Nikon Singapore apologises for 'oversight' after awarding alleged fake photo

Nikon Singapore apologises for 'oversight' after awarding alleged fake photo

It was supposed to be a casual photography contest but camera maker Nikon ended up having to apologise for awarding an alleged doctored picture.

Netizens could not hide their disdain on Saturday (Jan 30) after spotting something unusual about Chay Yu Wei's winning submission.

The photo depicted an aeroplane flying above a ladder supposedly in Chinatown.

Nikon Singapore's official Facebook page was flooded with sarcastic remarks that included how the photo was "fake" and several commenters had alleged that the photo was digitally manipulated with photo editing software Photoshop.

Many had also questioned and criticised Nikon's judging standards.

Facebook user Dan Pham said: "I don't even have a calibrated monitor and I can clearly see the plane looks completely off from the rest of the picture."

Other users who seemed familiar with aviation standards in Singapore also pointed out the "restricted area near Chinatown" that prevents airplanes from flying that low.

Nikon addressed the issue in a separate post.

At Nikon, we believe that innovation and imagination are at the heart of every image. While innovation is driven by the...

Posted by Nikon on Friday, January 29, 2016

"We have taken in every feedback received, and we sincerely apologise for the oversight on our part," the camera maker said.

"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."

Nothing could escape the netizens' eyes as several flocked to Chay's Instagram page and continued mocking his winning photo. Some users slammed him for claiming that he had waited for the plane just so he could snap the picture.

Although the photography contest did not quite end well, a different type of contest had already started within the comments section of Nikon's initial post on the winner.

Facebook users showed off their Photoshop skills by posting creative memes of Chay's winning shot.

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Nikon did not complain. In fact, they encouraged it.

"We welcome the funny and witty entries being shared in response to our recently awarded image," the company said.

Some replaced the airplane with famous fictional characters like James Bond, Superman while others kept it simple by using animals instead.

Perhaps there was a real winner after all: the Internet.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg

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