Not-So-Candid Camera

 This flap in the UK about Princess Kate and her doctored family photo is suddenly of interest to me. After the picture was released, it became evident that it had been altered, causing news media, including the AP, to declare it unacceptable for publication. I got to thinking, in this digital age, how many photos are UNaltered?

As I understand it, Princess Kate admitted to making edits and apologized. But what exactly is she guilty of, in this context, other than being a rookie as an editor? I don’t know why, as a princess and all, she couldn’t have found a professional photographer to take the picture, or at least someone good at Photoshop, or whatever she was using, to make changes.

Photo editing, of course, has way pre-dated the digital age. You think Hollywood stars never had images retouched to fix skin blemishes, wrinkles, or other human imperfections? The real issue is, when does it matter?

Many of us remember taking our rolls of vacation film to the drug store or wherever to get the pictures developed, and we had to accept what came back in the little packet with the negatives. Because of that, when digital photography came along, I initially thought of photo editing as “cheating” somehow. Then I discovered that with cropping and playing with brightness and contrast controls in software, I could really make my photos better. Cropping could improve framing, and the other controls could enhance color or rescue images hampered by darkness, overexposure, or fog.

I do draw the line at one thing: using the new AI programs to change the sky in a shot from clear to stormy or remove blooms from trees. That’s not photography, that’s graphic design. In doing what I do, I at least try to preserve what made me pick up the camera in the first place.

But getting back to altering, if you’re going to do it, you at least have to get away with it. If it’s artfully done, few will care. Now let’s be clear: there is a difference between minor changes and deceptive manipulation - it just should be about enhancing the elements in a photo that are there already. It’s a bit like cosmetic plastic surgery – if it’s a good job, people may guess that you’ve had work done, but only you, the doctor, and close friends will actually know.

All of this said, as the alteration tools get more sophisticated, so will the alteration detectors. So, Your Royal Highness, if you need another family photo, call on the pros.

 

The Sleeping Giant

 

I am reminded of Admiral Yamamoto’s words after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, that all the attack had done was to awaken a sleeping giant. Well, old Sleepy Joe is awake! President Biden showed us something, in a blistering State of the Union speech, firing on all cylinders for at least an hour, pressing all the buttons, from Ukraine and Israel to Dobbs and the border. I used to be in radio, so I know about voices, and if I spoke at that level for even half that time, I’d be croaking like a frog. How long is this very commentary, three minutes or so?

Ex-presidential candidate Nikki Haley played the age card without mercy, railing against the alleged diminished capacity of both Biden and his November opponent. In Biden’s case, she was way off the mark. Yes, Biden’s language leaves a syllable or two out of most words, but remember, this is a man who overcame a stutter. Most of us have no idea how difficult that is.

Much younger people misspeak or get things wrong. For example, if I heard it right, a prominent cable network anchor fumed that Alabama Senator Katie Britt, who delivered the Republican response to Biden’s speech, failed to address the IVF issue, which in fact, she had. How many times have we all said something we later learn is wrong and might have to walk back?

Look, I was among those who said Joe Biden should not run for another term, that he should step aside and let the Democrats come up with a younger candidate. That didn’t happen. That said, I still believe there should be an upper age limit for those running for President, strictly because all this discussion about the mental acuity of an older candidate is tasteless, if nothing else, and an age limit might put an end to that.

Some of us who watch both Biden and Trump have been glued to the screen, waiting for something to happen, like L. A. TV viewers following one of those endless freeway car chases, wondering when the wreck will come. I think President Biden’s speech showed us that rather than counting the number of gaffes or moments of garble issuing from an older candidate, it would be much more useful to judge them by what comes out of their mouths when they are lucid, or what passes for it.