I am so moved to tears....pictures Libya and a post *Update*

[chknltl]

139. LunaSea this is lengthy but lets you know why and how i conclude what i did

I was monitoring the 'debate' going on here until about 8 hours ago when I fell asleep last night when I posted this. Having read no further I respond blindly here. Obviously this could be settled if Glitter demonstrated position better. (perhaps this was done after I went to sleep perhaps not). My post is only adressing the lighting done in the single photo. I am/was a amateur yet working photographer for a couple of decades. I gave up a few years back. I have some competency when it comes to portable flash photography, no I am by no means an expert. Here is but one of many examples I posted in the photography forum in DU1 which should rank my skills:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=280x31221

I am not trying to take sides here but in my estimation this photo looks wonkey, could I stage something like it? I think so but it would have been difficult for me to do and it would have made no sense to do so-ESPECIALLY not with a single camera with a single off camera strobe (flash) on a flash bracket. Most news photographers travel lighter than I did, they don't need or use flash brackets. The only other way to recreate this photo WITHOUT digital manipulation is if the photographer cropped this photo drastically- that this is only the "northwest" quarter of a much larger photo which makes no sense again, why on earth aim the camera that way when this is the obvious subject/composition.

Another possibly way to recreate this photo naturally is with the use a handheld bounceboard, one with a warming or gold reflector. It would have been held by an assistant and aimed to add the warm light we see in the face of the lady in the lower right of photograph. Traveling with an assistant suggests this to be a staged photo again. That said it would not explain the jot spots on the man's watch not the lady bracelet...these in that case had to have been nads by a flash aimed that direction not by the bounceboard filling in light and aimed elsewhere. If those hotspots are made by a flash then where are the catchlights in everyone's eyes from that same flash?

I swear I am not taking sides here, I just find the photo very strange from the perspective of how it is lit, I am betting it was manipulated. I am betting photographers more professional than I ever was would agree with me.

There is SOMETHING very strange going on in this thread...