[Leica] charlotte observer fires photographer for changing color of sky in photo

[kcassidy at asc.upenn.edu (Kyle Cassidy)]

If this jerk was using a LEICA and taking photos the proper way, this
wouldn't have happened. -- for your perusal:

Fwiw, in college photojournalism class I was taught things like how to
burn out street lights with a tiny flashlight as a print was developing,
and how to burn the edges in like a madman until only your subject was
highlighted. I wonder if they're not teaching that anymore....

Anyway -- 


Observer photo was altered improperly


Picture in Observer was in violation of accuracy standards


RICK THAMES


Accuracy is among our most sacred journalistic values. That goes for the
photographs, as well as the words, that we publish.

So, it is with much regret that I inform you that the color in a
photograph in Thursday's editions was inappropriately altered before it
was published.

The photo, taken by Observer photographer Patrick Schneider, appeared on
the front of the Local & State section. It depicted a Charlotte
firefighter on a ladder, silhouetted by the light of the early morning
sun.

In the original photo, the sky in the photo was brownish-gray. Enhanced
with photo-editing software, the sky became a deep red and the sun took
on a more distinct halo.

The Observer's photo policy states: "No colors will be altered from the
original scene photographed."

Schneider said he did not intend to mislead readers, only to restore the
actual color of the sky. He said the color was lost when he underexposed
the photo to offset the glare of the sun.

In 2003, Schneider was reprimanded and suspended for three days without
pay after editors determined he had inappropriately increased the
intensity of colors and darkened backgrounds of several photos.

Because of the most recent violation of our photo policy, Schneider no
longer works at the Observer.

We apologize for this misstep. Your trust is important to us. We will do
all we can to ensure the integrity of all of our photos going forward.