Well, this is awkward. Canon has recently posted an image on a few of their social media accounts. The first thing to notice is that they didn’t give credits to the photographer in either of the posts. But guys from FStoppers discovered more. First, the image is a composite. And second, one of the photos used for it was actually shot on a Fujifilm X-T1.
It all started when FStoppers and photographer Elia Locardi were notified that a photo similar to Elia’s was shared on Canon Italy’s Facebook page. When they inspected the image, it was obvious that the sky is similar. A bit too similar, I’d say. As it turned out, the photo on Canon’s social media pages is a composite made with the sky from Elia’s photo. See for yourself:
https://www.facebook.com/CanonItaliaSpA/photos/a.173171772710893.44974.171843682843702/1916107515083968/?type=3&theater
The photo didn’t only appear on Canon Italy’s Facebook page. It was also posted on their Instagram, as well as the Instagram page of Canon Spain. And yes, each time it was without credits.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdxClVfF3K-/?hl=en&taken-by=canonitaliaspa
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdx0iqRgyih/?taken-by=canonespana
As DPReview writes, Elia did a bit of a research and actually found the source of the photo. It was a royalty-free image published on Unsplash, published in October 2017 and allegedly taken with a Canon 1D Mark IV.
I also found the photo there pretty quickly, so I guess Canon did, too. This at least explains not giving the credits (sort of), because you’re not obliged to credit the photographer when you take a photo from Unsplash. Although, it would still be nice to do it.
On Canon’s part, I believe this is an honest mistake, although it turned out to be pretty embarrassing and awkward. I’d say a bigger problem is that someone else used Elia’s photo without permission, made a composite and posted it as their own image. The composite on Canon’s Italy and Canon Spain pages is still not removed. However, since this case is gaining huge attention, I guess it will be taken down soon.
[via FStoppers, DPReview; lead image: Elia Locardi, used with permission]
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