To take two creepy selfies at the top of the 30th floor Manhattan building on Monday, the manager of the gorgeous condo oddly claimed that the heart-pounding photo was fake.
Eldorado on the Upper West Side shouted “fake news” of Wild Pictures, informing its rich and well-known residents in a letter that the photographer was drawing a huge “deep fake” prank.
However, this post independently verified that the images are authentic. And the 82-year-old retired school teacher who took the photo vowed that he only used enhancement technology in stills.
“It’s a shame… the fact that my truthfulness, my sincerity is questioned, is in the way,” Jeff French Segall, a photographer of “Semi-Professional,” posted Tuesday.
Pointing erupted on Tuesday after a rag on the west released photos of the pair Segall hanging from the twin 12-storey tower in El Dorado, above a 17-storey base.
The top was so narrow that adrenaline addicts barely had room to stand up, but the pair had a selfie stick each as they hang and even lie down the tower’s points.
Segal said he was taking a photo of the iPhone, the sun sets behind the apartment building from the 27th floor living room (a daily exercise for budding photographers), around 7pm on Monday, when his wife noticed someone looking for a thrill.
“It just feels cold to think of something that makes me dizzy if I’m there. I don’t know if he can’t even turn around like that. I’m sure it’ll come to my mind with fear. But I was really impressed. I quickly put my iPhone down and reached for Nikon.”
Segall said he took about 100 snaps via Photoshop, Lightroom and the “Denoiser” AI tool, making the image even clearer before selling it to a rag.
When the photos were released Monday, El Dorado’s management team sent a message to shareholders claiming that no one had sneaked through the building’s main entrance.
The gorgeous building, which Alec Baldwin and Bruce Willis calls home, “advertising 24-hour doormen and concierge, ensuring exceptional security.” The two-bed and two-bath units earn $2.75 million.
Eldorado allegedly the “police” investigated the photos and determined that they were “manipulated and classified as deepfake.”
“The investigation determined that the images had been digitally altered to create an illusion of being on the tower. This was extremely dangerous and was created with the intention of misleading residents and communities and causing unnecessary panic,” the letter states.
When reached by the post, the representative emphasized that the incident was “fake news” and said it was “right” that it didn’t actually happen.
However, the NYPD did not have any records of such investigations.
In this post, I also confirmed that Segall’s original photo was the real one before using the AI tool.
Segal thought that his photos would ruffle some feathers at the time of publication, but was surprised to see that the repulsion was directed at him.
“What I was thinking was that management would get mad at the doorman because they allowed people to trespass and enter the building to get there,” Segall told the Post. “I thought maybe the outcome might be internal. I didn’t think the outcome would be denied.”
Segall and his wife Ricky assume that two thrill seekers were able to sneak up on the building through the ongoing construction mess at the top of the building.
Meanwhile, Segall wanted the condo manager to change the song.
“They were definitely not a doctor’s photo,” Segall said. “In the end, they’ll have to realize that the photos are real… Now they have to withdraw it.”
