While reviewing the photos from the Muiderslot photography meetup, I came across something very interesting. Actually myself and everyone who has seen the images so far are dumbfounded. I’ve been shooting for quite a long time and have never encountered anything like this. Let me explain the images before you take a look and decide for yourself. I was shooting with a very wide angle lens Nikon 14-24 which can capture quite a large scene. It was shot with a Nikon D800 with is a 36mp camera so also very detailed when blown up. I was also shooting HDR which means I was taking multiple exposures at once. In this case it was 5 exposures. All five shots were taken within 1 second and the shutter speed on the images in question is 1/250 of a second. This means something would have to be moving very fast to be blurred in the scene. There were no aircraft present, no vapor trails as you can see in the subsequent images. It is definitely not a bird and I’ve mostly ruled out any insect based on the apparent distance from my position in the image. Here’s where it gets more interesting. In the +1 shot, you can see it again…coming from the opposite direction!! It appears to have turned around. It seems to be traveling in the direction where the two fins are as you can see some sore of trail coming off from left to right. I’ve duplicated the two images where it appears and changed to greyscale and adjusted the basic settings and detail only using camera raw to get a better look. Anxious to hear your opinions about what this might be! You can click on the image to get to the gallery of photos. Please post comments on the actual Blog and not FB if you are finding this there so we can keep one conversation going (click on the comment link at top of post to enter comment if you don’t see a box to do so). I’ve kept the original untouched imaged in raw format on the card and copies in case this gets interesting. Enjoy!!
EDIT: Please note that no in camera HDR processing was used. All my HDR work is manual which means I only take a selective number of bracketed shots and later process them using software to merge them together. This means that each frame is an individual shot from the camera with no manipulation. I have all the original RAW images untouched.
Adding interesting links:
- Investigation images made by me and a few others which were presented to me as similar
- Images for comparison
- UFO rod images
- Original post as well as US national TV and cool video
- Original Huffington Post article
- ABC News
- Cool video
- Other interesting articles with different points of view:
- Examiner
- Other articles which contacted me directly:
- LiveScience
- MSN
- Yahoo Germany (DE)
- NRC (NL)
60 Comments
Here is some very interesting info looking towards a bug theory. I was contacted directly so posting this back myself on their behalf.
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Its obivios an Insect. Maybe a thin bodyed hoverfly or a lancewing.
When you take a close look, you can see the wings. Betwen the “fins”(front legs) is the head, the long thing to the right is the body, and when you take a close look, you can see a light shadowvariance around the body, that perfect fits for the shape of wings from a hoverfly. It could be alos a lancewing, but the wings are a bit to short for it. Maybe some other kind of fly, but i bet on hoverfly casue of the thin body that is typical for some kind of hoverflys. Also they are handfull and not so fearsome like other flys. When you are slowly and carefully (or have some sweet marmelade), you can get them land on youre finger(or in thise case, the objective) very easy.
http://pbc.codehog.co.uk/bhs/pics/200407/hoverfly4_29jul04_420.jpg < —-thin bodyed hoverfly.
Sorry, but the wings and the “unsharpness” are an obivios sign for a fly on the objective. Anyway, very nice photos, keep it up
*****
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Here are my thoughts on this theory. It opens up another more detailed line of thinking which is truly appreciated and I may try to put some things on the objective to see if I can recreate the image that way. If this theory is right then it would have been still which is easy to reproduce. I still don’t rule out the possibility of an insect even if it wasn’t sitting on the objective and also have these open questions.
If the insect was flying, all pictures show the wings close to perpendicular while in flight and not close to parallel as my capture seems to show. Which would mean that the insect would have to be still on my lens, I think this is what they are suggesting. If this is the case then I’m struggling with a couple additional points.
1) one of the sides is completely flat in my image. I would have expected some sort of shape including a bit of a thorax for the body, or even if no thorax then a more elongated oval shape, which i don’t see.
2) the s-shaped “fins” are too thick to be legs in my opinion and if they were, how did they form this perfect shape especially considering, if it is on the objective then we are looking at it from the bottom. Additionally, how is that same perfect shape again, as well as the insect moved to the left of the objective and now facing the opposite direction in the next frame? In fact I don’t believe it could face the other direction due to the lens hood.
3) it was fairly chilly and breezy this day. typically too cold for most bugs to be flying around. not that they weren’t, just definitely fewer. especially as compared to my visit this past weekend when it was warmer and there were noticeable swarms of insects flying which i tried to capture.
