The Solway Spaceman

[professorpan]

I remember seeing this photo in a UFO book when I was a kid, but until I picked up the June 2005 issue of <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Fortean Times</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> I had completely forgotten about it.<br><br><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://ufologie.net/etpics/solwayfirth6401.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br><br>http://ufologie.net/htm/solwayfirth64.htm<br>It's a fascinating case that I can't believe receives so little attention in Ufological circles. <p></p><i></i>

[Qutb]

Wow... that story is fascinating. It's an example of how weird the UFO phenomenon can be (there does appear to have been related ufo sightings). It does look like a man though - a weightless, invisible man in a white suit who shows up on a photograph near a nuclear installation. Doesn't get much stranger than that. <p></p><i></i>

[thrulookingglass]

Indeed, truly strange. It looks to me, however, that this is a picture of someone's/something's back rather than front. Just the posture of the right arm and I believe the bumps are someone's shoulder blades rather than chest. I zoomed in on the image and it looked like there was something mettalic around the neck area. Still doesn't explain the MIB or the fact that no one saw the figure... <p></p><i></i>

[Rigorous Intuition]

I agree, it looks more like an image of a back rather than a front. Considering it from that perspective, the arms look to be at more natural angles. Thinking it a front-view gives it a more doll-like appearance.<br><br>It may be interesting to consider this alongside other examples of apparent entities which appear only film. Are they a part of the same phenomenon?<br> <p></p><i></i>

[tabasco1776]

Since the figure's arm is bent in a way that can only mean the person has his back to us, I don't understand why anyone would think differently for even a second.<br><br>The case probably receives so little attention in Ufological circles because there's really nothing to do or say about it. All we have is a photograph and a bunch of conflicting anecdotes, all of which sound highly unlikely. <br><br>Has anyone interviewed Jim Templeton? When? Where are the transcripts?<br><br>Did he file a police report after being taken for a ride and dumped out by the Men In Black? If so, where is a copy of this report?<br><br>Did Templeton seek attention because of his story? If not, how did this photograph get out into the general public?<br><br>Where is the original photograph now?<br><br>Where is this girl now? <p></p><i></i>

[robertdreed]

It's an astronaut doll on the end of a stick that's stuck in the ground. <p></p><i></i>

[professorpan]

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>The case probably receives so little attention in Ufological circles because there's really nothing to do or say about it. All we have is a photograph and a bunch of conflicting anecdotes, all of which sound highly unlikely.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>All of your questions are addressed in the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>Fortean Times</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> article, which is not online. The author interviewed the man who took the picture and others involved, and came to the conclusion that it isn't a hoax.<br><br>If I can manage to find the time, I'll scan the article. But in the meantime, if you find yourself in a bookstore that carries <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>FT</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, pick up a copy and read it for yourself. <p></p><i></i>

[elfismiles]

It has since been suggested that the spaceman is actually Templeton's wife, Annie, who was present at the time and seen on other photographs taken that day. Since the Zeiss Contax Pentacon F SLR camera he used only displayed 70% of the actual photograph in the viewfinder, it would be possible for him to take the image without noticing his wife in the periphery of the shot. Annie was wearing a pale blue dress on the day in question, which was overexposed as white in the other photos taken that day. She also had dark, bobbed hair. Using photo software to darken the image and straighten the horizon, the spaceman increasingly appears to be the figure of a normal person viewed from behind.[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solway_Firth_Spaceman

The mysterious spaceman story might have rocked on forever as one of Forteana's greatest hits were it not for the denizens of a number of internet forums who wielded Occam's Razor with deadly accuracy.[4][5] A photo analyst demonstrated that the “spaceman” was nothing more than an adult person of normal height with their back to the camera walking away from the child.[6] Others observed that another photograph taken that day shows Templeton's wife, Annie, wearing a very light blue sleeveless dress. Closer examination of the original "spaceman" image reveals that the arm of the mysterious figure has a decidedly tapering, feminine curve to it. Exactly like the bare arm of a woman wearing a very light blue sleeveless dress. Her back to us, she is probably wearing some kind of white cap over her close-cropped hairstyle.[7] Enhancing the contrast of the photo further reveals the distinctive neckline and arm holes of her dress.[8]

What actually happened

The famous "spaceman" illusion was created when Annie Templeton inadvertently photobombed[9] the snapshot taken by her amateur photographer husband. He didn't see her in the background due to the blind spot in his Pentacon F SLR camera's viewfinder that only allowed him to see 70% of what the lens was capturing.[10] This is backed up by the other photo taken that day that shows his wife, again caught in Templeton's blind spot.

So Templeton's lifelong claims were technically sincere: there was no one else with them that day, and he really didn't see anything other than his daughter when he took the photo, and the photograph wasn't manipulated, faked, or staged in any way. Templeton may have been honestly puzzled by the photo, at least initially. But given the improvements in SLR design over the years, it's hard to imagine photo hobbyist Templeton never discovered his vintage camera's notorious blind spot. It's more likely that possible public embarrassment prevented Templeton from changing his "mystery" story once it became cemented as fact by the world wide press.

It's also quite possible that Templeton was fully aware that his chance photo mistake had created a perfect vehicle for mass misinterpretation and pareidolia, but he enjoyed the attention gained by the photo so much that he encouraged the mystery and even promoted it over the years. And given the choice of having her husband seen in the press as either a bungling amateur photographer or someone who captured evidence of something mysterious, no doubt his wife Annie would have chosen the latter.

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Solway_Firth_Spaceman