Picture shows thousand words, also several refugees twice

An L.A. Times photog got fired after editors were tipped to the fact he'd used photo-editing software to combine two shots of the same scene into a more pleasing composition. Under the heading of "smart -- to a point," the lensman produced a more dramatic photo but neglected to edit out some folks in the background who appeared twice in the synthesized image. (Note: If that WSJ link doesn't work, click here for an archived version.)

What surprises me is not that a photographer did this, what surprises me is the unconvincing expressions of shock on the part of the L.A. Times and the photogs quoted in the WSJ story. "If you can't believe what you see, everything is suspect," one frets. "This sort of thing damages the credibility of all of us," says another, probably wringing his hands.

Guys, the horses escaped from that barn years ago. It won't do any good shutting the door now.