The Economist is in hot water after running an extremely edited photograph of President Obama on a Louisiana beach. The cover photo shows Obama alone on the beach. But the original photo, taken by Reuters photographer Larry Downing, shows that Obama was, in fact, not alone at all.

The altered image crops out Admiral Thad W. Allen of the Coast Guard, but also goes an extra step to completely omit the presence of Charlotte Randolph, a Louisiana parish president (perhaps with Photoshop CS5′s content-aware fill).

This is a huge problem because The Economist’s omissions entirely change the tone of the image in order to make Obama appear alone, hanging his head, when in fact he is likely looking down at the beach while in conversation with the two people next to him.  Additionally, according to journalism ethics, news photos should not be altered, especially to this extent.

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News agency Reuters is being accused of biased reporting after it was discovered that photographs released by the agency had critical elements such as daggers, blood, and injured soldiers cropped out. The story originally broke on Little Green Footballs over the weekend.

Here’s a photograph released by Reuters showing activists attempting to take an Israeli soldier hostage:

Inspection of the original photograph reveals that three important elements were cropped out of the photograph. The first is the second injured soldier in the upper right hand corner, the second is the knife being held by an activist, and third is the large pool of blood on the wooden railing.

Here’s another photograph released by Reuters:

From looking at the original photograph, we see that a knife was cropped out of this one as well:

Reuters is no stranger to controversy, as there have been quite a few cases where photographs were retracted, with the subjects ranging from Middle East conflicts to the recent volcano eruption in Iceland.

Reuters has responded to this latest controversy on their blog, saying:

A number of readers contacted us about this. At the top and bottom you can see our initial cropped versions on the left, and the full frame versions on the right.

The images in question were made available in Istanbul, and following normal editorial practice were prepared for dissemination which included cropping at the edges. When we realized that a dagger was inadvertently cropped from the images, Reuters immediately moved the original set, as well.

Reuters has also published a series of non-cropped photographs of the raid in a slideshow.

What are your thoughts on this controversy? Do you think the daggers were “inadvertently” cropped from the images, or is this a case of biased reporting?

(via Amateur Photographer)

A video released on WikiLeaks.org shows disturbing footage taken in 2007 from an American apache helicopter as they circle and fire upon a group of people they identify as armed hostiles in the street.

As it turns out, the two men who appear to be armed are actually working Reuters employees: photographer, 22-year-old Namir Noor-Eldeen, and his driver, Saeed Chmagh, who was 40. The two men were walking in the street with camera straps hanging from their shoulders. One of the men has a long lens, misidentified as an RPG.

According to a New York Times article published yesterday, Reuters had heard of a military raid in the area — the same raid that the military was attending to, and the two men went to investigate. Their mere proximity to the raid proved to be fatal.

The military fired upon the men and other individuals, who were later confirmed to be civilians, among them two children and the two Reuters employees. The attack killed 12, including Noor-Eldeen and Chmagh.

In a United States Central Command report:

“[The men] made no effort to visibly display their status as press or media representatives and their familiar behavior with, and close proximity to, the armed insurgents and their furtive attempts to photograph the coalition ground forces made them appear as hostile combatants to the Apaches that engaged them.”

Reuters news editor in chief David Schlesinger said in a statement:

“The deaths of Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh three years ago were tragic and emblematic of the extreme dangers that exist in covering war zones. We continue to work for journalist safety and call on all involved parties to recognize the important work that journalists do and the extreme danger that photographers and video journalists face in particular.”

(via New York Times)

Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse is a historical consultant in Amsterdam who loves making photographs in the same locations as historical photos.

These amazing photographs were created by shooting new photos of old locations, and mixing them with the old photographs she finds:

Teeuwisse tells us,

I got the idea when I tried to find out more about some photos I found on a flea market. Trying to discover where they were taken I looked around my city, found the locations and took photos to compare then and now. Mixing them was just a experiment and because I was happy with the result I decided to do the same with other historical photos.

I am a historical consultant for film, tv, authors, museums, etc. and I even have a 1930s lifestyle. History is part of my daily life, I can’t help but see the shadows of the past.

To see more of Teeuwisse’s work, check out this set on Flickr.

Image credits: Photographs by Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse and used with permission

There hasn’t been much directly photo-related news at CES 2010 today, but the announcements of newly redesigned e-readers might be key to drawing in a wider e-reader audience and — dare we speculate? — might bring some vigor back to traditional print publications.

