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Nikon Singapore sorry for ‘oversight’ after social media exposes photoshopped contest winner

Chay Yu Wei's photoshopped award winner

Chay Yu Wei’s photoshopped award winner

Nikon Singapore has apologised on Facebook for its “oversight” in awarding a photography prize to an image that fans of the brand pointed out had been photoshopped.

The brand has responded to the large volume of equally obviously photoshopped images posted to parody the winning entry by conceding that the competition rules need revisiting, but also that it welcomed the “funny and witty” mock entries that ensued its NikonCaptures winner announcement yesterday – even though some suggested that their entries were equally deserving of a prize.

Chay Yu Wei won you a Nikon trolley bag for a photograph he took of a set of ladders that had amazingly captured the precise moment a plane had passed directly overhead, Nikon announced on Facebook.

However, it was quickly pointed out by a poster on Facebook that, after playing with the levels settings, the photograph is a fake.

By adjusting the levels, the photoshopping is apparent

By adjusting the levels, the alteration is clear

Chay had used a plane cropped from computer game Minecraft, although in Instagram he claimed that he had got “lucky” with the photograph.

“We see imagination as the ability to see greatness and use each and every tool at your disposal to make them real,” Nikon Singapore said in its Facebook response, which came some hours after its page was flooded with other photoshopped entries that feature a Star Wars tie fighter, Godzilla and James Bond.

Created by Adrian Lam, who wrote" "007 chanced upon a set of ladders while on a photowalk searching for a shaken and not stirred Martini."

Singapore’s frequently bemoaned MRT became a target.

Funny Nikon image

As did a take on Van Damme’s epic split from the Volvo film.

Chinatown image Van Damme

And science fiction monster Godzilla.

Godzilla image

In response to the posts, Nikon wrote:

At Nikon, we believe that innovation and imagination are at the heart of every image. While innovation is driven by the technological advances in our devices and cameras, we see imagination as the ability to see greatness and use each and every tool at your disposal to make them real.

NikonCaptures is a casual photography contest that focuses not on the devices or props you use, but on the imagination and creativity that each photographer exudes while capturing and sharing their images. We have taken in every feedback received, and we sincerely apologise for the oversight on our part. We are now in the process of carefully revisiting the contest’s rules and regulations, for the benefit of all our current NikonCaptures members. We will update everyone of the contest rules once we have revisited all of them.

At the same time, we welcome the funny and witty entries being shared in response to our recently awarded image. It’s with joy that we acknowledge that the global photography and image community is alive and thriving. We thank you for the numerous spontaneous contributions and encourage everyone to keep the imagination alive.

However, in response to Nikon’s apology, Facebookers continued to press the camera manufacturer over its competition standards. “It’s a photography competition, not a digital imaging competition,” one pointed out.

Another said: “It is fine to photoshop a plane into your picture. What is unacceptable is claiming that the plane was originally in the picture. It is fine to not detect the photoshopped plane. What is unacceptable is to continue to accept it as a winning entry when the truth is known and trying to frame the issue as whether editing is allowed in the contest when it is really about dishonesty and Nikon’s condoning of it.”

This and other comments prompted Nikon into making a second statement on Facebook. The brand said yesterday:

We have heard your comments and feedback on this, and you are right – we should not compromise standards even for a casual photo contest. We have dialogued internally, with the community and with our loyal fans, and Yu Wei has also posted his own views on this issue. We have made an honest mistake and the rousing response from the community today is a reminder to us that the true spirit of photography is very much alive. Moving forward, we will tighten our image review process to avoid similar situations in the future. Thank you once again for all your responses today – for your humour and most of all, your candour and honesty. We hope not to disappoint you in the future and to continue to have your support.

Most sincerely, your Nikon team

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