A little over 1 month ago we had before us the fraud that has been McCurry with that photomanipulation to make those pictures stand out that have led him to be one of the most famous photographers and that his captures have been through popular media such as National Geographic. A magazine that does not allow this form of photographic retouching, since it makes you lose that moment in which nature is captured in its wildest state.
There has always been a huge public backlash against digitally manipulated photos in the media, and often for good reasons: Mass edited photos put viewers up to unrealistic expectations, apart from being totally misleading in the worst terms. National Geographic it is no exception in this kind of photography trend that really captures nature or the human himself in his habitat.
The magazine has now published a piece commenting on how quickly they capture those photos They deceive the public with some very simple Photoshop tricks. He insists that photographers (both pros and amateurs alike) should supply RAW files when possible, and will question anyone who doesn't have those files on hand.
Even the magazine maintains that it is not a theoretical exercise, but that there has already been on occasion when some photographs have been rejected for this very reason. This does not mean that National Geographic is against the concept of "enhancing" photos. Is according to some kind of processing, which can be understandable when the photographer needs to highlight some colors or increase the brightness for what they see with their own eyes.
Therefore, the publication has been determined to avoid the repetition of some of the mistakes made in the 80s, when he allowed the retouching in some high profile photos and that managed to be part of the cover of the magazine itself.