UFO Daylight Photo

This is my first thread here on ATS and I thought I'd share a photo I took while on holiday back in '07, which has always perplexed me. Perhaps you good folks can help me figure out if it indeed is a UFO or if there's a more down to Earth explanation.

The photo was taken near Valentia Island, Kerry, in the south of Ireland. It was taken from the mainland, looking towards the Island. At this point I should say that at the time of taking the photo, I didn't see anything in the sky. It was only after uploading the photos to my laptop that I noticed something unusual. I hate that it happened that way, because in my opinion actually seeing it myself would have given this a little more credibility, but I've got to be honest about it. Please bear in mind that this photo was taken with a cheap digital camera and the image clarity isn't fantastic.


The photo's been zoomed in about 10%, you'll have to scroll right to see the object :





I am a fairly skeptical person in general, and as such, my first thought was that this must be a bird (although there's not a single bird anywhere else in the shot) which I just happened to capture as it orientated itself at a strange angle, or something along those lines. However, given that the Island is a mile from the mainland, it seems to me like the object may be quite a bit bigger than that. Also, when I took a closer look at the object, I noticed what seem to be straight edges along the 'top' and 'sides'.


Closer this time, again, scroll right :



I think this is a rather interesting image. As I said, there seems to straight edges across the top of the object, and straight edges at an angle along the 'sides' if you wish to call them that. It also seems to me like the object has a vaguely triangular shape, and seems to be pointing towards the Island. As I said, I'm generally fairly skeptical and more than likely, there is an ordinary explanation for this. I just haven't come up with any yet. So if anyone has any ideas, please share, thanks!

reply to post by Project-Sign


Looks like a small cloud starting to form.

2nd line

Vvv

Originally posted by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep
reply to post by Project-Sign

 

Looks like a small cloud starting to form.

2nd line

Vvv

I'm glad you're not an expert

reply to post by Anttyk47


And YOU are?

Dude it was a suggestion not a statement of fact!!

So please you have anything else to contribute??

vVv

reply to post by Anttyk47


My first thought is balloon. But I will also state that until our resident photo-experts show up and zoom in on the object - and check the pic itself for any irregularities... Balloon is just a preliminary guess.

~Heff

reply to post by Hefficide


A possibility I suppose, yes. The apparently straight edges it has might go against that theory though, and I wonder if it was a balloon, would I not have noticed it while taking the picture? That said though, it was quite a distance away, I could have easily missed it.

it could be a seagull in flight?

reply to post by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep


No but it seems like common knowledge that clouds aren't formed out of a thick condensed, opaque mass. They don't just "grow" from a mini cloud ball into a big cloud ball.

I was mean, but seriously, it's like saying, well... the sun might not be the center of our solar system.

Anyways as far as what i think of the picture,
Light on top, shadow on bottem. Generally big mass, Might be a balloon? Like one of those with a basket on the bottem type of balloons.

Thank you for the picture.

I zoomed it in a bit to help with the discussion:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e1612a0fcc0a.jpg[/atsimg]

As a suggestion:

One thing I found out trying to google the location is that apparently Kerry has the widest range of bird habitats in Ireland. It is considered a great spot for bird watching to those that enjoy that activity.
Source


Do you remember if you saw a lot of bird activity while you were there?

reply to post by Anttyk47


It could be. It's a fairly remote area though, sparsely populated etc, I'd consider it a strange place to find a balloon that size. I know that's not a concrete reason why it can't be a balloon, but given that and it's shape I find the balloon theory unlikely.

Originally posted by VreemdeVlieendeVoorwep
reply to post by Project-Sign

 

Looks like a small cloud starting to form.

2nd line

Vvv

Hi VVV

I reckon the object looks too solid to be a cloud forming, it is also very low.

reply to post by Project-Sign


You know what, a picture was posted of a more close up image of what it's like.
A metalic pancake.
Reflective, and flat.
But those are obvious.. uhh observations.
As to an idea of what it is, balloon could be ruled out

reply to post by InTrueFiction


In Kerry, in general yes, there's a huge amount of bird watching etc, great place for it. Around Valentia that day there seemed to be very little activity, as far as I can recall. As you can see from the pictures, there's no birds around at all. I'm no expert, but would a seagull or similar bird be seen on it's own like that? Or would they be more likely to fly in groups? Might be interesting to find out. That said though, if it is a bird, I caught it in a very peculiar pose.

Originally posted by InTrueFiction
Thank you for the picture.

I zoomed it in a bit to help with the discussion:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/e1612a0fcc0a.jpg[/atsimg]

As a suggestion:

One thing I found out trying to google the location is that apparently Kerry has the widest range of bird habitats in Ireland. It is considered a great spot for bird watching to those that enjoy that activity.
Source


Do you remember if you saw a lot of bird activity while you were there?

edit on 1-11-2010 by InTrueFiction because: To fix a link.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/616c2b7fb402.jpg[/atsimg]

Actually, i just debunked it.
Its a flying rice ball.

Originally posted by kamatty
it could be a seagull in flight?

Quite possibly, I have seen a number of pics that looked all straight edges and paint work, defo a "construction" at first appraisal, on further examination with the help of friendly sceptics they were shown to be birds in flight, light shining off angular bent wings, playing with dark shadow below and shot from an unusual angle, giving the false impression of a vehicle in flight.

I think the best version of that phenomena is a famous "clear" shot from a naval vessel, bound to have cropped up on ATS, at the mo I'll go with bird in flight

reply to post by Thepreye


Any idea how or where I'd find that picture? I'd be interested in having a look, see how similar the pictures are.

From what I have seen, even personally, when someone doesn't notice something at the time of taking the photo it's usually a bird, we are so used to see them that we do not notice that they are flying around and can appear in a photo at any time.

The colours also suggest a seagull, and the shape makes me think that we are probably seeing it almost directly from the front or from behind, the photo doesn't have enough resolution to get a good idea of what it can be.

That's also why the edges look straight, too little resolution and JPEG compression do that.

reply to post by InTrueFiction


To me it looks like a parachutist, definitely not like a UFO. However it could be many things, its too blurry. Could be a cloud, doesn't really look like one though.

To me it also seems to be as reflective as certain bird types can be, possibly a seagull. Other than that there is not much you can make of it, given the quality; do you perhaps have a RAW image (If you had that kind of camera).

Thanks for the input so far. I wish I had a better version of the picture, but what's posted is pretty much as good as it gets I'm afraid. I appreciate that it's very hard to say definitively what it is when the resolution is as poor as it is. As I said in the original post, a seagull or similar bird was the first thing to occur to me too, given the colour of the object and the seaside location etc. The only case I'd state for it being something else is that, if you look at a picture of an average seagull, they have large, spread out wings. The wings actually seem very large in relation to the rest of their body. If you look at the picture I posted, the object seems solid, like it's all one piece. If it was a seagull, it would have had to be fairly close to the camera to show up that size, and at that distance surely you'd be able to make out the distinctive large wing span, poor resolution or not.

For example, this is a seagull in mid flight.


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/0bf34eb367ec.jpg[/atsimg]

Obviously, it's better resolution and closer to the camera, and it's pretty obviously a bird. Now compare it to this.


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/61278f092172.jpg[/atsimg]



I just get the feeling you should still be able to make out the large wings in my photo if it was a seagull.

I could be wrong, just throwing it out there.