I took my daughter to a Star Wars "science meets fiction" exhibit at a local children's science museum. It's a challenge getting good shots when lighting is dim and everything is encased in reflective glass. I simply had to deal with them, as well as the busy backgrounds. Shooting closeups/macros help.
Wow! When I went there were signs everywhere saying photographers would be prosecuted and they confiscated all cell phones and cameras at the entrance.
The brochure written by Lucasfilms, explained it in print too.
Were the character models and puppets present at this show? Maybe that's the difference?
1. You immediately recognized the first shot as pod-racer engines or...
2. You thought the first shot looked vaguely familiar then, as you scrolled down and recognized the Falcon's rear vents for what they were, scrolled back up and said, "Yeah, those are pod-racer engines," and...
3. Upon reading Bif's post, your first thought was, "Loosen the #$&! up, George. Snapshots on the internet of people standing next to AT-ATs just makes more people want to get snapshots of themselves standing next to AT-ATs." And then you went to watch the South Park episode where the boys save "Raiders of the Lost Ark" from Lucas and Spielberg to make yourself feel better.