How was this photo shot?
 

Photo Highlight - Yahoo! News Photos

I'm trying to figure out how the photographer took this without being in the shot. The angle is almost dead on, he should be right in the middle. Photoshopped is possible of course.... but I don't think AFP allows photoshopped pictures.

Any insights on how it was done?

Do the Lens babies allow for that much adjustment? Camera might be at top left where the branch is covering the reflection?

Extreme zoom lens?

This could be done by using a long lens and setting up on the opposite side of the courtyard.

These spheres have so much curve to them they really exaggerate the size of the courtyard. Its not that far across to the other side. I suspect something in the 400mm size would do it with a 15mp camera.

I had considered a huge telephoto, but written it off because there wouldn't be a telephoto big enough to get that tight.... BUT I'd failed to consider that the curve of the ornament would completely distort the size of the courtyard. The image characteristics don't strike me as an extreme telephoto shot, but again, the image could be a crop from a wider shot on a big megapixel camera. Anyone else got any thoughts on this theory?

Well, we can write off the basic extreme telephoto theory...

I put my Sigma 50-500 on my 1DmkII and fired off some shots at my own Christmas tree.

At 500mm, to fill the frame like that photo, I have to be FOUR FEET from the ball (and that's with a 1.3x crop factor)... which makes me clearly visible (the Bigma won't focus that close anyway). Granted, the ornament in the shot could be bigger than the one on my tree... but probably not by much.

You could still hide in the shadows opposite the square, but you'd need a gargantuan lens to get it. I just don't think that's the answer here.

But he IS in the shot, isn't he? Behind the pillar at the base of the staircase on the left? Looks like there's some sort of plant behind the right staircase that may fool us into thinking he's a matching shrub. Still pretty far away, I imagine, but not as much of a stretch as across the courtyard.

Maybe that's not a real xmas ornament. You can get that shot with a fisheye lens and then using software to give it a spherical look. Then, filter the color and ad the foregorund objects.

Looks photoshop montage to me, the tree doesnt look real

Wow, I can't believe I missed that!

I blame my tiny laptop monitor! :)

Ok, that looks to me like a human, so assuming he's the shooter, he could get that with a 400mm and a 2x extender, since the stairs may only be 4' wide and that pillar 6'-8' from the tree. But would there be focus distance issues?

Me too.. I had to download the photo and look at it blown up to see it but yep.. there is the photographer.

I saw something similar recently on The Luminous Landscape of 3 ornaments that had to have been photoshopped. One ornament is in focus and the other 2 are not, yet they all 3 have a reflection of a scene some distance away and the "reflected" scenes on the 2 out of focus orbs are also out of focus. If they were real reflections they all 3 would be in focus. It's on the home page unless they've switched images by now.