I get what he's saying about the in-camera double exposure and people saying it's fake.
But it is fake. Sure, it may have had zero maniplation in post, and that the digital negative is exactly what is seen in the image.. but it's a double exposure. You take one exposure at 200mm, then you point at the moon and zoom to 600mm, line up the previous exposure so it lands in the 'eye', and take that exposure to seal.
It's stretching the truth. It's simply a different kind of fake to the others.
Was Star Wars: A New Hope digitally animated? No. But did it put cameras in space and make little ships fly around a giant space station? No. "Fake" can be accomplished with manual methods or digital methods, and I fully agree with you, this is a stretch for the photographer to claim this isn't "fake" just because he combined tricks in front of the glass as opposed to in front of the screen.
The only difference, and why this is notable, however, is the photog demonstrated impressive skill from in front of the glass where many would be far more lazy and do it all from in front of the screen.
Why? They used tricks that involved both pre and post production but no "Photoshop" to make clearly unreal "fake" things look real. This image is clearly unreal but the photographer is saying that its not "fake" because he didn't use photoshop.
Like I said in the original comment, it’s a different kind of fake.
Is it real? No. Same as your Star Wars analogy. I get what you’re saying, I really do, but something being ‘fake’ can still be ‘fake’ without digital manipulation.
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u/Caville Verified Photographer Aug 13 '21
I get what he's saying about the in-camera double exposure and people saying it's fake.
But it is fake. Sure, it may have had zero maniplation in post, and that the digital negative is exactly what is seen in the image.. but it's a double exposure. You take one exposure at 200mm, then you point at the moon and zoom to 600mm, line up the previous exposure so it lands in the 'eye', and take that exposure to seal.
It's stretching the truth. It's simply a different kind of fake to the others.