Observer photog fired

If photogs are going to be fired for this kind of thing, I can think of all kinds of people in the visual department who should be on the chopping block. A lot of images are getting played with on a daily basis.

That being said, he had a warning, and then he did the same thing again.

 

I know this has been posted before, but I wish editors could refrain from self-congratulatory, sanctimonious sermonizing in these editor's notes. Just say the guy's fired, briefly explain the circumstances and then be done with it.

 

That is a little melodramatic. "I regret to inform you of this horrid manipulation of the colors in the background of a photo ..."

Sometimes the ombudstards get carried away, too.

 

A couple of people brought this up on that SportsShooter.com thread, but what if the final image that appeared in the paper WAS the way the photographer saw it in the camera's viewfinder before the shot was made? That the manipulation was done to bring the photo's colors back to what the shooter saw?

 

He probably just made too much money and they saw a chance to hire somebody else (straight out of college) cheaper.

I hope there's a special place in hell reserved for bean counters.

 

1. What would have been so horrible about labeling this a photo illustration? Observer folks: what's the paper's policy on this?

2. Yes, some people still shoot film. They feel they get better contrasts and a more real look, as opposed to the digital cameras. Kind of like how some people only buy vinyl, since they feel digital production swipes some of the artifacts from music.

 

Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what happened.  :

 

Because it's an image of a news event. You can't just do whatever you want to a picture, and justify it by putting "illustration" in agate under the photo. If we can do that, then why can't we just draw a picture of what the fire might have looked like?

This is really a pointless argument right now anyway, since we have no idea what the original photo looked like.

 

Son, I think you have a future in management. That's executive thinkin' there.

 

Excerpted from his portfolio:

 

When they're set on getting rid of somebody who costs too much, they'll grab any excuse the employee gives them.

 

The moral of the story: Don't give them a reason