Thread by @stilgherrian

Right. This photo. I am angry about it. (Apart from that shirtless guy in the middle, obviously.) Not because it’s people misbehaving in coronavirus times, but because it’s NOT a “crowded promenade” as captioned. Let me explain why...

This is the promenade from Cronulla Beach to North Cronulla Beach. As you can see from the scale, this section is about 100m long. You can see the fence around the rock pool in the background. goo.gl/maps/ANQA7JKYJ…

Count the number of people in the photo. It’s hard to see at the back, but I’m going to call it 40 people including the two babies in strollers. A few people either way is fine for the calculation. So...

Even if these 40 people were walking in single file along a 100m boardwalk, they’d be more than 2m apart. But they’re all scattered side to side. So these people are doing just fine. A telephoto lens compresses distance.

It’s not ideal that they’re out and about, obviously, but nor is it OMFG WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE.

Anyway it’s Scott Morrison’s base. Fuck ’em.

But tell me more about the shirtless guy in the middle.

If you wanted to properly document people’s distance apart, you’d need to photograph that boardwalk from 100m out to sea or (ideally) 100m overhead. Done as it is it’s applying an editorial spin. Deliberately, obviously, because any professional photographer knows this stuff.

Someone has pointed out a possible error in my analysis, so I’ll be re-doing it shortly. But the broad point will probably still stand.

https://twitter.com/BobDyson74/status/1243996943321141253

https://twitter.com/stilgherrian/status/1243794449932537856

CORRECTION BUT THE POINT STANDS: I have re-done this image analysis and would like someone to cross-check it. I believe my point stands. Here we go...

https://twitter.com/stilgherrian/status/1243794449932537856

Here’s the original photo. I have chosen two sight lines for analysis.

1. On the right, a line through the tops of those grey posts to the swimming pool fence.
2. On the left, through the midpoint of the white stairway railing to the leftmost point on the swimming pool fence.

Here’s the two key items on the map.

1. On the left, the line of posts with the stairway up to the top of the cliff.
2. On the right, the stairway down to the rocks.

Note the North Cronulla Rock Pool, which I used in last night’s analysis. goo.gl/maps/nDpMgsQtH…

Zooming out, you can see that I choose the wrong pool. The pool in the background is the South Cronulla Rock Pool, not the North. I had identified the correct 100m section of boardwalk, but my working-out was wrong,.

So the analysis stands. 40 people in 100m in single file is more than 2m apart. The boardwalk is around 3m wide. Appropriate social distancing is being maintained.

Also, a source tells me: “My lovely mate is depicted in the photo with four of his family members he’s living with and isolating with — and that is the narrowest part of the path...”

“They were rushing through to get away from the few other people who were there. So they’re not actually doing the wrong thing!”

And now, folks, all is revealed!

https://twitter.com/ElizaJBarr/status/1244071033365135365

Just in case that tweet isn’t showing properly.

And the man himself.

https://twitter.com/troypepper3/status/1244073120056532992

Nice profile, and good on @troypepper3 for going with the flow of this silliness. I gather he was working on a cruise ship and so is now looking for a gig. So I’m told.

Also, could a photographer tell me what length telephoto lens matches this angle of view? Roughly?

https://twitter.com/stilgherrian/status/1244073082098053121

For what it’s worth, it looks like the photo was taken from about 300m away near the North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club. That’s the closest point on that line matching the rough shooting distance that’s higher than the boardwalk. goo.gl/maps/kyr8HcN2P…

Some people are having trouble with this thread, probably because they didn’t read it. I did in fact say “it’s people misbehaving in coronavirus times” and with understatement that it’s “not ideal” that they’re out. The thread is about the photo being misleading.

https://twitter.com/stilgherrian/status/1244070950934437888

I’m really not interested in your half-arsed opinions about what constitutes “social distancing” and what doesn’t, or your opinions on what other people “should” be doing.

https://twitter.com/stilgherrian/status/1243829932209238019

Nor am I interested in your view that me doing this was somehow a waste of time. I’ll spend my Sunday however the fuck I want. Piss off out of my life. And if you think the media spreading false information is OK because it helps fuel your anger then you’re part of the problem.

Anyway that’s enough about that.