Loading ...I had dinner with my extended family last night and like all good family dinners, I left feeling angry. All that familial frustration has to go somewhere, and today it looks like it’s going towards people who post doctored photos.
I’m not the only one calling people out on false photos. In some of these pictures, the coral doesn’t even look real. One reason I keep my coral under 14,000K metal halides is that I prefer the colour; to me it’s more realistic. I’m going with 10,000K lighting the next time I buy bulbs which is less blue and should give me more realistic colours. I want to see what my coral looks like. I don’t want a pastel approximation.
Some of the stores near me run 20,000K halides with super actinic T5 supplements. Some stores run 8 bulb T5s with 6 actinic bulbs. It’s next to impossible to see what the coral’s going to look like in my tank.
Which brings us to this picture. It was posted on a local aquarium board as part of a shipment by our friends at The Bad Vendor. I’ve created a new award and I propose that it’s called The Purple Finger. The Purple Finger would be awarded to the most obviously doctored photo of coral.
Here’s the first winner:
In the hobby since 2001, and has seen all kinds of fads come and go. As he gets older, Jeff is developing more and more of a conscience towards environmental concerns, especially towards reefs. Currently, he writes from Ontario, Canada, but would rather be snorkeling on a reef.
But he has purple coraline growing on his fingers!
I’m a fairly unbiased spectator in most regards. I think RR is really getting picked on lately as they seem to be bending over backwards for people. Some requests are obsurd IMO.
I don’t think it’s edited on purpose….its white balance problem. Did you look at Johns new photo’s …they were worse. I don’t really care either way because it is easy to tell.
HOPE YOUR WEEK GETS BETTER.
See with RR, they have been doing this for years.. not just recently. And John has always kept his actinics on, even when he is taking pictures of corals.
I am sure most of RR’s corals would look completely different if taken under say 10K light or properly white balance settings.
Maybe you guys have some residual resentment for RR which is fine because I’m not RR cheerleader. If I was buying an expensive frag online and it was photoshoped and I didnt get to see it in real life before the deal was done then yah I would be pissed. Other wise I’m ok.
Just to show my point. You did mention RR but not NAFB which did the same thing. This is the pics they posted and both pics are of the same coral.
[img]http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp347/JOHNERTAN/IMG_0055_edited.jpg[/img][img]
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp347/JOHNERTAN/IMG_0048_edited.jpg/img
Well IMG tags don’t work. Here is the second pic….
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp347/JOHNERTAN/IMG_0055_edited.jpg
We have residual resentment for those who strive to get the Purple Finger award.
And that last pic is this weeks award leader!
Crap the first link doesnt work either….
Here is the other pic
sorry guys.
Man I can’t get this right. Here is the other pic. This is the same coral at NAFB. He posted the pics in the same thread. I don’t think the purpose was to deceive.
http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp347/JOHNERTAN/IMG_0048_edited.jpg
LOL I love it!
Almost every retailer in my area who posts online is guilty of this. Why not keep your corals in a setup similar to ours? Clearly there is a resentment built up here (and not just for RR) and it can be easily resolved. Run a 50/50 lighting setup and take representative pictures!
I think the Purple Finger award is great!
Darryl, I didn’t post that to target RR. I don’t like the dishonestly that goes on in the coral trade, be it hobbyist or retailer. This post was intended as a scatter shot at anyone who thinks it’s OK to post pictures like that.
I saw the thread on RC that I posted in my blog above and I thought it would be funny and punchy to satirize the misrepresentation of coral. I’m not sure if I succeeded. You be the judge of that.
I believe the industry needs more of a conscience and I want to do as much as I can to help.
As for John’s pictures, I was burned a few weeks back by something in his tanks. Of course I’m not happy about it.
I think the Purple Finger Award might end up being an ongoing series, so don’t worry, I’ll make it fair.
Haha….no prob Jeff. I look forward to the series. I do believe that some of the issue is white balance and not intended deception…but thats just me (to dang trusting).