World Press Photo

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Iain MacIntosh

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Iain
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I was looking at the images this morning in the World Press Photo awards, particaularly at the sports section....

http://www.worldpressphoto.org/inde...ry&task=view&id=851&Itemid=146&bandwidth=high

The first prize image of the gymnastics, I am struggling to believe this is not a photoshop composite. Judging by the other winners some degree of PS is evident but finding it hard to believe this is an original image...

opions ?

cheers
Iain
 
hard to say, would have to have been from a pretty high angle as the rings are considerably higher off the floor than they appear there....and I have never yet seen a gymnstics events with such wonderfully clear white backgrounds, so there is deifnately some 'shoppin in there somewhere, but how much is anyones guess.
 
Forgot to mention, as LadyLens says, its the white backgound I find dubious....
 
Any amount of Photoshoping is usually a big "NO NO" in the press photography world, photographers have lost their jobs for doing it before, but I do find the white background strange.
 
Sorry, the more I look, the less convinced I am, the angles are all wrong for a straight shot - to be high enough to get the rings from that angle, [think about the clearance from floor needed for the rings gymnast to swing at full lower extention] the floor gymnast would be shot from a much steeper angle. Its a merge, whatever it is claimed to be.
 
Plus the guys arm is in front of the ring :nono:
 
Yeah the background alone is unbelievable... where are the people, coaches and others who always stand around in such events. But the angle of the guy in back is the one that kicks it.
 
Well looking at all the shots in the 2007 winners gallery, I am reckoning at least half have been shopped in some way, so pressumably some these aren't 'next day news' press shots, but possibly for the weekly news glossies, etc too, where one would think some shopping to get a really attractive cover or feature shot is more acceptable. :shrug:
 
I just find it very strange that these are the WORLD press awards and I am no expert but come on....a bit of levels etc but this is pretty major. As its press I would imagine as its already been said that, any PS is a no no. Rem the american chap recently ( his name eludes me but it was all over the press forums) that won all the awards then they found out for the past x number of years he was removing bits from the images and submitting them...got the bullet. I am wonder if the term 'Press' is very loosely interpreted then for these awards....would'nt have thought so though.
 
Magellan said:
Plus the guys arm is in front of the ring :nono:
Click to expand...
No it's not. The ring is just well OoF.


Not sure that image should win any type of award though. Not exactly awe-inspiring is it. :suspect:
 
Magellan said:
Plus the guys arm is in front of the ring :nono:
Click to expand...
It's difficult to tell from the web-size shot. I have the book (the shot is on page 116) and the ring is in front of the arm. The photographer was at some height, and I guess looking down hence the clear background.

Edit: whoops - saying the same thing as ^^

He talks about his photo here: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/movies/index.php?moviename=08ROSSI.swf

Rest of the movies: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/inde...nt&task=view&id=999&Itemid=158&bandwidth=high

One of my faves: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/movies/index.php?moviename=21-NICKLE.swf
 
It looks believable to me.

Quick Google Images search on the championship name shows that the floor was white and that the walls around it had a red skirt as at the top of the image. Given the angle shot would have to be taken from you would only expect to get the floor as a background.

The angle on the floor gymnast looks okay to me, the photographer would have been quite a way back hence off the floor so it is not a steep looking straight down type shot. It is the sort of angle you would always get on TV sports taken cameras in similarly high positions way back.

Because of the lack of any clues in the background it is difficult to know what angle the body of the gymnast on the rings was at when the shot was taken. On first glance it looks like it was straight on with him perpendicular to the floor because his legs are parallel with the rings. But to me his body actually seems more parallel with the floor, which would suggest the angle was more looking down on him.

Also the lack of any shadow for the ring gymnast suggests a fair bit of distance between him and the one on the floor, which would be consistent with the compressed perspective of using a long lens, which would be needed given how far back the photographer would have to be.

Michael.
 
It looks fine, it's just an odd perspective because you have no frame of reference to determine the angle from which the tog is shooting. Imagine it looking down from a height, with the ring gymnast actually quite a way away from the floor one (the telephoto lens making the FOV compressed) and it seems fine. You're just looking at the distant floor gymnast past the somewhat closer ring gymnast.
 
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