Independent Media Centre Ireland     http://www.indymedia.ie

LA Times front page photo was 'photoshopped'

category national | miscellaneous | news report author Wednesday April 02, 2003 20:20author by Phuq Hedd

Video is edited very nicely nowadays too

The Los Angeles Times supposedly published a front-page photograph showing a UK soldier directing civilians to sit. A sharp-eyed reader spotted some aberrations in the photograph and the URL above appears to show that The LA Times has published an editorial retraction of the photo after contacting the photographer who has admitted compositing the photo from two others.

The photograph in itself is unremarkable in subject matter and the compositing doesn't distort the truth in any subjective way.

What is interesting is what a good job the composited photo is and how easy it would be to do this.

Personally I can't see the supposed duplication of the people sitting to the left of the photo and would never have questioned this.

I'm trying to find more confirmation about this story and have to admit to being a little paranoid that it's an April Fools story. The story is contained on the front page of the LA Times in an "Editor's Note" dated April 2nd., so probably it is true (http://latimes.com).

However, irrespective of its truth, would we be able to tell?

Related Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-ednote_blurb.blurb

Comments (2 of 2)

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Story picked up by Slashdot now
author by Phuq Heddpublication date Wed Apr 02, 2003 22:43author address author phone

Related Link: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/02/1650258&mode=nested&tid=149
Spot the difference!
author by Cormacpublication date Thu Apr 03, 2003 15:27author address author phone

If you can't spot the duplication, then take a look at the man in the bottom left corner of the left-hand picture (white clothes & red scarf), now look for him in the right-hand photo. This time he is partially obscured by the solder (just visible to the right of the soldier's leg). If you now look at the composite picture you will see him in both positions. (two smaller figures to his right also repeated but not as obvious)

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/40092

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