Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [photography]

the art or practice of taking and processing photographs.

51 questions
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Can gamma rays on an airplane damage a digital camera?

Rob Hummer gave a talk at Cine Gear Expo 2011 about how film and digital cameras catch light. He makes a handful of extraordinary claims about digital sensors - including a claim that you get dead pixels on camera sensors by bringing them on…
Journeyman Geek
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Can photography be used for terrorism, and can restricting it reduce terrorism?

I'm seeing lots of claims that photography could contribute to terrorism, and photographers are being stopped on a regular basis in many more places than before, especially in the UK (see http://www.met.police.uk/campaigns/campaign_ct_2008.htm,…
bwDraco
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Are these photos of burned home surrounded by pristine trees in California due to the forest fires real?

These photos are circulating on social media. Are they real? How can a forest fire burn homes in the center of a forest without burning the trees? Portion of Paradise, CA after the "Forest Fire". No, we'll call it what it is: murder. Because…
Chloe
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Is The Venice Syndrome documentary cover photo real?

Came across below photo and eventually tracked it down to a cover photo of "The Venice Syndrome" documentary IMDb and the trailer at Vimeo : This image is not in the trailer (haven't seen the documentary). Big cruise ships do (did) visit Venice as…
zx8754
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Is this a genuine photo of the supermoon over Gdańsk?

Photo from this page: http://www.rmf.fm/magazyn/news,6902,wiekszosc-polakow-podziwialo-wczoraj-ksiezyc-zobaczcie-piekne-zdjecia.html It's on a reputable site which claims that it is a genuine photo but I can't believe that the moon really appeared…
cja
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Does the STS103-734-73 NASA picture show another spacecraft?

UFO News reported in July 2014 that an older image taken of the Hubble Telescope is on a spacecraft (a "craft"). The image was taken in December 1999,, on STS-103, a repair mission on which Space Shuttle Discovery flew to the highest-ever orbit in…
kenorb
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Was National Geographic just filming a snake attack a child and not helping?

The picture has become somewhat of a meme (NSFW) Was the boy really being attacked by a snake while the cameramen just taped? Or is this photoshopped or just an act? Picture reads, The "That's Not My Fucking Job" award goes to
BlueMoon93
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Muslim couple provocatively pictured on beach — true holiday photo or fake (i.e. staged/set up)?

Recently I found a very provocative picture circulating in anti-Islam communities. It shows a presumably Muslim man, who is wearing a very small bathing suit and is standing next to a fully clothed woman in black jilbab. The question The primary…
2manyusernamestaken
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Does this photo depict a human flesh market during the Russian famine?

This distressing photo has circulated around the internet including Daily Mail or The Sun as the depiction of people selling human flesh during The Russian famine of 1921–22. However, the source cited by Wikipedia, "Russia 1904-1924. The…
Probably
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Is this a photo of a rough sleeper who froze to death?

The caption reads: This picture is a picture of a DEAD homeless man who has froze to death on our streets , in Leicester a few days ago ,not one mention in the media about it and you are probably thinking why is Nigel posting a pic like this…
Tim
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Did nude pictures kick off the industry for photographs?

The Internet History Podcast claims: When photography was developed in the 18th century, photographic commerce was mostly about selling people portraits of themselves or their loved ones—at least, initially. What really kicked off an industry for…
user28543
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Did Iranian media pixelate most of a female beach volleyball player?

From https://twitter.com/dr_rafizadeh/status/762752071233708032 a picture of a women's beach volleyball match is shown with an unpixelated Egyptian player, and an almost entirely pixelated other player: The tweet says that is censorship in Iran. Is…
Andrew Grimm
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Is this photograph of Frank Sinatra as a 10 year old real?

There is an image of Frank Sinatra floating around the internet in its usual unattributed copyright-infringing fashion: No doubt there are pictures out there of Frank Sinatra as a young boy, but my questions is is this picture of Frank Sinatra in…
IQAndreas
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Did the Curiosity Rover take its own hands-free selfie?

Time Magazine had an article with a photographic portrait of the Curiosity Rover on Mars, attributed to NSA/JPL. Here's another version: This photos seems like it would be impossible to take. I would understand if it had used a monopod or any…
Malky.Kid
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Is this picture from the flooded cave rescue in Thailand?

I came across the following post on Facebook (original text is on Portuguese, translation and emphasis by me): BOYS MEDITATING WHILE WAIT FOR RESCUE INSIDE CAVE IN THAILAND The former Buddhist monk and coach of the twelve boys stuck in a cave in…
appa yip yip
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