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Mike Coots

Photographer Mike Coots Captures the Spellbinding Gaze of Wild Sharks

Photographing the fiercely intense yet beautifully captivating essence of sharks are just a few of shark advocate Mike Coots's many delights and ambitions. In his latest images from a trip off Guadalupe Island, Mexico, Coots skillfully manages to interpret aspects of the animals that are often misconstrued or feared due to negative portrayals in media.

Controversy Crops Up Over Economist Cover Photo

The Economist is in hot water after running an extremely edited photograph of President Obama on a Louisiana beach. The cover photo shows Obama alone on the beach. But the original photo, taken by Reuters photographer Larry Downing, shows that Obama was, in fact, not alone at all.

The altered image crops out Admiral Thad W. Allen of the Coast Guard, but also goes an extra step to completely omit the presence of Charlotte Randolph, a Louisiana parish president (perhaps with Photoshop CS5's content-aware fill).

This is a huge problem because The Economist's omissions entirely change the tone of the image in order to make Obama appear alone, hanging his head, when in fact he is likely looking down at the beach while in conversation with the two people next to him.  Additionally, according to journalism ethics, news photos should not be altered, especially to this extent.