While promising e-reader sale increases and recovering print publication’s mojo might be an optimistic goal, the recently revealed Skiff reader design is so innovative that it might just catch on.

Skiff reader content will be designed to look much like the designed content on a physical copy of a publication. Thus, newspapers and magazines can retain their carefully designed layouts, which conveys ranked importance, dominant headlines, featured artwork and photographs.

It may be a stretch, but Skiff could potentially bridge the gap between those readers reluctant to quit their physical newspaper and magazine subscriptions and those readers who only read e-versions of publications. However, print media will still technically die (or continue its current trend of rarity) … but the content (and subscriptions and ad revenue) could be more accurately transferred onto a new medium.

In the long run, publishers could potentially stop bleeding money on printing and distribution costs, while upping their circulation — that is, if Skiff finds favor amongst thus far critical e-consumers and outbids the efforts of Amazon and other e-reader distributors.

The Skiff e-reader is extremely flexible and thin, with a display size 9 inches by 11 inches, and a thickness of 0.268 inches, and weighs 17-9/16 ounces (498 grams) — that’s roughly the weight of four iPhones . It is made of silicon thin-film-transitors on a flexible stainless-steel substrate, which Skiff says makes the display is shatter-proof and crack-proof.

The device is 3G and WiFi enabled, has a USB 2.0 port, an internal memory of 4GB, a built in speaker, audio jack, an SDHC card slot, and a battery that lasts about a week before it needs to be recharged. Where does it fit all of that?

The color touchscreen display has resolution of 1200×1600 pixels at 174 ppi.

The Skiff e-reading service is set to launch with the Sprint 3G network this year.

Skiff has also partnered with the Hearst Corporation, the major news corporation that owns several newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle, and has interests in several other major news groups, magazines, and major newspapers. LG Display and Marvell also had a hand in Skiff development, so it appears to be off to a hot start by connections alone.

Read more about Skiff and other e-readers at CNN.

Some members of the photography industry have been up in arms the past few days over an internship offered by the private studio of seasoned pro photographer James Nachtwey.

New York based Nachtwey is offering a three month position as his assistant, which seems like a great experience, since Nachtwey is an award-winning photojournalist who has been in the industry for nearly 40 years now.

However, the main gripe commentators on forums and in the blogosphere seem to be making is the fact that the position, which calls for experienced photography students or early-career photographers, seems to involve a lot of post-processing and lab work, and is unpaid. Outrage ensues.

Read the job description here, along with reactions.

But the bigger issue here is the idea of unpaid internships in general, and the situation many photographers face when trying to become professionals.

Ideally, internships offer valuable work experience, a learning environment, and networking connections. Unpaid internships usually come coupled with class credit as compensation. Paid internships offer a nominal stipend, sometimes enough to pay rent and cover some living expenses. The emphasis, in either case, is that the experience is the best reward.

Plenty of publications and non-profits offer unpaid photography internships, and there is always a cutthroat amount of competition for those positions. Having that name and experience on a resume might be worth time and energy.

However, there are a lot of publications, particularly newspapers, that can barely afford to keep their current staff employed, but who still pay interns around $500 a week for the duration of their internship.

Outraged commentators note that Nachtwey’s position is slightly different; he privately owns his studio, runs a for-profit business, and can’t offer class credit for photographers who are not in school. Additionally, many feel that the position likely will not improve or stretch their own photography skills, since it appears they will be functioning as post-processing specialists, rather than as photographers in the field, as for most newspaper internships.

And what’s more, many feel that the situation exemplifies the experience of emerging photographers, that they are being exploited because of their youth in the field, rather than being paid according to their ability.

Photographer Matt Brandon defends Nachtwey on his blog, The Digital Trekker, noting that paid photo internships are far and few, and often wishful thinking. Additionally, it would be an honor to work alongside Nachtwey, even if doing the equivalent of photography menial work. Nachtwey is a veteran of the industry and of the battlefield, as he has covered numerous wars internationally.

Others maintain that if Nachtwey offered the position as a unique workshop, people might actually pay out of their own pockets to work for him. Or if he called the position a volunteer position, rather than an unpaid internship, the issue would not exist.

This whole debate is pretty emotional.

On one hand, there’s a great deal of frustration coming from the ranks of early career photographers who are struggling to find jobs after graduating.

On the other hand, there are those who argue that photography is in general a tough industry to break into; those who weather the waves of competition (and an inglorious internship) may not make money initially, but require that sacrifice in order to rightfully enter the ranks of professionalism.

