As I saw the above picture ('from two days before', apparently) posted by our member Fedge, I wondered: why in the world did they take down that huge monitor for the Big Day? Today, a pen pal from UK (and our latest new Cluesforum member, 'kickstones') sent me some interesting material regarding this monitor. So here goes:
THE BIG MONITOR MYSTERY
FACT: This big monitor is not seen in any of the available "bomb" imagery. It's just not there.
Here's a picture of the large monitor:
https://twitter.com/annwebster/status/3 ... 20/photo/1
Next, I wondered why on earth this still image of the female winner of this 2013 Boston Marathon looked photoshopped - and the possible reasons as to
why it would have been manipulated. As it is, it looks as if the backdrop has been replaced to simulate a photo taken with a big telephoto lens, a most unlikely choice for any pro-photographer in these circumstances (also, the backdrop would appear much more blurred than this with, say, a 500mm lens). To be sure, the background buildings we can see in this Boylston street scenery are located further down the road. Thus, in this 'money shot' of the Marathon winner, the nearby "bomb" area is invisible (out of frame) - and so is (conveniently, perhaps?) the big monitor:
The thing is, in this video (found by 'kickstones') showing the 2013 winner lady, the monitor
is still there:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/video/877547 ... -division/
So the question is: was this huge monitor removed / dismounted at some stage
after the marathon frontrunners had crossed the finish line? If so, why? It certainly seems highly unlikely that it was removed while crowds of spectators were still walking around in that area (in which the "bomb" supposedly exploded). So what's going on here? Was this perhaps a major cock-up by the image crafters of the "bombing" imagery (which obviously was crafted days/weeks in advance of the event) who used Boylston streetviews /templates - unaware that this big monitor would be raised on the day?
In any case, we may have found a plausible motive for the apparent photoshopping of the 'money shot' of the marathon winner - and other photographic material prior to the timeframe of the "bombing".