Article, comments and my photo analysis are below:
Bigfoot creature photographed in Sierra National Forest
The Bigfoot creature may have been captured on a remote trail camera placed in the Sierra National Forest, based on photography evidence released by Sanger Paranormal Society.
Investigator Jeffrey Gonzalez said Tuesday night that multiple cameras were put in place in this remote area on Memorial Day weekend, and retreived on June 7, 2009.
Gonzalez said they did not immediately see the evidence, but upon closer inspection, noticed what appears to be the Bigfoot creature.
Prior to this article being published on the Examiner website, I received a mass email from a mufonjeff (Jeffrey Gonzalez?) regarding this photograph. The subject line was “BIGFOOT CONFIRMED REAL!!!!”
I wasn’t immediately impressed with the photograph, nor with the sensationalism of the subject line. I mean, I can understand being excited about possibly capturing an image of Sasquatch on your game cam, but to publicize it as “confirmed!!!!” before the photograph has been independently analyzed by those proficient in photographic analysis (or even your peers, for that matter) is a bit irresponsible and doesn’t do a whole lot for the credibility of our field of research… which many feel has little inherent credibility to begin with. *grin*
The original photograph, as published at http://www.sangerparanormalsociety.com/bigfoot.html looks like this:
Here’s the outlined enlargement from the website.
That’s an awful lot of detail to glean from one very, very blurry photo. Notice how the bottom edge of that rear “hand” just happens to be delineated by a leaf in the foreground. In my mind, it’s too much interpreration, too convenient.
Here are the enlargement and comparison photo:
At first glance, you might think, “WOW! That thing’s HUGE!” But let’s take a moment to compose ourselves and look at the diameter of the tree in pic #1 as compared to pic #2. There is a discrepancy in size in these two photographs… they’re not the same SCALE.
So let’s fix that… and, while we’re at it, let’s line up the HORIZON in the shot. The fact that the comparison photo with the man in it is slightly lower here gives the illusion of height.
Now, in the above photograph, I’ve lined up the two as best I can, using the knot on the tree (in the red circle) as a comparison point.
“Bigfoot” still looks pretty tall, huh?
However, the fact that the person who photographed the comparison shot didn’t stand in the same SPOT that the game cam was mounted in doesn’t help much, either. This is evidenced by the fact that, no matter how hard I try, I can’t get the trees and vegetation to line up just right. Nor does it help that the photograph was obviously taken at a complete different time of day. (Note to those taking comparison shots… SCALE AND LIGHTING ARE IMPERATIVE for lining up comparison photographs with the originals! Be sure you’re standing in the EXACT same spot at the EXACT same time of day, or your comparisons will be fairly useless!)
What we see, then, is that the photographer appears to have been standing FAR TO THE LEFT of where the original photograph was taken, as is evidenced by this piece of foliage that is marked in the following photo. In the photo with the man in it, the piece of foliage in question is either the one sticking up to the left or right of him. I suspect it’s the one on the right, and I’ll tell you why in a minute. Regardless, it puts the photographer on a much different spot on the AXIS than where the game camera was.
So, with all of that in mind, knowing that the photographer was standing in a different spot: put yourself there on the hillside with the camera in your hand. Now, as you’re getting ready to take the comparison shot, say, “Hold on just a minute… I need to move to my RIGHT about 30 yards in order to line up that piece of vegetation there properly.” As you move to your right, the perspective changes, and that plant MOVES over to the left of the tree, just like it is in the game camera.
Now, assuming you’ve done this… what happens, then to this dark area behind the man? Remember, the leaves and small tree branches will move slightly to the left, and the large tree to his right will block out some of that stuff in the background… Note the color of the dark area…
Bingo? I think bingo.
I wonder if he realized “Bigfoot” was standing that close behind him when that photo was snapped? *grin*
Most blobsquatch photos are just that. Blobs of shadow and light in the forest. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t Bigfoot creatures in that area. It doesn’t even mean that there wasn’t a Bigfoot SOMEWHERE in the trees – hiding and hiding well – at that particular moment in time. It just isn’t THERE in the photograph where the overly-eager assume it is based upon the shapes of the light and shadow.
The fact that these guys are out in the field doing research is terrific. The fact that it’s being sensationalized without sound analysis? Not-so-terrific. (I mean, c’mon… I don’t want you to feel like I’m picking on you, but “BIGFOOT CONFIRMED REAL!!!!!” from one very distant game cam photo? That’s a bit much.)
My conclusion after analyzing the photo carefully? Not a game cam photograph of a Sasquatch at all. Just a conveniently-shaped shadow in a photograph.
Then again, what do I know? Some sort of movement had to have tripped that game camera in the first place, right?
*grin*
I would really like to see a retake of the comparison photo, taken from the exact location and during the exact time of day. I’d be happy to analyze it, and wouldn’t mind, at all, eating my words if that dark area on the tree doesn’t show up right there. :)
Your comments, as always, are welcome. Please keep them clean and respectful.
