Picture This

There are times where we may be contacted to help explain or identify something.  This is probably the greatest thing that could happen to us, as it tells me that we are being taken seriously, and that people are considering us for their needs.

It doesn't matter what the situation is, we will help.  We will offer those people the same level of professionalism and courtesy we hold on an investigation...  and why not?  This is as much an investigation as anything else.

As an example to what I mean, we were recently contacted to help identify an image found on someone's deer hunting cam.  What follows is the exact correspondence, with the exception of the originator's name.

soothsayer wrote:

Morning!  I just read your message regarding a strange image captured on your trail camera; yes, I'd love to see it!  If you could attach it to an email and send it to nlprs.wi@gmail, we'll give it the attention it deserves.

There are a few things we need to know when going over the photo, such as where and when it was taken.,  You don't have to be specific about the where, just the general location would do as we would also compare its location to other sightings or reports around that area.

Thanks much for this opportunity!

-Mike

To which he replied:

Anonymous wrote:

Hey Mike,
Thanks for taking the time...I truly appreciate it as I'm struggling to put an exact finger on what it could be.  It was taken in the woods of Ettrick, WI.  The picture is actually date / time stamped.  Please give it a look and let me know what you think it might be.  The camera was set to take three images at a time, so I'm including all three.

Appreciate it,

The images that were sent are as follows...







Before I show my fidings, let me tell you what I first did.  I first checked the files to see if they were the originals and to see the photographic settings; this is done by opening the picture properties and checking the exif data.  I then went online to check the reviews on the camera type used (type is on the lower right corner of images).  Everything seemed legit.

I then began my analysis:

Mike wrote:

If you bring up these three images in separate tabs, and click through them like a movie, you may notice that the apparition comes into the camera's view from the lower left, camera takes picture of creature while at the central point, and the creature runs off towards the upper left.

With frame 04, the apparition is central to the camera, and we use this as the starting point.

05 shows that the apparition disappeared (but it really didn't).  This frame also shows that the foliage above the Primos logo has moved, as well as the foliage where the apparition was standing.  If you click back and forth between 04 and 05, you'll also see that the thinner branches between the foliage movement points also move.

At first I thought this was because the apparition moved from its standing point towards the lower left, but that is not the case: the apparition moved in from the lower left.  The reason for this is because the apparition has moved behind those branches in the foreground.  Look closely at the thick tree in the 05's center (where apparition was); left of that, behind the branches, you can see something in the distance that wasn't there on 04.  If you click back and forth between the two, you should be able to spot it.  With that in mind, whatever it is we are seeing, it is solid and moving away from the camera.

In my opinion, this is probably just a deer.  If you look closely at the apparition, you can see that the top half is actually the rear half of a deer, and the lower portion of the apparition is the front half of the deer.  Going back to the foliage that had moved, it would seem as if the deer had launched at the left point (by the Primos logo) and landed at the center, then bounded once again behind the foreground branches.

I hope this helps.

-Mike

As a comparison, check out this picture with the one above (you'll just have to do a mental rotation).



I don't know what the person's reaction to my finding is as they haven't replied yet, but I hope it is a good one. I know how disappointing something may seem, hoping for one thing and getting another.