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| © Michael J. McNamara 2008 |
| Click photo to see the original elements portfolio. |
It's the one of the model walking down the grand staircase. No, not the shot of the tall blond model, Natasha Komissarova, walking down the stairs at a fancy Tokyo hotel I visited once. That's a fake collage (take a closer look at the lighting around her feet for hints). In fact, all three shots of Natasha are faked, and while the images of her were all taken on the same afternoon at the Bronx Botanical Gardens, in two of the three photos I cut her out and carefully pasted her into other scenes. First, I added her to the Tokyo hotel stair shot and then the sunlit meadow (shot in Coldspring, NY on my way to catch a train to work). As for Natasha and the wolf (which I call "Red Riding Hood") -- the wolf was added to the shot of her strutting across the bridge.
Still can't tell which one is real? It's the vertical shot of model Melissa Re coming down the stairs at the Osborn family's Castle Rock castle in Garrison, NY. Hint: there are portraits in the background. The fake shot of her, cut out from the real scene, was added to the gold and marble staircase at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas (Hint: take a closer look at her right hand in both photos). For a more detailed look at how the other five photos were dramatically altered and manipulated, click here to see the Elements portfolio. And stay tuned for more challenges to your sense of right and wrong in upcoming weeks.
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