Much to think about and more experiments to try…
Update: I have added a few more images in the investigation gallery as well as a link to an article and images on rods. I have also been searching via google for images of bugs/insects mistaken as UFO’s as the majority still seem convinced this is the case. I am not able to find any images which are even close. Rods are the closest but again, too different in my opinion. There is not the spiral effect happening as appears in most or a definitive wing area which would indicate and insect flying as I would expect a more perpendicular silhouette for wings in that case. Thoughts? Any images I can link here which are close? Suggestions to try photographically, to recreate? Thanks!
I have updated the original post with an additional explanation at the end regarding how I capture and process HDR images. There are also a number of new links including the one promised with some comparison images that I have shot. I’ll include some others which people have brought forward as similar soon.
https://elyktraphotoart.net/?page_id=579
Can you please explain on what you base your “apparent distance from my position in the image”?
Hi W.pasman, I’m not exactly sure what you are asking. It may just be a translation issue as I notice you are writing from a .NL location. You mention “my” and maybe you are meaning “your”? Can you help clarify and I’m happy to try and answer. Thanks in advance.
I was quoting you literally. I see your text in English. Are you saying you have a Dutch version?
I would like to get an explanation on how you estimate the distance to the object.
In dutch:
Kan je uitleggen hoe je je afstand tot het object hebt geschat?
Thanks for the response. Apologies for the misunderstanding on my side. You raise a good point and the distance of course is the one variable that would solve the whole think quite quickly. I intentionally worded my quote as “based on the apparent distance from my position in the image”. The word “apparent” was very intentional and of course I do not have any exact answer at this point, although some people are looking into this and let’s see if any logical sense can be made of it. Of course if it was very close to the lens then as all the “insect/bug” proponents have pointed out, it would make complete sense. I went back this weekend and shot some more, please check the link updated at the bottom of my post. I shot with groups of bugs flying right in front of the lens in hopes to replicate and put the mystery to bed. I was not able to come close yet to replicate. If you have further thoughts on calculating the possible distance or how to replicate the shot, I’d be happy to hear and give it an attempt. Again, I’m happy to go with the bug theory if it can be proven. P.s. I added the link from NRC which I guess you may have already come across. Thanks again and looking forward to your input.
Thanks for your reply and for your openness to other solutions.
I don’t think it is possible to judge distance from just a single blob unless it would be something we know the real size of.
Looking at the fuzzyness though, it does not look like something solid, but rather like the clouds. If this object were like a moving rocket, then at least part of the ‘tube’ would have been solid dark instead of light grey. The ‘fins’ are evidence that the motion was not extremely fast in that direction after all. A rocket would have displaced itself for some 10 meters in 1/250s and the fins would have been blurred out completely. So I’m thinking a small object, thin enough to let through most of the light. And the direction was more TOWARDS the lens than along the line of the object.
Maybe some debris, a small leaf or something almost hitting the lens. Maybe you can remember the wind direction or look it up to check if that would be possible.
Thanks for the follow-up and more detailed thoughts. I was also doing some research and agree, without knowing what the object is, so it can be properly sized, its very difficult if not impossible to determine the distance. I’ll look into the wind direction for that day and add that info when I have a chance as I know where I was standing so that will be an interesting factor to note. Thanks again!
It’s hard to find experienced people about this topic, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking
about! Thanks
Thanks. I’m for sure not the expert on the topic but due to all the speculation have been doing a lot of research. I’m of course happy, contrary to popular belief, to call it an insect or bug if it is in fact one. Currently, even the ex-FBI analyst can still only guess its a bug. So while its easy to write it off as such, I’d just like to prove it for myself and the other viewers. I actually went back to the castle yesterday to try and reproduce with no luck. Posting all the images shortly. I’m hoping more truly interested people will take notice and have some ideas how to reproduce. I’ve not found one other “bug” image that is close other than a they are elongated shapes and for me this isn’t sufficient. So i’m still searching and hoping to find more who want to endeavor that journey with me. Thanks for your support
A relative is visiting and wanted to go back to the castle. Its not too far from where I live. I brought my gear again and spent the time shooting birds, planes and bugs. I even shot at the same time of day and from numerous positions, including where the original image was captured. I’m going to stick to my original theory which is still at the moment…inconclusive, You may come to the same conclusion after seeing the images that I’m going to post. I’ll try and add them to the gallery this weekend if anyone is interested in having a look. Needless to say, through all my best efforts today, although I have some interesting images to share, I am still unable to reproduce.
