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Warren Jeffs turns into Bat Boy

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Just sitting in my office scanning the news tonight, and what did I see? It wasn’t the amazing story in the Weekly World News that caught my attention (Bat Boy Sues Batman in Paternity Suit). It was the photograph.

Never thought I would see a pool photo from the trial of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs used in the Weekly World News, and definitely never imagined that they would PhotoShop Bat Boy’s head onto the FLDS prophet’s body. That’s my photo on the right of a similar moment from inside the courthouse.

If you don’t know who Bat Boy is, you haven’t been reading the Weekly World News, the nation’s #1 newspaper dedicated to stories about aliens, Bigfoot, and the famous Bat Boy.

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While the story is comic fiction, the last line could just as well have been written about Jeffs’ defense attorney Wally Bugden. It reads:

When asked to comment, the defense attorney simply furrowed his brow, shook his head and walked away.

You can see the article here at the Weekly World News site. It will make you register to see the Bat Boy story, but it’s free.

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Posted in Photojournalism, Polygamy

They Are Watching You

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Have you seen a truly awful piece of Photoshop work? Clumsy manipulation, senseless comping, lazy cloning and thoughtless retouching are our bread and butter.

That’s the description of the Photoshop Disasters blog, which has quickly become one of my favorite feeds. Page after page of Photoshop disasters submitted by readers.

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A recent post included this intriguing shot of Tiger Woods that appeared in a Washington Post publication, where Phil Mickelson (at left) looks like he’s both in front of and behind Woods. Turns out it may just be a trick of the lens rather than an unethical use of Photoshop.

As a photojournalist who strives to work with high ethical standards, I’m conflicted about the mob mentality of the site. I want the public to see how artificial commercial and celebrity imagery has become. And I certainly want to see unethical photographers exposed. I’m glad that the public is watching, and skeptical.

But let’s not hang someone who may be innocent. Of the millions who saw the Tiger Woods photograph when it was initially labelled a Photoshop job, only a handful saw the updates explaining it was most likely a legitimate photograph.

Once you’ve thrown mud at an innocent news photographer’s reputation, it is nearly impossible to clean off.

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Posted in Photojournalism