but theres no need for saying it's a fake.
Absolutely every reason to call it a fake. The photographer in his own words explained
"The halo appeared once very faintly which drew my attention, so I raised the camera in case I saw it again, the first halo last like 1/2 a second, then I started to see it again so I depressed the shutter once...just one shot...that's what I got...the halo or shockwave moved with the plane...it did not pass through a vortex donut so to speak...it was 11 degrees on the ground so I think possibly this is light playing off a layer of ice crystals where the air is compressing by the bow wave"
His statement makes it very plain that there was no upper level cloud or a contrail put down by another aircraft, and the halo moved with the aircraft.
Coffin Dodger, your reproduction would be more believable (though its still obviously fake) than the original if you were attempting to bluff the uneducated. The original is so fake its unbelievable that anyone with a modicum of aeronautical knowledge could be sucked in.
like the 747 apparently climbing vertically from nose-on out of LAX
Rainboe, if its the photo I'm thinking of its certainly a dramatic shot. Was taken by a highly respected aviation photographer who explained exactly how he got the shot (use of particular lenses etc - not a subject I'm much up on). Think it was in an AW&ST magazine photo contest. The same type of photo is often seen in aircraft advertising.