And there are also those who wonder if as a whole, the photography industry is defeating itself by offering free or cheap photography services for exposure instead of demanding a fair price commensurate with ability and quality.

Read more on the debate:

• Lightstalkers forum
• The Online Photographer
• Jamies List

What do you think? Should photographers, regardless of experience, draw the line somewhere? Have you had a similar internship experience that you found either rewarding or otherwise?

The journalism industry is going through particularly tough times, with revenue from ads and subscriptions declining considerably.

However, during the harshest economic climates, innovative ideas flourish more than ever, and news outlets are tapping into the power of convergence: mixing forms of communication to create multimedia packages that deliver stories that are accessible by the “Web 2.0″ generation.

Fortunately for photographers, visuals are an integral part of the multimedia wave.

Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to check out our August post on some of the best newspaper photo blogs out there, as well as some of the multimedia features on most newspaper sites, like the New York Times, SF Gate, the San Jose Mercury News, and some college newspapers, including my alma mater, the Daily Bruin.

Many sites feature audio slideshows, which are one of the simplest and easiest forms of multimedia storytelling–if you’ve got the right tools and elements:

1. Photos that tell a story.

Whether you’re photographing a family holiday, sporting event, or documentary news, try to shoot a variety of images from different angles of different moments. Take close-up and wide photographs.

After the shoot, pick photos that have a narrative or chronological order of events and happenings.

2. A recorder and quality audio that matches the story.

Use a digital recorder that can transfer sound files onto your computer. I usually use a MicroMemo attached to my iPod video (ancient, I know). I’ve also had some hands-on time with the Olympus DS series, which capture very crisp audio. The higher end model, the DS-61 has different modes to capture directional sound, which is very useful when recording specific types of sounds such as ambient noise versus a single person speaking.

When recording audio, find a quiet place to capture interviews and voices, to reduce distracting background noise.

3. Audio editing software.

Audacity is a free audio editing program that can be used to cut, edit, splice, and record audio–all very straightforward.

You can also use programs like Adobe Audition for more in-depth editing.

4. Slideshow software.

Several publications use Final Cut Pro to put together an audio slideshow. iMovie also can do the job.

For fast production and ready web publishing, try Soundslides. A free demo is available on the site.

Soundslides is a very intuitive program for uploading photos and audio, and adjusting timing points and transitions. It also has a feature for exporting to web if you have an FTP set up.

5. Share.

Share your project on your website. If you don’t have one, check out Weebly.com to make a free customizable site.

6. Be inspired.

Check out some of the links above and explore a bit for ideas.

One of my favorite examples of the simple, yet powerful integration of photography with another medium is the package by New York Times, One in 8 Million.

The project tells one story each week, focusing on one central character, someone you might brush shoulders with on the subway of New York. The subject describes, in his or her own words, anything from their own personal struggles, triumphs, daily life or something that defines them. The images work to visually capture the story with a timeless quality, in black and white.

Together, the two mediums form a very intimate local human-interest story that fosters a sense of community–which is quite an impressive undertaking considering the expansiveness of New York City.

If you’ve got a favorite multimedia site or an audio slideshow to show off, share a link!

Image Credits: Shure SM58 by laffy4k, Shot Glass by S. Su, rage by murplejane, IMG_0864 by emkladil

While an undergrad at UC Berkeley, I took an advanced photography course in which each student worked on a semester long project with the theme “Downtown Berkeley”. For part of the project, we were told to do a general survey of the area, and I spent hours walking up and down the downtown streets.

On one particular occasion, I wandered past a seemingly tight-knit group of homeless friends, sitting on the side of Shattuck Avenue. Approaching a single stranger is often difficult enough, but I decided to try and befriend the group since I felt like the opportunity was too good to pass up. Turning around, I struck up a conversation with a couple of the guys in the group. I was also carrying some bubble gum that I often offered to people in exchange for portraits (I’ll cover this in a later post), and gave some to the group. After warming up to me, they were more than willing to have their portraits taken for my class.

I discovered that making a stranger comfortable with your presence is extremely important, and determines the kind of portraits you’ll end up with. If you can make someone drop their guard, they’ll be much more animated and natural in front of your camera.

If you spend enough time, build enough of a relationship, and take enough photographs, you’re bound to find a “keeper” afterwards. This ended up being a photograph that helped me win 3rd prize in a pretty prestigious photography contest (the Eisner Prize):

Taking portraits of strangers you meet on the street definitely isn’t as difficult or scary as you might think. You just need to be bold, friendly, and persistent.