The New York Times web site has posted a correction for the cover photo from last Sunday's Times Magazine (12 March 2006) .

The picture is a portrait of potential U.S. presidential candidate Mark Warner. Creative use of film and camera lens produced an image that was closer to caricature than traditional portrait. It distorts the colors of Warner's attire, making him appear to be wearing a maroon jacket with a pink shirt.

Editors' Note: Wednesday, March 15, 2006:

The cover photograph in The Times Magazine on Sunday rendered colors incorrectly for the jacket, shirt and tie worn by Mark Warner, the former Virginia governor who is a possible candidate for the presidency. The jacket was charcoal, not maroon; the shirt was light blue, not pink; the tie was dark blue with stripes, not maroon The Times's policy rules out alteration of photographs that depict actual news scenes and, even in a contrived illustration, requires acknowledgment in a credit. In this case, the film that was used can cause colors to shift, and the processing altered them further; the change escaped notice because of a misunderstanding by the editors.

The incident highlights the fine line editors must walk when attempting to reproduce the truth and at the same time delivering captivating and challenging imagery. Most newspapers have strict guidelines about the amount of post-processing that can be done to an image to ensure that reality does not become distorted.