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

[jadams79 at earthlink.net (kelly adams)]

I hope they hold the reporters to the same standards.


On Jul 31, 2006, at 9:51 AM, Kyle Cassidy wrote:

> 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.
>
>
>
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