You need to be quite perceptive to find the answer.
This image went viral after being posted on social media in Turkey some time ago. The person who posted the photo is George Steinmetz, an American photographer.
The photo sparked a lively discussion among “netizens” in Turkey because it was unclear what the white spots beneath the camel were. Some believed it was a product of Photoshop, while others thought the author had edited it to boost engagement.
Photo by American photographer George Steinmetz.
In reality, this is a 100% camera shot with no editing or compositing involved.
According to the photographer, he captured this image in 2004 while paragliding during an expedition exploring the “largest sand sea in the world,” the Empty Quarter, spanning from Saudi Arabia to Oman and then to Yemen.
And the answer is: The white spots are indeed real camels, and the black shapes of the camels are their shadows.
The reason we can easily confuse these two images is that the photo was taken from a high altitude.
George Steinmetz is a seasoned nature photographer from the United States. His works have been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Smithsonian, Time, The New York Times Magazine, and National Geographic. He has a passion for aerial photography while paragliding.
