal to be that close to a humpback whale in Hawaii (unless your just swimming along & it approaches you). Secondly, this just wreaks of fake! Anyone that has ever seen a humpback whale in the wild would recognize this right away. The water is way too smooth in and around where the whale is breaching. These giants really move a massive amount of water when the breach. I can't believe that this made it in to Nat'l Geographic.

Gary
 
Gary,

The OP said it was National Geographic Adventure magazine. I think it's a whole different crew that takes care of business there. I used to have a Stock Agent that marketed my work and he did a lot of business with NG, providing them with images, but it was never anything for the main magazine. All that work was shot by the contract photogs. This soounds like it was a stock purchase. (But, I could be wrong!)

Jim
Gary_Phillips said:
Unbelievable. First of all, it is illegal to be that close to a
humpback whale in Hawaii (unless your just swimming along & it
approaches you). Secondly, this just wreaks of fake! Anyone that
has ever seen a humpback whale in the wild would recognize this
right away. The water is way too smooth in and around where the
whale is breaching. These giants really move a massive amount of
water when the breach. I can't believe that this made it in to
Nat'l Geographic.

Gary
Click to expand...
 
Any thoughts about the possibility that the photo assistants at NG Adventure are young enough that they are not knowledgeable about the real world, don't know about "massive amounts of water" and they've grown up in a world where manipulation of images is so pervasive that the ability to interpret the context of an image vis-a-vis reality has been diluted?

The old Geo was staffed by outdoors-savvy, world geography conscious pros. So few young people truly get outdoors any more to have a experienced frame of reference that this doesn't surprise me too much. That's kind of a sad commentary. It in no way excuses this gaff, though.

Last year I had a very smart, world traveled business executive and client send me an email showing a shark leaping from the water to attack an Australian soldier on a rope ladder descending from a helicopter. This person manages multi-billion dollar deals all over the world and was absolutley convinved this was a very special moment captured for posterity. It, too was a hoax, and as obvious as this whale.
--
jrbehm
 
They have clearly digitally removed the helicopter with a man hanging off the ladder and the shark that is jumping out of the water just below him.
 
That is terrible!!!
 
My first reaction when I looked at that pic in the issue it ran in was "The whale looks way too small, there's no way that pic' is real". You'd think they'd at least take the time to scale the images properly.

Paul :-)
 
Music stopped being linear and analog a long time ago. Most of what we listen to on the radio has been thru a Cuisinart and reconstituted. It's only logical that photos will head in the same direction.

Zidar
Alaska

--
'He's out there operating without any decent restraint, totally beyond
the pale of any acceptable human conduct.'
  • Apocalypse Now
 
... there's a big whale breaching out of the water and look, it hasn't even made the slightest bit of disturbance on the surface! Not even a ripple! Even the water drips haven't caued any disturbance!

Though I think we're being wise with hindsight. I didn't see it at first: it's only when you look at it and look for duplicity that you see it. Maybe the 'getty' brand put the editors off guard so to speak? Probably...
 
Jeez. If you're going to go to all the trouble to manipulate an image you'd think that you'd level the horizon out so it's not slanting downwards to the right...
 
to the 'grab-the-camera-to-get-the-once-in-a-life-time-shot' feel of the image.

If the horizon was level, it wouldn't have the feel of being a grab shot.

I know it's subtle but...

IMHO
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mfinley
Bliss - the story of the most seen photograph in the world
Replies
12
Views
289
Quarkcharmed
Quarkcharmed
C
The real facts bout "Afghan girl", despite latest lies...
2
Replies
35
Views
36
9VIII
9
4
My photo got published by National Geographic
2
Replies
23
Views
24
thomas2279f
thomas2279f
S
Greedy National Geographic Photo Competition
Replies
19
Views
20
AcquiredTaste
A
C
Olympus Teams up with National Geographic...
Replies
7
Views
8
RoelHendrickx
RoelHendrickx

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top