Monster Pig Photo was Fake

[yardwork]

Nice "Christian" values - canned hunt, faked photo. See the whole story here.

http://www.astrobio.net/stinkyjournalism/

[hippiechick]

1. Hoax or not, that thing is groase.

:puke: Jabba the Hut, or what? :(

[yardwork]

2. Do you mean the pig, or the boy who allegedly shot is, or his dad?

All three are grossly overweight.

[hippiechick]

10. Indeed, I *did* notice that ...

:puke:

[Mist]

17. Yeah, the dad is supersized--a wonder the kid didn't shoot him by mistake. nt

[ComerPerro]

30. all three are disgusting. Two two people seem to have revolting personalities

[Lorien]

31. Dad and son are revolting both inside and out

the pig? Not nearly as ugly!

[Skidmore]

39. Even grosser were the disgusting e-mails sent to that boy

by those people afterward.

[Horse with no Name]

49. I thought it looked like Denny Hastert

:hide:

[theoldman]

3. The photo of that monster hog looked fake to me.

When we fishermen have our picture taken we hold the fish close to the camera. It makes the fish look much bigger. That is the same trick used in the photo of the kid. He was way in back of the hog thereby making it look much larger.

[yardwork]

4. That's exactly what they did - the article explains in detail

It's an old trick, apparently.

[Warpy]

6. I once saw a prize hog at a state fair many years ago

that weighed in excess of 750 pounds. The poor thing stayed on its side, never did see it stand up. Its features were mostly obscured by rolls of fat.

Hog raising has changed, though, and bigger is no longer better. They're raised more for lean meat than for the huge layers of subcutaneous fat that can be rendered into lard.

A half ton hog isn't completely out of the question, IMO, but it would be an incredibly unhealthy animal.

That the photo was a fake is no surprise, though.

[sinkingfeeling]

24. I once owned a 900 pound pig as pet, named Poochie. I found her in our garden when she was about

2 weeks old. She had been rolled on by her mother and her rear leg and hip were crushed. We nursed her with a doll bottle and kept her inside in a metal wash tub filled with straw. She was a Poland China and not our pig. My dad and I raised Hampshires. Anyway, she grew up thinking she was a dog. She chased the school bus every day and ate peanut and jelly sandwich's with us kids. Because of her hip damage, she couldn't be bred and after about 3 years my dad said we couldn't afford to feed her anymore. But Poochie had a great life for those years she lived with us.

[Forkboy]

14. I thought it was forced perspective too.

All those Godzilla movies I watch teach one a lot about such tricks. :)

[theoldman]

5. In my opinion the worst part about the hunt was using a pistol.

The idea is to make a clean kill. The animal should drop dead on the first shot or at least stop in his tracks.

[Squatch]

8. I've hunted MANY times with a revolver

My first hunting gun was a Colt Anaconda in .44 Mag.

Out of all the animals I've taken, I think one or two "dropped dead" or "stopped in their tracks". Usually, they run for quite a ways before expiring.

[guitar man]

19. Anaconda is a damn fine weapon

I used to carry a Python 357 for personal protection, well crafted firearm.

My 44 Mag was an Interarms Virginian Dragoon, wish I hadn't sold it now :(

[Squatch]

22. Tell you the truth, I think the S&W 629 models are built much better

They just seemed to have tighter tolerances than the Colt.

That's a nice looking revolver. When shooting the 44 through a handgun, I like to have the extra weight of a full barrel lug.

[guitar man]

28. yeah, a 629 is nice

I had the opportunity to pump a few rounds through my friend's 629, nice pistol.

I grew up on single action revolvers, that's why I liked that Dragoon so much. It was a really well made pistol, at least as good or better than the Ruger Super Blackhawk I had before it. If I find another one, I'm going to buy it, I miss shooting the beast :(

[Squatch]

36. The only 44 SA I've fired was a Uberti-made Walker Colt

Not the power of a modern .44Mag, mind you, but impressive nonetheless.

[guitar man]

40. sweet!!

My Dad has a collection of Colt SAA pistols that were all made in the 1870s. He's got a 45 long colt, a couple 44-40s and a 38-40 converted to 38 special. they just don't make them like that anymore, undoubtedly the best crafted firearms I have ever handled.

[LeftCoast]

56. And you LIKE doing this?

Sounds absolutely horrific to me. I hope you eat what you kill at least.

