When you flip through the pages
of National Geographic, how can you be sure that the amazing images you're
looking at are actually real?
The beloved magazine has, after
all, been embroiled in photo-manipulation scandals in the past. Longtime
readers may remember the hoopla back in February 1982, when the magazine's
cover showed a camel train in front of the Pyramids at Giza that turned out to
be altered. Eagle-eyed readers quickly realized that the pyramids in the image
were closer together than they actually are in real life, and "a deserved
firestorm ensued," according to Editor in Chief Susan Goldberg.
But, in an article published in
the magazine's latest issue, Goldberg promised that National Geographic's
editorial team is working hard to "keep covertly manipulated images out of
our publications" — a manual task she admitted has become more difficult
in "the era of Photoshop."
"A few decades ago it was
easier to spot photo manipulation because the results were a lot cruder,"
she wrote. These days, spotting a fake requires some "forensic
digging," according to National Geographic Director of Photography Sarah
Leen.
"Just like we require our
writers to provide their notes, we require photographers on assignment to
submit 'raw' files of their images, which contain pixel information straight
from the digital camera's sensor," Goldberg wrote. If the raw file isn't
available, the editorial team asks "detailed questions" about the image,
and will sometimes reject it as a result of what they find out.
"We ask ourselves, 'Is this
photo a good representation of what the photographer saw?'" Leen said.
That answer "always must be yes," Goldberg added.
This issue came up recently when
one of National Geographic's photographers entered a photo into a contest. The
image was rejected for being "overprocessed," but the magazine
thought it was fine and published it.
"Were we right, or were the
contest judges right?" Goldberg wrote. "That's a subject we can
continue to discuss."
Source: pcmag.com
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