Camera Bits introduces a solution for image authenticity and provenance. This new technology will be included as an option in the company’s Photo Mechanic program for customers who demand a photo editing workflow that adheres to the C2PA standard (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity). The C2PA standard defines a framework for adding digital signature technology to media, such as digital pictures, in order to validate the media’s source and provenance (or edit history). With the recent advent of cameras that produce C2PA signed photographs, organizations like newspapers who use Image Authenticity and Provenance technology in Photo Mechanic now have a clear path to publishing legitimate imagery with provenance traceable back to the moment of capture.

Photo Mechanic maintains the digital signature and provenance of C2PA digitally signed photographs throughout the Photo Mechanic application workflow. Many photos begin their trip with Photo Mechanic, which is used not only for copying photos from the camera card, but also for culling to select the best images and adding necessary metadata. As a result, it is critical that Photo Mechanic preserve the digital signature and provenance of photographs produced using C2PA-compliant cameras. Without provenance protections, any change made to a signed photo, even a single bit, will invalidate the digital signature that ensures the photo’s provenance.

This goal of provenance protection is met by constructing a Provenance Locker that is saved within the photo itself, rather than on a separate blockchain or other storage medium. Photo Mechanic can make various metadata adjustments, including those made by multiple editors, while retaining the Provenance Locker’s integrity. Then, before sending a photo to other C2PA-compliant applications like Adobe Photoshop, Photo Mechanic can digitally sign it using the C2PA standard and examine metadata changes made after the Provenance Locker was created. This gives a clear before-and-after view of the metadata and allows for extensive claims to be included in the new manifest generated when the photo is digitally signed, as per the C2PA standard.

“I like to think of a digital signature as an Olympic flame,” says Dennis Walker, Camera Bits’ President and Founder. “The camera starts the flame, and the photo is the torch. Because Photo Mechanic is frequently the first runner to carry that torch, so to speak, and likely many of the runners until the torch reaches its destination, we bear a significant weight in keeping that flame alive. I believe we have developed a viable way to carry that torch while preserving photo metadata provenance.” Although not a panacea for demonstrating authenticity, a trustworthy C2PA approach that begins with the camera is frequently regarded as the pinnacle of provenance best practices. Camera Bits, the industry leader in photo and metadata editing workflow since the inception of digital photojournalism, is dedicated to offering an authentic workflow solution.

The beta version of Photo Mechanic with its patent-pending Image Authenticity and Provenance technology is set to come out this spring in some countries.