Image from CNN

Maybe the wall was graffitti'd (sp)?

And TPTB didn't want to have the picture displayed with "DEATH TO AMERICANS" on the wall?

Maybe?

Originally posted by boondock-saint
Now can anybody identify what that blue
light thingy is on the ground behind the soldier
on the left ???

Looks like a water bottle.

Just to point out, as a previous poster already has, that the white line behind his ear is the wire for his earpiece, which clearly can be seen in the ear.

I dont think this is a photo shop job at all, just look at the evidence and the testimony from the other ATS members who have experience with photo shop.

Peace

reply to post by Chadwickus


I agree a water bottle. Also if you go to getty inages you will see 5 similar photos. If you go to the one titled "An ISAF French soldier stands guard outside guest houses". You will also see that this person looks photo shopped, I believe these ´anomilies´ could be caused by getty images putting their water mark across the photos.

IMO, the guy on the left has definitely been shopped.
The shadow around his neck where it meets the collar isn't right, the lighting through his hair would suggest a white background and not the gray of the wall, as would the small white chunk under his ear (although I'm torn on whether this is the wire from a earpiece)

Totally cropped picture, the guy on the left is outside without cover... i dont think so. I think its also funny they are both covering their names with there left arms....Funny catch OP.

Don't have much time- Just wanted to post a quick reply...

This is a definite photoshop job.

There isn't even the slightest hint of a shadow on the ground where those two are standing...

...and someone else already pointed out the white spot on the image behind the guys head---- I'm just not sure why someone would leave such a mistake on a picture that they have Photoshopped.

No, it's not photoshopped.

Come on ATS... when it's not photoshopped, you think it is. When it is photoshopped, you think it isn't.

What is even funnier is that it is always the same members who are right. They are the ones with experience too.. go figure. They are always the first ones to be ridiculed as well...

Why would they need to photoshop this anyway? There is plenty of real photos of soldiers. I can't believe this thread is on ATS, this is BTS material.

[edit on 26-7-2010 by Unst0ppable0ne]

reply to post by Tripple_Helix


The white piec3e behind his ear is A WIRE FROM AN EAR PIECE!!! Security have them all the time.

reply to post by Itachimaru



The fact that the photo was pulled is interesting in itself, and suggests there was definitely something wrong with the photo.

Either they used the wrong photo, or it was photoshopped - I personally can't see any other reason why it would have been pulled.

Originally posted by LestatG
reply to post by Tripple_Helix

 

The white piec3e behind his ear is A WIRE FROM AN EAR PIECE!!! Security have them all the time.

No it isn't,
in this picture here, that someone else posted, it is clear that the white thingy is a patch, bandage of some sort, he probably cut himself shaving or something.
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e841bd2fdb78.jpg[/atsimg]

reply to post by tribewilder


These two men are Army not Navy. I see the soldier on the left has a PMAG inserted in the M4 Carbine, strange. VERY fresh uniforms as well.

There is still one question that noone has tried to answer and that is if he on guard duty where is his helmet? You would have a hard time convincing me that they are ale to be on guard duty in a war zone with nothing to protect their melons, especially after having 2 soldiers abducted not to long ago. Wether he is a military, federal police, or whatever he is they wouldn't send him out with no helmet and in the picture there doe not seem to be one around. There may be one we don't see, but still if your in a war zone that isn't the best move to not have your head protected at all times in the streets.

reply to post by LestatG


Go back to the picture, zoom in real close on the guy with the blond hair. Notice the 'halo' (or haziness) around his body and the smoothness of the fence. Why does the texture of the fence and his surroundings change ONLY around the guys body?

It might not be photoshoped, I know for a fact that I would never leave such a huge gap of white on a picture if I was using photoshop.

But members are right- something about the picture is just wrong.

Some of you look in all the wrong places..

Look at the guy on the right. His sunglasses have a highlight on them. This hints at the main light direction. Now look at the guy on the left, he has a highlight on his sunglasses too, next to his ear highlight, it shows an identical direction of the main light.

Now look at the guy on the right again. The edge of his helment has a highlight all around from the main light. The guy on the left, since he has dirty blonde hair, has the same highlights.

They are both in the same lighting environment. They are not in direct sunlight, they are only being lit by ambient light, and sky light, this is why there is no distinct shadows. This is why the tree they are next to doesn't have distinct shadows.

All the "square cutting" that people claim is caused by a bad cropping job.... those squares are caused by the compression algorithm that is effecting the images because none of you have the original full size image, only highly copmpressed copies.

That white thing on the neck of the guy on the left.. that is probably a retainer for his sunglasses so he doesn't lose his sunglasses. Maybe it could even be a wire for a communication device. Whatever it is, it is highlighted by the sun just like his sunglasses and his ear and his hair, and his shoulders, and the helmet on the other guy.

Seriously people..... don't waste your time on this distraction.

Originally posted by Dorfl
The guy on the right is (according to his unit patch) part of IMCOM (installation management command).
If you check their website you can compare uniform pictures.
IMCOM Website

The guy on the left is more interesting. FP usually stands for Federal Police. But the only FP-unit in Afghanistan is the Australian Federal Police. And they don't dress up as soldiers.

I'll see if I can find more.

From what I can recall, though I may be wrong, the FP could be referring to Force Protection, which is basically just an organized guard effort for certain areas, like a Forward Operating Base. I sometimes heard guard rotations for gates and towers being referred to as such, and with some units being dedicated to the task.

Though I have never heard of an official "Force Protection" unit, it may be possible that it's just an unofficial patch for the sole purpose of identifying Force Protection on that particular base.





It's a Maine *ARMY* National Guard patch, this is weird. It's on his left shoulder, meaning that this is his particular unit. Who is this guy supposed to be? It doesn't make any sense, I thought these were supposed to be Navy or Special Forces or something?

Someone please confirm that this photo is supposedly of the captured soldiers. If so, it can't be possible, if they're to be in the Navy. (They're not even a Navy uniform to begin with.) The only *other* reason I can think of, is that he temporarily wears this patch as being assigned to a Maine unit that does "Force Protection" somewhere in Afghanistan, which I doubt.. I don't think you're supposed to do that, and I'm currently not aware of a Maine unit assigned as such.




[edit on 26-7-2010 by SyphonX]

I'll give a shout out to those who think its a photoshop job. I agree somewhat that it LOOKS photoshopped, but it is in my opinion a normal photo. Just taken under slightly unusual lighting conditions, note the tree, indicating a shaft of sunlight. Together with the ambient light its making some of you confused.

Most likely this photo was taken using a very expensive lens, with a deep DOF and incredible focus which is keeping everything nice and sharp.
Nice pickup, but, no, everythings a okay.

I do not think it is photoshopped. I work with photoshop occasionally, and it is only the white spot behind the left guys ear that appears shopped and I think the white spot is some sort of painting/sticker/sign on the wall behind him. It's possible that he is just standing exactly in the right spot to make it look shopped. Because the other parts of his head do not look shopped at all, just that part. I think it's some sort of white painting/sign on the wall behind him.

I Have A Question-- What Were These Swabbies Doing Out there In A Non-Military Vehicle ??
This Is Not A Common Occurance, So I Smell A RAT !!!

Sorry, I don't see the problem with this image at all. You do realize that all the pics are edited to some degree before they're published? Maybe the quality was bad and they used a bunch of filters to make it look better? Maybe there was something "inappropriate" on the wall behind the guys they had to crop out? Trust me, my wife is a designer and we both do volunteer work editing and designing newsletters for none-profits - every image we use is edited in some way......some quite major and some very minor.

And what are they trying to hide any way?