[guitar man]

9. With the pistol the kid supposedly used

That shouldn't be a problem to accomplish. I doubt more about the story than just the photo, I want to see that kid acyually shoot that S&W 500. I used to shoot and hunt with a .44 Mag revolver. The S&W 500 is at least double the power of my 44, the muzzle blast and recoil must be really intense to the shooter.

[ComerPerro]

33. When I first saw this site and story, I figured the whole thing was overblown gun porn

"lets shoot a huge pig, photoshop it so it looks twice the size, and photograph our moron kid near it with a gun he couldn't possibly fire!"

[guitar man]

37. I'm not saying he couldn't fire it

I was wielding some pretty hefty artillery when I was about his age too. Of course, that was back when the 44 mag was the big dog of the handgun world.

I would just like to see a video of the kid actually shooting the pistol, then I might be inclined to believe a bit more of the story.

[ComerPerro]

38. well, basically, the power of the gun, wielded by a kid, just screams fetish

[Richard Steele]

59. If the kid had been able to hit the broad side of a pig, that is.

This story says he fired 16 rounds, and hit it only 5 times...
over a three-hour period.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/06/01/0601monsterpig.html

Btw, the hog was raised on a farm. His name was "Fred".
His former owner's grandkids used to play with him.

[Big Pappa]

62. Yeah and

that kid said he shot 18 times. BS. What did he do reload 3 times?:rofl:

[tularetom]

12. It's actually a big friggin pistol

A .50 cal with a 10 inch barrel weighs about 10 lbs. With a 350 grain load it has a muzzle velocity of about 1600 fps and kinetic energy in excess of 2000 ft lbs. This is equivalent or greater than many popular deer rifles. It also has a significant kick which makes me question its accuracy when fired by a kid, even one as "husky" as the kid in the pig story.

[guitar man]

15. yes it is

for reference, here's a youtube video of a S&W 500 at the range. (not intending to pick on the women , this video is the best I found for illustrating muzzle blast and recoil for this weapon)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUHeYCM5WuQ

I want to see the kid actually shoot the gun....

[TahitiNut]

18. The kid must have forearms like Popeye.

:eyes:

[Squatch]

26. Using a rest of some sort is a proven shooting tactic.

You don't have to be big to shoot big bore revolvers, although controlling barrel flip takes some coordination. However, placing the revolver down on a log or something will ensure a steady sight picture.

Frankly, it's not surprising this kid shot the pig with this revolver, I just wonder how he managed to contol that shootin' iron after he pulled the trigger.

[Big Pappa]

63. See post # 62

That firearm only holds five rounds. What did he just keep a spare bandoleer just in case?

[Big Pappa]

61. Supposedly

that kid was using a .50 caliber revolver. Plenty of lead to take that pig given the right situation.

[jojo54]

7. ...and this boy gained what moral value from this????

I can't figure it out.

[bbernardini]

11. monsterpig.com supposedly "debunks" this article. nt

[yardwork]

48. Yeah right. Monsterpig.com was created to market the whole fake event.

They have as much credibility as Tony Snow.

[Canuckistanian]

13. "Relative Size Illusion"

One of the oldest tricks in the photo hoaxster's book.

For example, here's a good photo from Stinky Journalism that illustrates the effect:



Now, is the man a freakish giant? No. Is that a model of the Taj Mahal? No.

Same thing was done to the pig/boy shot. Pig in foreground, boy about 10 feet or more behind the pig.

A small aperture on the camera to make sure everything is nicely in focus, and voila, a "trick shot".

[Mist]

16. I believe the same "forced perspective" angles were used to great effect in

the Lord of the Rings (it was explained in some detail in the extended edition).

[Beelzebud]

23. Thats correct. It took a lot of camera trickery.

To make the hobbits and the dwarf all appear to be 3 feet tall.

When I saw the photo of the boy and the hog, I knew it was fake.

[Deja Q]

44. And the original Star Trek series (1966-1969, NBC)

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

20. Typical Repuke "Christian" Hypocrisy

Fraudsters like the rest...

[Deja Q]

45. A lovely practical joke, but they should have come clean.

[aikoaiko]

21. I don't consider forced perspective photos faking --- they are what they are

The question is whether or not the beast weighed as much as they claim.

