Any guesses on what this could be?

A friend sent me this picture today. It was given to him by someone else, so I do not know the source. I do not think it has been tampered with but I have no way of knowing.
It is from a big fire at a refinery in Big Spring, Texas refinery. I am not sure if the object is debris in the air, or a bird, or a what it is. Anyone want to take a look and tell me what they think it is?

[ats ]http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/4474/whatisitop4.jpg[/ats ]

Aww crap, I have the worst luck with posting images

[edit on 20-2-2008 by Daz3d-n-Confus3d]

Excellent photo shop work there!

Honestly...dude why?

reply to post by Daz3d-n-Confus3d


Just an extra space in the bb tags :



My thought is a bug due to the two blurred protrusions visible on top.

[edit on 2/20/2008 by eaglewingz]

Hey Daz3ed!,
Can you find out where the original was taken.
I have enlarged it a tad!


[img]http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z171/99wills7001/whatisitop4.jpg[img]

Interesting though!

H

[edit on 20-2-2008 by Havalon]

[edit on 20-2-2008 by Havalon]

[edit on 20-2-2008 by Havalon]

[edit on 20-2-2008 by Havalon]

[edit on 20-2-2008 by Havalon]

i believe the original picture is taken in kuwait or iraq, but it is definately a oil refinery.

only reason I think this is a photoshop is because the object is clear as day seen around alot of smoke, i would expect if its real that it would have a haze to it.

Looks like a spec of ash on the lens probably floated up there & stuck to it, nothing much else excited me about this particular image>?

First off, let me say as I explained I was given this picture. So to the guy who accused me of photoshopping you are calling me a liar.
I think if you check the length of time I have been on these boards you will see that I have been here a long time. On ATS you do not get to stay around here for crap like posting fakes pics and lies.
Do not call me a liar. If you think the picture is fake, then thats cool, but don't question my character or my honesty. You obviously need some etiquette lessons or a trip behind the barn.

As I said in the OP, the picture was of a fire at a refinery in Big Spring, Tx. A customer of my friend lives there and took the picture along with 20 to 30 others. I don't know what it is, so I put it in the UFO section. I just thought it was odd and would produce some good conversation between folks who had something intelligent to say.

From here out if you don't want to add something useful please feel free to see another thread and stay out of mine.

Thank you Havalon for the help. See above for the location.

Sarentack, although I feel it is not a photo shop job I can not prove it by any means. The guys that took the pics and passed it on to me are not exactly computer savy people, but you never know.

jaintorres, you could be right but I thought it looked really odd that it had a disk shape to it.

Oops,, sorry Eaglewingz. Thanks for fixing my pic. I thought Havalon did it.

[edit on 20-2-2008 by Daz3d-n-Confus3d]

reply to post by Daz3d-n-Confus3d


I'll try to get the thing up on here!




There ya go! Now where is internos?

First of all, ian990003100,
i humbly suggest you to take a look at exif data before blaming the people:

Basic Image Information

Camera: Canon PowerShot A570 IS
Lens: 16 mm (35 mm equivalent: 464.9 mm)
(Max aperture f/4.5)
Exposure: Auto exposure, 1/159 sec, f/4.5, ISO 80
Flash: Auto, Did not fire
Date: February 18, 2008 12:41:48PM (timezone not specified)
(2 days, 10 hours, 21 minutes, 33 seconds ago, assuming an image timezone of US

Pacific)