The Fins are probably some kind of distortment, light bent through gravitational lensing. Astronomer’s use this to find black holes and such things that don’t emit light. Assuming that we are not capable of gravity drive type engines is crap. we had the stealth plane for over 40 years before public found out. Electromagnetism is the one of two unknown forces in physics the other is gravity. The LHC in europe should smash some atoms this year that will find the particle responsible for gravity. Then we will be living like the jetsons, cruising around the galaxy for a weekend trip, shaking hands with limitless faces at unlimited places…
Its a software bug!
…no, but seriously, I think it looks like something that is spinning really fast around a vertical axis. There is a blur of the opposite shape of the ‘fin’ shape which might indicate something is rotating over the length of the top and bottom.
Could it be one of those remote controlled UAVs people take areal pictures with?
Haha! Interesting thoughts on the fins. Someone else also had a similar thought, that based on the space between fins and the object it also may be something spinning. I still then wonder how fast it would have to be traveling to speed through the frames. Seemingly that rules out quite a few possibilities.
This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am in
fact impressed to read all at alone place.
I did not know that a death occurred there also. The photo will also be a mystery. That’s what makes it interesting.
It’s a very old castle also. It can also be a possible spirit. I know a lot of people find it hard to believe in this, but I did have a very strong experience when I stayed in an old hotel that I couldn’t explain.
Craig, thanks for bringing this point of view into the conversation. I have to admit that this was actually brought up to me by some of the others at the photo meetup that day. One of the original owners was actually killed there by his friends as this was a better way to go than if the other group after him would have caught him. Interesting history. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts on the subject.
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Hi there! Thanks for the feedback and I’m really glad you enjoyed the experience. It’s all relatively new to me and doing the best I can to make it enjoyable for the users to visit and interact while showcasing my work. I really appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback!
Here is another amusing theory. Although the author seems to have dismissed the bug theory, hopefully the final explanation was also meant in jest. It may actually have been a viable possibility if there was only one image, but unless air balloons are reaching supersonic speeds these days, I guess it wouldn’t have moved much across that horizon in 1 second even if was very close. Amusing nonetheless.
http://www.inquisitr.com/697526/netherlands-ufo-explained/
Not an expert but it looks like air turbulence ahead of the craft rather than any kind of fin. It would be caused by something moving at a hi rate of speed through the atmosphere .
Hi there, thanks for this point of view. I also was challenging that it is actually traveling in the direction of the fins as well. It makes more sense to connect the frames in this case. Imagine that it is flying left to right and in the next frame it has turned and heading back right to left. Further the FBI agent found another object in the -1 frame. Link the three together and you have something coming at you turning in front and going away?? So much to consider! Thanks again.
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Thanks for your post. I’ll definitely keep this updated as more is uncovered and i’ll try and compile a list of all the different articles and points of view for people to review for themselves.
The truth is out there! I also wrote about it here with video: “Netherlands UFO photo real with explanation (VIDEO).” http://www.examiner.com/article/netherlands-ufo-photo-real-with-explanation-video
Peter, thanks for the link and the great article. wonderful points of view and definitely much more investigation required to come to any concrete conclusions. Thanks again!
Also, it seems that connection betwwen fins and cylinder/disc is non-existing. Similar effect you may obtain when you make photos of the islands during windy and sunny weather, which seem to “fly at the sea level” without touching the water. So the surface of the disc has to rotate in one direction while fins rotate/move almost perpendiculary to the plane of disc.
one thing more: if the object would move so fast the left side of the cilinder would be sharp. Instead, the both sides ar blured implying simulatenous rotation and translational movement.
Great insight!
On the exposed image you may see the trail of fins/wings. Definitively something very fast.
Barba, thanks for the post. I agree you see something there. When I compare this to other”bug” images those wings seem more perpendicular vs these. In addition to these appear directionally opposite of the fins which doesn’t make sense unless the fins are the head. Then I’d be interested is knowing which bug could produce an s-shaped head. I could then at least try to reproduce. So if anyone has ideas on what kind of bug, I should be able to reproduce. I live only 20mins from castle so happy to go try
Any possibility of USA NASA testing of X Aircraft that are still top secrete and not known to the public i.e Military Air crafts at design stages????
Emmanuel, thanks for the post. I’m sure this is a possibility and would be amazing considering the speed it would appear to be traveling. Definitely worth some research to see what pops up. I haven’t seen any similar “bug” images to lead me down that road. Lots of things still to explore on this one. Thanks again!
