Please help, how to determine distance/size of object in photo

riddell said:
My cousin is a special effects artist and this is exactly what he does, nothing else. His part of the special effects process is getting all the elements to scale and calculating all the elements and scales as everything moves around. It's a lot of complex maths, but without reference points you can't tell a thing.
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If that's one of his UFOs chasing that lady in your avatar photo then I'm afraid I don't think he's very good! ;)
 
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Mr Badger said:
I think the real credit should go to you and Dave as you did such a good job of enhancing the photo that we could see what the main objects really were. You mentioning the heating element put me in the right direction to do my bit, mainly out of curiosity about the design as I'd not seen a heater like that before.
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It was Dave spotting the trainers wot dun it. I had thought it looked a bit like a footprint but once Dave said ‘trainers’ I realised it was rotated and rotating it back revealed all. I can’t claim much credit for enhancing, I just played with the sliders on my iPad and all the other stuff came into view.
There used to be a ‘thing’ about judging photos upside down for composition etc and maybe that’s a good practice for ’aliens’ and Nessie etc photos.
 
I normally have a SOH but for whatever reason, maybe cos I'm not well, this has just left me cold and to me this at least belongs in the non photography section of the forum if it belongs anywhere at all. I don't think it even belongs on a ufo related forum as it'd be an insult to people who care about the subject.

I do agree with one poster, that the op needs help, if not psychological then help in a story telling and technical sense as even as a bit of fun all this should have been waaaay better done. My nieces son is 12 and he could do better than this.

Just sayin. Soz to be a kill joy and all...
 
Box Brownie said:
Ahem! I refer my learned friends to my post #157..........just saying :wave: not :dummy:;):popcorn:
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I guess this is where we start fighting amongst ourselves, which could be the OPs aim :D. You were quoting my post #127 (and some earlier) without attribution! I think Dave was the first to spot the trainers and after that hint I saw the ’lights’ were actually point reflections from a ‘fan’ (actually a heater) wire safety guard. :cool:. However, welcome to the team!
 
sphexx said:
I guess this is where we start fighting amongst ourselves, which could be the OPs aim :D. You were quoting my post #127 (and some earlier) without attribution! I think Dave was the first to spot the trainers and after that hint I saw the ’lights’ were actually point reflections from a ‘fan’ (actually a heater) wire safety guard. :cool:. However, welcome to the team!
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Agent Badger was then sent to do some internet shopping and the rest, as they say, is history. ;)
 
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Mr Badger said:
Agent Badger was then sent to do some internet shopping and the rest, as they say, is history. ;)
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Yes, sorry, your find was the clincher as all the illustrations on the web have much reduced guards — elfin safety not being a thing back then.
 
sphexx said:
I guess this is where we start fighting amongst ourselves, which could be the OPs aim :D. You were quoting my post #127 (and some earlier) without attribution! I think Dave was the first to spot the trainers and after that hint I saw the ’lights’ were actually point reflections from a ‘fan’ (actually a heater) wire safety guard. :cool:. However, welcome to the team!
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(y):clap:
 
Mulder approves
 
Box Brownie said:
Did Mulder & Scully always "find the truth" out there?
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Dunno, I’ve never been interested in all this UFO malarkey though I did enjoy the crop circles greatly while they were a thing.
 
Mr Badger said:
For the time being.

Mind you, that next investigation they've given us looks more difficult... Why can't orange jam be made without it turning into marmalade?!
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Mmm mmm! surely it is all about preserving the status quo and avoiding a compote breakdown ;)
 
woof woof said:
I normally have a SOH but for whatever reason, maybe cos I'm not well, this has just left me cold and to me this at least belongs in the non photography section of the forum if it belongs anywhere at all. I don't think it even belongs on a ufo related forum as it'd be an insult to people who care about the subject.

I do agree with one poster, that the op needs help, if not psychological then help in a story telling and technical sense as even as a bit of fun all this should have been waaaay better done. My nieces son is 12 and he could do better than this.

Just sayin. Soz to be a kill joy and all...
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I look at it this way, there was nothing I wanted to watch on TV last night and I've learned something new about electric heater design! It also highlights just what a breadth of knowledge there is on this forum, and how helpful (and generally polite) the 'regulars' are on here too. However, I think that should be it for mystery object ID for a while, as I suspect it would very quickly lose its novelty and become tedious.

However, if I had a YouTube account I'd post that bit of night-vision video I have of a cloth moving slightly on an old workbench in a derelict building during a survey I was doing. There was no wind to move it, so it can't have been that... my money is on it being a mouse or a rat, but I couldn't see one on the video footage. That's the only 'unexplained' thing I've ever captured in hours and hours of night vision, camera trap and thermal imaging footage. Plenty of nocturnal animals though, which is just as well as that's what I was looking for!
 
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Mr Badger said:
For the time being.

Mind you, that next investigation they've given us looks more difficult... Why can't orange jam be made without it turning into marmalade?!
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Oranges are interesting, not least the way they got their name. Also as a big fan of Seville Orange Marmalade (which I am now medically banned from eating, along with grapefruit) I remember reading that back in history when the English (maybe British) started buying up all the Seville oranges the Spaniards believed we were making explosives with them :cool:.
 
