Photoshopping the Weather
Is this photograph fake or real? Credit: Unknown.
Fake or real? As pointed out by PBS, it's a question being asked about more and more pictures in this age of digital photography and advanced image editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop.
It turns out that weather photos are often the victim of "photoshopping" -- the term now popularly used to describe the manipulation of photos beyond mundane tweaks in color, contrast and the like, often for the purpose of deception. One example that has circulated widely across the Internet since 2002 is the above picture, which purports to be a triple waterspout descending from the rainbands of Hurricane Lili as it approached Louisiana in early October 1992.
Keep reading to find out if this and other weather photographs are fake or real. Also, see our full forecast through the weekend.
Like tornadoes, waterspouts often form in families, and in fact ships at sea have reported as many as 30 in one day, with as many as nine seen forming in a 90-minute period. A classic and spectacular example of multiple waterspouts -- four funnels at the same time -- was taken by an Italian sailor in 1999 while on a cruise in the Adriatic Sea. However, it became apparent that the above photo was a fake when it was discovered that an identical shot, except with only one funnel, appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of Anchor Lines.
Something's not quite right about this photo. Credit: Unknown
Above is another photograph, which has also made the Internet rounds, that's not quite what it seems to be. The picture professes to show the approach of Hurricane Isabel in 2003 from the deck of an oil tanker. While it's conceivable the first photo above could have been real, this clearly cannot. First, the sea is perfectly calm, which is totally inconsistent with the turbulent conditions that would exist even at considerable distances from a hurricane. Second, the clouds are clearly shelf or wall clouds, which are typically associated with severe thunderstorms, especially in the Midwest, rather than a hurricane.
A mirage? ... or just a bit misleading? Credit: Unknown
Sometimes the deception is as simple as misidentifying the location and time of the picture. One such example is the above photo, which is often trotted out whenever and wherever a severe weather outbreak occurs. For example, this photo was reported to be shot during the Sedalia, M.O., tornado outbreak in March 2006. However, as documented by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Melbourne, Fla., the picture actually shows a tornado and lightning stroke over Lake Okeechobee in June 1991.
Speaking of Florida, I'm looking forward to some quality rest and relaxation, including kayaking and surfing, along the coast of Ft. Lauderdale this summer. Knowing this, a friend of mine recently sent me the photographs below, without comment on their origin or authenticity. I'm reasonably confident, though, that there's a better chance of being struck by a bolt from the blue than me being attacked by a shark (famous last words?).
C'mon paddles, c'mon! Credit: Unknown
This surfer sure seems calm, considering. Credit: Unknown
Bottom Line: "Believe it or not" is the name of the game when it comes to weather photos these days. And sometimes it's virtually impossible to verify a picture's authenticity. Be assured, however, that while it may sometimes seem too spectacular to be true, the work of Capital Weather Gang photographers Kevin Ambrose and Ian Livingston is the real thing -- indisputably authentic.
By Steve Tracton |
June 26, 2008; 1:00 PM ET
Photography
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Tracton
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Posted by: jim | June 26, 2008 1:14 PM
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I remember seeing the last picture a while back, except the trick was it was actually a dolphin in the wave.
Posted by: Hemisphire | June 26, 2008 2:02 PM
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What about that second photo, then? Is it manipulated, or is it simply a matter of an incorrect description?
Posted by: Anonymous | June 26, 2008 4:00 PM
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Not sure which photo you are referring to. The first two (3 funnels and tanker with cloud mass) are fake ==> manipulated.
The first shark picture is real, but actually off the east coast of Africa. The second is unmodified, I believe, but as one reader indicated, probably a Dolphin at some identified location.
Posted by: Steve Tracton, Capital Weather Gang | June 26, 2008 4:10 PM
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Hi Steve, good point, thanks for spreading it. Image synthesis techniques are increasingly being applied to video too. Those media are no longer necessarily realistic, but are now being used more for illustration.
But the field of imaging forensics is advancing as well, and there are ways to test whether a file came directly from a camera or passed through an editor. Here are two entry points:
http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ablogs.adobe.com+%22hany+farid%22
http://www.google.com/search?q=image+forensics
jd/adobe
Posted by: John Dowdell | June 26, 2008 4:11 PM
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Thanks John,
The Nova show I referred to emphasized imagining forensics - it's apparently becoming a big and important area for private concerns and Homeland Security.
I've found there are photshopping contests - one good example being : http://www.photoshoptalent.com/photoshop-contest/1125/lightning-strike.html
Posted by: Steve Tracton, Capital Weather Gang | June 26, 2008 4:25 PM
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It is well known that the ease of forwarding e-mails has spawned a proliferation of false information across the virtual universe. Most unsettling is when I receive edited weather photos from degreed meteorologists who are so taken aback by the dramatic images that they never think of the possibility that the spoofed event may be physically impossible!
Posted by: Mike Conte - Reading, PA | June 27, 2008 1:53 PM
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We are constantly bombarded by fake photos... anytime hurricanes make news, we get the tanker shot. Anytime there's a tornado, we get the Canadian plains wall clouds and more. It's endless.
A great tool for journalists to double-check before going to air is the urban legend site Snopes.com.
For example, we've received numerous accounts of "a tornado passing over my buddies house in Missouri/Kansas/Oklahoma/Arkansas...The same night the Boy Scouts died". Um, no. Here's the link to what really happened:
Posted by: Meteorologist Dave Snider, KY3, Springfield, MO | July 3, 2008 12:30 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
actually the shark pictures are real... but not from FL