San Diego photographer vindicated after confusion cast doubt on his authentic flamingo and ocean wave images.

IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. — A San Diego photographer has been cleared of accusations that his stunning pictures of flamingos and ocean waves were artificially created, after metadata confusion initially cast doubt on his work.


Randy Dible submitted photographs to CBS 8 on January 10 showing flamingos flying in formation over San Diego Bay. The images immediately raised red flags when a CBS 8 Story Desk Editor discovered the camera’s metadata indicated the pictures were shot 26 years ago — an impossibility that suggested digital manipulation. Dible’s pictures of waves breaking also drew criticism from online viewers who accused him of using AI.

Dible said he was offended by the accusation. “Oh totally, because for one thing I know you, I am not trying to pull the wool over your eyes, I know the news, I’m not a Photoshop guy anyhow. I don’t even have Photoshop,” said Dible.


The same day Dible shot the flamingos, a second photograph of a wave breaking with the Coronado Bridge visible in the background was also challenged as inauthentic. Social media users accused Dible of using artificial intelligence to create the images, with one critic so aggressively questioning his integrity that Dible wagered $1,000 the images were genuine. The accuser later backed out of the bet.

“My first thought was these are stunning we have to have them in the show. We had flamingos flying, we had flamingos running on water, so my immediate thought was are these real?” said CBS 8’s Katy Stegall. The Story Desk Editor wasn’t comfortable airing the pictures because their metadata showed the pictures were shot 26 years ago. “It caused me enough pause to where I felt we should not run these photos because I was not 100% confident that they were legitimate,” said Katy. The abnormality caused her to not run the pictures online or on CBS 8 until they could be fully vetted. 

Upon investigation of the flamingo pictures, the problem was simple: Dible’s camera’s timestamp was incorrect. “If I have to prove myself where and when I took these photos then of course I am going to change the timestamp on here,” said Dible, who promised to correct the issue.


A reverse image search confirmed a high probability of authenticity for both photographs. When taken to the Silver Strand where the wave photo was shot, witnesses confirmed the image was real. “When I saw that picture even I was wondering could it be real, but from this vantage point you can clearly see the waves in the foreground and the Coronado Bridge in the back ground,” said CBS 8’s Jeff Zevely.

Beachgoers also confirmed the waves breaking in Randy’s pictures were indeed in the ocean and not artificially created to make it appear as if they were in the bay. “Randy is definitely not a liar, you got to take a look at this view,” said one witness.

As for the flamingos, nicknamed Pink Floyd and Pink Flo, they are rarely seen but have been documented by CBS 8 before.  During the reporting of this story, CBS 8 and a father and daughter spotted the flamingoes. “We are here just looking at the flamingos,” said Peter Pugliese. His daughter Presley added, “I think it’s really cool.” 


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Dible’s grandfather owned one of San Diego’s first camera shops, and Randy has built a reputation for his ocean photography. He shares his pictures with CBS 8 at no charge. To see more of his work, go to randydiblephoto.com.