The evidence at http://www.suomenluonto.fi/bbcs-nature-photo-competition-judge-admits-winner-photo-investigated-due-to-fraud-allegations seems pretty convincing that the location of the shot was the Cañada Real Center zoological park near Madrid. The stone wall could easily have been modified but I can't see anywhere else having those unique trees in the background.
It has been stated that the photographer's disqualification was also determined by answers he gave to direct questions from the judges. We'll never know what the questions were but I'd bet that they included an inquiry as to exactly where the photographer *claimed* to have taken the shot. A comparison of that place to the zoological park would be adequate for the judges to be quite sure of what was happening. We'll never know for certain but willing to trust the judges on this; it would be quite easy and definitive. I've seen previous years' incarnations of this contest in London and there have always been some amazing shots. I've also always wondered if the judges weren't quite skeptical enough when accepting entries. The time I went I found the children's winners included a suprising number of 6-year-olds shooting with a Nikon F5 and 600mm f/4.0. -- Mark Roberts Photography & Multimedia www.robertstech.com -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
