CSI TV series fascinate me. I have been chasing CSI Las Vegas and NY since their pilot! Never thought that I would be called upon for the role of Archie, the tech specialist.

This afternoon, I was called upon for a “Royal Inquiry” into an allegedly doctored image involved Queen of England. Jeffery Wong from Kota Kinabalu claimed the Queen conferred him with the Knight Grand Cross (GBE) during her recent birthday. It’s a conferment that carries the title “Sir”. Congratulatory ads flooded the local press. Some however question the authenticity of Wong’s claim.

A reporter from Sin Chew Jit Poh sent me some images and asked for my professional input.

The image on the right was provided by Wong to support his award claim. Some claimed it was doctored from the image on the left. The man on the left is Ross Brawn, principal of Mercedes F1 racing team, receiving the Order of British Empire from the Queen on March 10, 2010. Which is real? Which is fake? Here is my reply to Sin Chew. Verbatim, in bold:

The picture on the left and right is EXACTLY the same, except for the picture of the recipient. The gestures of the Queen, the angle of which she bended her wrist, tilted her head, the position of her fingers, posture and creases on the Queen’s dress are EXACTLY the same in both photo. The distance of the Queen from the wall and background is also EXACTLY the same in both photos. In my professional opinion, it is impossible that a photographer could capture two separate images with so many elements of “sameness”, especially in a live award event. While the background is also EXACTY the same in both photo, it could be explained by the use of a tripod.

I prove my point by super imposing the photographs on top of each other. You can see the “sameness” clearly.

There are two logical explanations to these two photos. One, the Queen depicted here was a wax statue. Or two, one of the two pictures was doctored. Unless given the high resolution files of the two images, it is hard to tell which is original and which is fake.

New evidence surfaced an hour after I received the first images. Above is a higher resolution picture of Ross Brown on the Mercedes F1 blog. After reviewing Brawn’s image, I conclude that Jeffery’s image was doctored from that of the Mercedes supremo’s.

This event made an interesting Saturday afternoon for me. I’ve seen doctorate degrees bought from some banana republic and photographers lying about their credentials. One claimed to be a multiple WPPI award winner when he has only garnered two Accolades of Excellence, not any first, second or third place award. Big difference between earning an AE and winning an award don’t you think? Another said he was a judge for international photography competitions. But which competition, sir? No reply. A few years ago, a chap in KL claimed be on assignment for National Geographic. When a fellow photog called up NG, the magazine said they didn’t know him let alone commissioning him. As photographer, it is upsetting because one bad egg can stink up a whole basket of eggs.

It is a scary world out there. Can’t believe everything you read or see anymore. Truth however always prevail. Just take a closer look