Can someone debunk this Peter Lik picture... PLEASE!!!

[CowGummy]

I just read his biography, and holy smokes, he's made some serious cash including a single sale at $1,000,000:

http://www.petapixel.com/2011/01/13/australian-landscape-photographer-peter-lik-sells-photo-for-1-million/

Yeah, and here's his backstory for that winning snap:

I will never forget this morning for the rest of my life. It was calm, and the scent of the fall forest filled my lungs. The mist cleared, and a magical reflection in the river briefly appeared. White birch trees, black trunks, a kaleidoscope of foliage combining to reveal an illusion of three dimensions. I pressed the shutter – once – and then the scene vanished with the morning breeze, never to be seen again.

In the light of recent discussions, I wonder whether the above actually translates to:

It was a cold morning and my head was banging after a night on the whisky with my mate. I sparked up a fag and fired up the computer to see whether I could coax a usable image out of anything from my last nature shoot. Bleary-eyed, I went into Photoshop, feeling about as inspired as a science student in a double-R.E. lesson on a wet winter Wednesday....

 

LOL! Cracked me up... Yeah, he does make it sound a bit like he was tripping on a particularly stale mushroom  that particular morning...

[Astro]

LOL! Cracked me up... Yeah, he does make it sound a bit like he was tripping on a particularly stale mushroom  that particular morning...

more like every morning and every evening....

[nubu]

Hi!

This photo is a collage for the following reasons:
1) The moon (one day after full moon) rises with the dark (not illuminated) side up also the most brilliant, rayed crater (Tycho) on the moon should be more towards the right. This leads to the clear conclusion that the picture of the moon was made when it was high in the sky and NOT on the horizon.
2) The nearly full moon is situated opposite to the sun direction. One does not see dawning or dusky horizons near to it but in exactly the opposite direction close to the sun.
3) The star field is several magnitudes weaker than the faint(!) part of the moon. It is impossible to capture this in a single exposure.
4) The starfield including the horizon seems to be taken at a much shorter focal lengths. I could not identify the constellations but one gets the impression that it includes some starclouds of the milky way. This would force the full moon being observed around december or June/July. During these months the (full) moon does not rise at 6:50pm.

If I would invest more time one could maybe find more weak points....

Franz (professional Astronomer and amateur photographer)

[zim]

I just read his biography, and holy smokes, he's made some serious cash including a single sale at $1,000,000:

http://www.petapixel.com/2011/01/13/australian-landscape-photographer-peter-lik-sells-photo-for-1-million/

Yeah, and here's his backstory for that winning snap:

I will never forget this morning for the rest of my life. It was calm, and the scent of the fall forest filled my lungs. The mist cleared, and a magical reflection in the river briefly appeared. White birch trees, black trunks, a kaleidoscope of foliage combining to reveal an illusion of three dimensions. I pressed the shutter – once – and then the scene vanished with the morning breeze, never to be seen again.

In the light of recent discussions, I wonder whether the above actually translates to:

It was a cold morning and my head was banging after a night on the whisky with my mate. I sparked up a fag and fired up the computer to see whether I could coax a usable image out of anything from my last nature shoot. Bleary-eyed, I went into Photoshop, feeling about as inspired as a science student in a double-R.E. lesson on a wet winter Wednesday....

 

LOL - but you also hit the nail on the head, it’s not the picture that is the issue I mean who hasn’t photoshop’d a photo by adding or removing detail. It’s the narrative that is so cringing which to me reflects on the photographers personality badly. Having said that I couldn’t have this pic on the wall the skyline would annoy the hell out of me.

[triggermike]

Hey Franz, is the position/orientation of the moon consistent with what one would see in Australia?

[nubu]

No, its northern hemisphere but only when the moon is high in the south direction and that is as we all know not the direction where the moon rises or sets. (Sorry close to the north pole this would be possible) ;DDD

[Gothmoth]

Hey Franz, is the position/orientation of the moon consistent with what one would see in Australia?

it´s photographed in utah anayway.

[Mooose]

Hey Franz, is the position/orientation of the moon consistent with what one would see in Australia?

it´s photographed in utah anayway.

The landscape is allegedly from Utah but given its a double exposure and the moon doesn't orient with the scene the moon could have been taken anywhere.

[nubu]

That is what he states but we have no proof. When I checked  for my text above I found 37 deg north for his stated photo site. That seems to be consitent with the moon picture (but not on the horizon but high up towards south as I argued). I think we all have no problems with artistic pictures and techniques but with epic picture stories that dont stand simple checks... That's simply fooling customers (and us)....

[Canon-F1]

The landscape is allegedly from Utah but given its a double exposure and the moon doesn't orient with the scene the moon could have been taken anywhere.

i think we should really stop to use "double exposure" in that context.
i know many have never shot film here but it sounds wrong to most who have.

[danski0224]

As something to look at, I like it. But, at the same time, it seems overdone. Too much.

The "story" does not help. It sounds cheesy.

One thing is for certain, he is doing much better than me in the selling pictures department More power to him.

[Sunnystate]

What happened to the old good definition of "kitsch"?

The only thing missing there is a silhouette of two deers making mating call, or maybe a kissing swans...
Why standards in popular art are deteriorating so fast in recent years? We are talking about million dollars sales!
To produce this by person with minimum taste would most certainly cause a rush of blood and high heart beat if not extreme palpitations!

As something to look at, I like it. But, at the same time, it seems overdone. Too much.

The "story" does not help. It sounds cheesy.

One thing is for certain, he is doing much better than me in the selling pictures department More power to him.

[danski0224]

I wouldn't call the image "poor taste" or kitschy... but, in my opinion, if it wasn't so processed (for lack of a better term), it would look better.

I'm no expert in taking pictures, but even I can quickly see that there is no way that the image is just one shot. The moon would blow out the stars.

I think the backstory on the webpage takes away from the image. It leads to questions. Just give it a title and a price.

One thing is for sure, he is getting lots of free publicity here

[AJ]

... I can quickly see that there is no way that the image is just one shot. The moon would blow out the stars.

Yup.

My attempt at this sort of thing.  Moon rolling down the mountain!

[CowGummy]

... I can quickly see that there is no way that the image is just one shot. The moon would blow out the stars.

Yup.

My attempt at this sort of thing.  Moon rolling down the mountain!

Awesome! Great idea and very nicely executed - love it!