Strange Object in Bat Photo

A few months ago a friend of mine sent me this pic she took of a bat that was flying back and forth on a wooded path. She captured a strange glowing object in the pic. When I first looked at it I just quickly said it's a moth and that was that. I just looked at it again and noticed that there appears to be a shadow cast on the ground by the "moth" that appears to be bigger than an insect. Not sure if it's anything but I'll link it if you want to have a look.

Glowing object, bug or something else?

That's wild!

It seems to be made of flame but it casts a shadow, and not in the apparent direction one would expect from a camera flash.

Any more details you can share about this?

I wonder if that's a dried up puddle. I think the way you were taking the picture there wouldn't be a shadow there it would be up higher I believe. I do think that's a moth or some other kind of bug.

Observe the shadows from the camera flash, cast by the trees, they don't line up in the same direction as the "shadow" cast by the object.

The motion blur would indicate it's moving much faster than the bat approaching(?) in the distance.

If the object was actually on fire, as bright as it appears, it's not unreasonable to think it would cast it's own shadows, and give off smoke as well.

I don't see evidence of this.

Anyone have a valid theory as to how this image could be duplicated?

Anyone notice the orbs in the upper right of the image?

Edit to add orb observation...

[edit on 28-10-2007 by goosdawg]

a damp area of ground that has moisture, reflecting light from the obvious camera flash....resulting in a bright anomaly in the photo.

maybe?

maybe not... who knows.



-Mayan

Wow, now thats impressive.

I could probably come up with a few explanations IF there was no shadow... but it clearly has it's own shadow...

I don't know what it is nor how to explain it, very nice find!

That's just bizarre. My first impression was that of faery folk, but it also looks like a flying flaming hand giving the half cocked thumbs up. All joking aside, I'm not sure what you have there, but I'll be thinking about it.

Could be a small bird OR a moth or some sort of an insect. The shadow is created by the "insect" being close to the camera, hence the overexposure of it, and it threw a shadow on the ground. You can do a simple test, the closer an object to a light source the bigger the shadow - so, it seems larger than it truly is.

I would say it is some sort of insect. That's all. But nice pic none the less.

Edit to add:

orbs? Probably just dust particles in the air. (Following NOT aimed at the OP or other posters) That's what i love about ghost programs - every spec is an orb "hey did you see those orbs - oh man, we are surrounded by ghosts and spirits and entities.

[edit on 29/10/2007 by shearder]

What about the orbs!!

We definitely need more background information on this one.

Like where it was taken, the photographer's impressions, sounds, ambient temperature, season, time of day?

What kind of equipment were they using, what was the distance from the camera lens to the flash?

I know bugs can look like "orbs" but what the heck looks like a flying flame that casts a shadow but doesn't cause other objects within it's glow to throw their own?

This is a one weird Unidentified Flaming Object!

Thanks, librasleep, starred and flagged!

[edit on 29-10-2007 by goosdawg]

Looks photoshop imo, only b/c the shadow is unaligned. Also does light give a shadow? I thought only a solid object produces a shadow.

Also, looks to be a picture of an owl, not a bat.

Crazy looking indeed, the shadow and object look way out of place, not saying it's fabricated at all. Just looks surreal.

Originally posted by goosdawg
I know bugs can look like "orbs" but what the heck looks like a flying flame that casts a shadow but doesn't cause other objects within it's glow to throw their own?
This is a one weird Unidentified Flaming Object!

It could appear to be a flying flame - BUT, it is just overexposed due to being so close to the camera when the flash went off.

I doubt it has anything to do with flames or fire but very much to do with light/flash.

Why is everyone ignoring the suggestion that the "shadow" is a damp patch of ground? There even seems to be a small dip in the ground right at that point.

The "shadow" is way off for these lighting conditions.

Way cool photo OP! I too have caught these anomalies on my digicams. They are freaky. I proffer no clue or perception of these kinds of anomaly other than to say I too have captured them.

Originally posted by HaTaX
Also, looks to be a picture of an owl, not a bat.

its a bat, look closely and u can see its pointy ears and small head.. the likeness of a bat, cuz last time i saw an owl , owls have big heads and no neck?



maybe that shadow on the ground is just some diff colored dirt and has no relevence to the bright object in the picture? i still think its a damp part of the ground, probably caused by water droplets from a nearby branch?

we're all just guessing what it is. and what the explanation of it is. but do we really have solid information on what this is? no, so IMO its a UFO.

what can we do to identify it? idk.

-Mayan

[edit on 10/29/2007 by Mayan2012]

I'll try to get more info if I can. That is a bat for sure and the orbs are just moisture in the night air. Trust me, I diffenatley didn't photoshop it. The photographer is a friend of my brother's wife, I believe. I'll try to get the details. I really would have passed this off as a bug except for the shadow and I guess it could be a moist patch, not sure. Glad I hung onto it though. Do small birds fly at night? Thought they slept?

Hi, that is an awsome pic, It is quite trippy that the luminated shape casts a shadow on the ground and hence it is not silly to say that logic points to the fact that only objects with some sort of mass will cast a shadow. It is really really fascinating.

As the op said , some more info would be great like the location of the area in the pic. Also i noticed the orbs aswell which adds to the over all fascination i have to this pic. If there are orbs there then really you cant rule out some form of paranormal activity here and that being said you cant stomp out that this shape itself might be something indeed paranormal.

A location would be so good for this photo so that we can maybe do some research on the area and find a little bit out about it. The fact that this thing casts its own shadow is incredible i think as i have never seen anything like it .

Some more info is needed here i think as well as some on camera tech anomolies and malfunctions. Has anyone seen anything remotely like this before?? I am going to save this pic because it is very interesting. be it supernatural or technical.

Truly an awsome post

Omega

EDIT:: Just thought i would add that most owls are nocturnal however i think that it is a bat.

And not an Owl






[edit on 29/10/2007 by Omega85]

Must say that's an awesome picture. For now I see it as an orb. Hmm, a flaming orb?

It looks to me like some sort of reflective object had fallen at the right time as your friend took the picture.

The flash illuminated it, I think; heck, it could have just been a leaf. I've read about effects like that before on ghost websites.

Weird timing but I still think it is completely normal...though it does look bigger than a leaf.

Nice photo. The fact that it's casting a shadow on the ground would normally indicate it's a corporeal object. The extreme glare of the brightness indicates it was fairly close. The position places it at below eye level.

That said, the shadow of the object though seems to be at the wrong angle. The light in question would have to be way above the shooter, by about 10-15 feet, and since typically the flash is going to be right at eye-level, this means the shadow should have been mostly positioned on the opposite side of the bright spot. Further, since the object is below eye level, the shadow should appear above the bright spot, not below it.

My guess is that the "shadow" is either not a shadow, and is actually a very damp patch, or that it was photoshopped in there. I'm going to assume the former, and let our experts decide the latter.

As for the shape, speed, and reflectiveness of the object... good lord, I have no idea. Doesn't look like anything recognizable to me, except perhaps "Bigby's Clenched Fist" (/cheesy reference)