Compare to these faked photos:

CBS News

The Nation

Wikipedia

Comments in the PetaPixel’s article of the same shot gives two conflicting explanations of who shot it, but it definitely is a stitched image of dozens of separate photos:

Gear used and photographer:

Canon 5DSr + 70-200 2.8L mounted on a Nodal Ninja M2 pano head and shot by hand. Supposedly shot at both 70mm and 200mm. The photographer is Tomasz Misiewicz and he did a great job in a very challenging situation. When you compare this to the previously published gigapixels from 2013 (shot by Toni Sandys) and the first one in 2009 (shot by by David Bergman) you can see how the quality of the gear, the technique and vantage point have all improved exponentially.

Alternative story:

Jim Bourg, the Washington DC Reuters photo editor sez it was shot at 12:01pm by Reuters photographer Lucas Jackson.

Was definitely stitched:

I’m curious what was used to make it. I found a guy with a seam down the middle of his face and movement so multiple shots over a period of time “Landscape Stitching” style. But the resolution is amazing.


Use your mouse to move around, zoom in HERE.