Aperture Value 4.5
Color Space sRGB
Components Configuration YCbCr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel 3
Compression JPEG (old-style)
Create Date 2008:02:18 12:41:48
2 days, 10 hours, 21 minutes, 33 seconds ago
Custom Rendered Normal
Date/Time Original 2008:02:18 12:41:48
2 days, 10 hours, 21 minutes, 33 seconds ago
Digital Zoom Ratio 1
Exif Image Size 640 × 480
Exif Version 0220
Exposure Compensation 0
Exposure Mode Auto
Exposure Time 1/160
F Number 4.5
File Source Digital Camera
Flash Auto, Did not fire
Flashpix Version 0100
Focal Length 16.0 mm
Focal Plane X Resolution 13,653.33333 pixels/inch
Focal Plane Y Resolution 13,633.13609 pixels/inch
ISO 80
Make Canon
Max Aperture Value 4.5
Metering Mode Multi-segment
Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot A570 IS
Modify Date 2008:02:18 12:41:48
2 days, 10 hours, 21 minutes, 33 seconds ago
Orientation Horizontal (normal)
Related Image Height 2,304
Related Image Width 3,072
Resolution 180 pixels/inch
Scene Capture Type Standard
Sensing Method One-chip color area
Shutter Speed Value 1/159
Thumbnail Length 2,899
User Comment

White Balance Auto
Y Cb Cr Positioning Centered

Now could you be so kind to show to us where did you notice the tag that reads that this image has been photoshopped?
Your blames are misplaced to say the least. Unlike you, i don't believe that courtesy, civility and decorum are optional, here.
_____________________________________________________________



Daz3d-n-Confus3d, Thank you for sharing this one.
Sadly, the shot is 640x480 pixels, and it's at its original resolution, so we
have zero chances to get a better res versions of this specific image.
Havalon already provided a good bicubic resample of the object, ( Thank you, have a star

The first thing that i noticed is the objects otherness, if compared to the rest of the image: the smoke created a "fog" effect" that affects the whole image except it: now i'll try to show what i mean.
To the left there's a crop of the original image, to the right, there's (more or less) what i would expect to see in an object far from the camera, i'd say at the same distance of the refinery's pipes:

IMHO, the object is very close to the camera, hence it should be even very small: of course i can't say it for sure, since we are unable to make a triangulation due to lack of other shots from different angles, but i'm almost sure.
eaglewingz made an excellent point, with which i agree:
the pixellation in the top-right area near the object, suggests a movement
top-right - bottom-left.

So i tend to agree with the bug theory, or pheraps a grasshopper, but nothing of much bigger.
I'm quite sure that when asked, the guy who took the photo would
answer that he didn't notice the object when he took the photo.
Of course this is just my opinion.
Thanks again for sharing this one.

Ed: spelling.


[edit on 21/2/2008 by internos]

Thanks Internos,
I agree with your analysis on the 'fog effect'. An object 'in' the fog would be less dynamic, this one is reletively sharp, hence closer/therefore smaller, imho. Excellent work my friend. well worth a star!

This is only an opinion though!

Nice submission Daz3d .
Keep up the search!



[edit on 21-2-2008 by Havalon]

isn't that just a copter? looks like rotor blades on top, they're spaced about right too.

just my hunch. nice pic though.

Thanks for the input guys. I appreciate the courtesy. After looking at it more I see where it could be a bug. Also may have been something stuck on the car window. Just thought it looked cool.

OK, so i am searching Big Spring on ATS now due to some strange things i have seen lately. Found this thread.

I wrote an article about this explosion, as i lived about 1/4 mile from it and was knocked out of my shower by the ground ripple from the blast. It was huge. Huge enough it ruined the foundation of my house (i had to move), and flattened two tires on my Tahoe by separating the bead on the rim when it scooted across the drive way. I ran a 400 seat call center that closed because of this, as the rebuilding effort (which was temporary) sucked all available employees from our small workforce (and all the work ended 4 months after we closed our doors). It really, really sucked in a lot of ways. My mother is still dealing with the court claim for damages to several of her rental properties, and it likely won't settle until sometime next year.

RE: the OP....i think it is a raven. That is the kind of black birds we have here (or maybe grackle, very similar). It seems close to the camera, and on that day there were hundreds of cameras trained on the refinery all day long. If anything funny would have happened, we would have known via one of the thousands of other images that this event created. I spent some time going through my own collection just now, and there is nothing else even remotely similar. Given its shape, i say its a bird. During that time of year they are just starting to get real thick here.