It looks like a missile of some sort
Thanks Cate. It does in fact look like a missile shape. What would lead me to believe it is not would be the s-shaped fin and I’m guessing we would have heard something or seen some sort of trail if it was a missile. But I have limited knowledge in this area so just guesses on my part. Thanks for the post and idea!
http://www.assap.ac.uk/newsite/articles/Flying%20rods.html
This website talks about mysterious rod insects that are captured on video and photography. If you scroll down to were they have a photo of the dark rod, it looks very similar to the object in your photo. It also talks about the torpedo like body which is what it looks like in your photo. When I observed the dark contrast photo that you edited, I noticed a dark area around the object that may be fast flapping wings. So the object could possibly be a rod. I’ve been hearing about these mysterious insects since the 80′s.
Craig, Thanks for this link. It is a great point of view on the possibility of what I may have captured. I also reviewed the dark rod image you mentioned and agree it does look very similar. You can actually see the faint outline of the wings. This is where i’m still not 100% convinced regarding the insect. In my image there is an S shaped fin which is what I find strange. Also that that more was not captured in the short burst time of the photos. It was also quite chilly that day and not much flying around. Cold enough that we had to go into the cafe in the castle to warm up which is when i noticed the strange capture. Exciting stuff! Thanks again and I’ll definitely do more reading on this and possibly this is in fact what it is.
Thanks for the reply. It’s a very interesting photo, and I saw it trending on Yahoo! I remember back in the late 80′s or early 90′s watching a show about these rods. They don’t know whether they were insects, or paranormal. They seem to be very quick on many occasions though. But at this point, it could be anything.
Hi – here are a couple of links to explanations for what you’ve photographed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8CCJwC8rwQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdbHNbGgTuM
Kind regards
Jo, Thanks for the links. I do not see any of the images that look close to what I have captured. All the rods on both programs look more like spirals rather than more flat objects. I do understand the concept and feel it could be a logical explanation but I not seen any other images which look similar. Thanks again and more info to investigate so greatly appreciated.
Zie mijn website over dit onderwerp.
Peter, Thanks for the link to your site. I found the section on rods quite interesting. I’m still not finding a fit between my image and at least the perception of rods out there. They look more like a spiral in motion and do not have the hard lines nor an s-shaped fin that mine has. It doesn’t mean that this isn’t the explanation and I’ll sure investigate more into the whole rod phenomenon. Thanks again!
I really like it whenever people come together and share opinions.
Great website, stick with it!
Thanks for the feedback and I hope this continues to be a constructive discussion. It truly amazes me that we have the capacity to engage in truly global conversations with such ease.
I’ll right away grab your rss as I can not find your e-mail subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly let me know in order that I could subscribe. Thanks.
Hi Jan, apologies you are having difficulties. If you go to my homepage and click on blog and then scroll down on the left hand side you will find the spot where you can enter your email to subscribe to the blog. I have just tested that and it is working. I did notice that the one for the site which can be accessed on my contact page is not working. I’ll look into this as quickly as possible. Thanks for letting me know!
It is too hazy (in all directions) to be more than a meter away from the camera. This is an insect. You must see these pop up quite regularly in your outdoor images? I certainly do.
Thanks Frits. I’ve actually been shooting for a number of years and mostly outdoors and have never had such an incident. You could be absolutely right and that is why there are a number of persons looking at it. I myself may have brushed it off if it weren’t for the bracketed shots and it appearing again. It also remains unexplained, about the other anomaly found by the ex-fbi agent or the one from my mother’s camera which I’ll hopefully post soon. Her shots were within 10 seconds of mine in the same direction. Thanks again for the response.
1) Drones don’t move that quickly, they are all subsonic unless it’s the X43-B but that goes in to space so it’s not that 2) A jet fighter could in theory go from one side of the frame to the other if it was flying at 1500mph or more (depending on distance in that frame) but that’s supersonic and you definitely would have heard that after it flew by and it doesn’t look like a jet fighter in any way, unless there’s some rolling shutter effect which is possible as it’s a CMOS sensor in your camera but it doesn’t look like that either 3) I’d love to get an original copy of those 5 but honestly from looking at exposure 0 I can see no rational explanation for it from current day technology which would lead me to the conclusion that you’ve captured something not from our planet. I’d sent the shots in to a UFO website to see what they make of it or the Dutch air traffic control. See if you can find out what direction you were facing as well so they can tie it all together.
Corinne,
This is quite peculiar! My iPad crashed twice trying to enlarge the photo. It looks like some sort of a winged flying object/thing. Regardless of its nature, I’m amazed at the speed and distance it traveled between the two exposures in such a very short,,, well, not even a split second. I am beyond intrigued now! Great shot, btw, and gallery.
Don’t forget to click on photo to get to gallery of other photos. Gallery has been updated and is now working properly.