[Canuckistanian]

25. It is faking if you're trying to make a factual claim

And especially if you're making money on the illusion.

[guitar man]

32. Oh, now don't be too hard on them

It's a good story, even if it is made up. You know these people thrive on made up stories....

[yardwork]

53. The White House makes up the same kinds of stories

Similar tricks were used to get us into Iraq. That's why this is important. Follow the dots.

[guitar man]

64. oh absolutely

without a doubt that shit happens, but what do you do with people who literally believe the world is only 6000 years old, some guy built a giant boat and rode out a worldwide flood with all the animals, some dude waved his hand and parted the sea and so on?

I don't think we are ever going to convince most of them otherwise, and in the end, a big fishin' story or tall huntin' tale is at the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

[geek_sabre]

27. Not sure I buy it

It seems clear that he's kneeling in the pic with the gun, so the 7' calculation is bunk.

[Gormy Cuss]

41. A kneeling pose on a stool or other platform would do the trick.

The animal's body would obscure the device. It's really quite easy to do this trick if the camera has good focus control.

[sinkingfeeling]

42. He has to be kneeling on something because the ground would be two feet below him.

[FloridaJudy]

29. Ever notice

That really weird stuff always seems to have happened to some red-neck isolated in the backwoods, without verification? If anyone here had killed a pig that size, wouldn't you have called a zoologist - or at least a reputable journalist - to confirm you'd bagged a monster? To say the least, you'd be on the cell phone to the folks at Guinness as soon as you could catch a signal. But these yahoos got rid of that sucker before releasing the pictures. Something stinks here, and it's not just rotting pork.

It's kind of like UFO sightings. They never seem to happen when reliable witnesses, or even someone with a decent camera, is around. Nope, we just get a blurry picture that could be anything, and Bubba claiming he was abducted. Think about it: some alien race has the technology to travel unimaginable interstellar distances, and they use it to harass some half-wit in a pick-up truck? Who knew that a superior intelligence would chose drunken frat brothers to do their exploring!

[JNelson6563]

35. Many good points

Spot on. :toast:

[bmbmd]

34. That is still

a big dangerous wild hog. Seems like a hatchet job on the kid to me.

[yardwork]

50. The "wildness" of the hog is in question.

Apparently, the pig (of whatever size) was delivered to the fenced-in park back in February. Hunters pay to enter the park and chase the animals around inside the fence until the animals are dead. This does not strike me as particularly dangerous for the humans.

[lligrd]

52. Exactly, I Find This Kind Of "Hunting" Disgusting - nt

[lligrd]

54. And How About The Kids Statement

about being the biggest thing he will "probably" ever kill. I guess in killing size matters!

[Deja Q]

43. Some of the pics on the actual pig site were clearly fakes.

They're looking in the WRONG direction. Or prefer to look at what's over the awning. Oops.


If the dudes on the left and right didn't put themselves in, this one might have worked.


The kid is clearly stretching a considerable distance. No dice, sorry.


It actually fools the eye; clever use of forced perspective and it takes a while to see the trick. ('Star Trek' the original series did that a lot too, to make small sets look larger...) No wonder it was the one that got front page advertising.

And if they get sales of that pig poster, I should be putting up some of my own trick photos. :rofl:

[FloridaJudy]

46. The third picture appears to illustrate

that this kid has a freakishly enlarged right hand. Nice try, fellas.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

47. ZOMG! Forced Perspective!

But, seriesly, who gives a shit?

[yardwork]

51. The reason it's important is that the people perpetrating the hoax

claim to represent "Christian" values. They were all set to be interviewed on Fox News and a lot of other media outlets. They seem to have numerous connections to hard-right Republicans. They were looking at making a great deal of money. Who taught them how to do all this trickery? Who booked them on all the TV shows?

There is most probably a direct line between these people and their fakery and the White House and its fakery. They're part of the same group.

That's why this is important.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

57. That's why it's important?

Where in the Bible does it say "Thou Shall Not Force Perspective?"

Did not Jesus himself once say, "I once caught a fish THIS BIG!"

[lies and propaganda]

60. i cant stop looking at this..

and im sure it will in my freaking nightmares!!

[BurtWorm]

55. No! Now you're going to tell us the Loch Ness film is fake too!

:o

[Beaverhausen]

58. Monster Pig was farm-raised, not wild

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2866944