Mr Badger said:
I look at it this way, there was nothing I wanted to watch on TV last night and I've learned something new about electric heater design! It also highlights just what a breadth of knowledge there is on this forum, and how helpful (and generally polite) the 'regulars' are on here too. However, I think that should be it for mystery object ID for a while, as I suspect it would very quickly lose its novelty and become tedious.

However, if I had a YouTube account I'd post that bit of night-vision video I have of a cloth moving slightly on an old workbench in a derelict building during a survey I was doing. There was no wind to move it, so it can't have been that... my money is on it being a mouse or a rat, but I couldn't see one on the video footage. That's the only 'unexplained' thing I've ever captured in hours and hours of night vision, camera trap and thermal imaging footage. Plenty of nocturnal animals though, which is just as well as that's what I was looking for!
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I've had a few odd moments in my life that aren't easily explainable particularly when working out of a government site which some of the workers wanted condemned as unfit for human use because of the unusual events none of which frightened me in the slightest but I got a lot of millage taking the Michael out of people reduced to acting like frightened children and refusing to go into certain areas :D

I don't have a problem with anyone believing in anything they want from tea pots orbiting the moon to fairies at the bottom of the garden, each to their own and such, but I do get a little irritated by misrepresentations and Michael takes of subjects that some for their own reasons take seriously. That's just my view but maybe this thread wouldn't have been so effective if posted in one of the non photography sections where I'd rather have seen it.
 
woof woof said:
I've had a few odd moments in my life that aren't easily explainable particularly when working out of a government site which some of the workers wanted condemned as unfit for human use because of the unusual events none of which frightened me in the slightest but I got a lot of millage taking the Michael out of people reduced to acting like frightened children and refusing to go into certain areas :D

I don't have a problem with anyone believing in anything they want from tea pots orbiting the moon to fairies at the bottom of the garden, each to their own and such, but I do get a little irritated by misrepresentations and Michael takes of subjects that some for their own reasons take seriously. That's just my view but maybe this thread wouldn't have been so effective if posted in one of the non photography sections where I'd rather have seen it.
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:plus1:

I have, all my adult life, given people my respect as a default position but then 'worked' on the basis that I expect them to show/behave in ways that they are worthy of my respect. I have only been let down a small number of times :(

Where I can, if I can identify or have been made aware of, that an individual needs help in a form that I can offer I will do so within any limitations as they arise. But l/we cannot help everyone!
 
Ken many many years ago when in my teens I was in a very dark and scary place and I would not grab the help that was offered to me at the time, in my head the world was against me as were my loved ones ( Family ) who stuck by me. It started when I was about 16yrs old and stopped when I was about 20yrs old, as one day it just clicked in my head as if a voice said GET the Help Dave before it`s too late. I got the help I needed and with all the family and other people who helped me I THANK them for saving my life when I was in hell and nearly at the bottom of the pit. They all saved my life is how I look at it now, I have forgiven my self and family have also forgiven me, but I will NEVER go to that place again as I will NEVER forget it. I`m not big headed at all but as the saying goes Been there done that and got the T-Shirt, as my last job I did was putting back what I got out of it and I`m proud that I helped many Men and Women in my time working for Turning Point. What I`m saying Ken is if you want to talk about anything then PM me and I will try and help you or point you in the right direction to get help.
 
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Mr Badger said:
I look at it this way, there was nothing I wanted to watch on TV last night and I've learned something new about electric heater design! It also highlights just what a breadth of knowledge there is on this forum, and how helpful (and generally polite) the 'regulars' are on here too. However, I think that should be it for mystery object ID for a while, as I suspect it would very quickly lose its novelty and become tedious.

However, if I had a YouTube account I'd post that bit of night-vision video I have of a cloth moving slightly on an old workbench in a derelict building during a survey I was doing. There was no wind to move it, so it can't have been that... my money is on it being a mouse or a rat, but I couldn't see one on the video footage. That's the only 'unexplained' thing I've ever captured in hours and hours of night vision, camera trap and thermal imaging footage. Plenty of nocturnal animals though, which is just as well as that's what I was looking for!
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Interesting comment about the cloth moving. I use a trail camera regularly to see what animals visit the garden at night. Most of the time it is the local Bengal cat, hedgehogs, the mice that live at the bottom of the hazel tree and the odd fox.

One video showed two small and discrete bright objects floating across the garden.

I'm not of the same persuasion as the OP on this thread and always look for a simple explanation, but I could not work out what these lights were.

Only after a neighbour's security light came on(probably from a fox in their garden) was it obvious. The security light illuminated, between and either side of the lights, a thread of spider silk.

Without that it was impossible to explain the lights or make a guess at their distance. As it appeared the silk and the reflections from, I assume, water on the thread were much closer than I have first thought.

Without that I could have 'seen' aliens/ghosts/fairies.

Dave
 
Box Brownie said:
:plus1:

I have, all my adult life, given people my respect as a default position but then 'worked' on the basis that I expect them to show/behave in ways that they are worthy of my respect. I have only been let down a small number of times :(

Where I can, if I can identify or have been made aware of, that an individual needs help in a form that I can offer I will do so within any limitations as they arise. But l/we cannot help everyone!
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That’s the thing, respect is a two-way street. Of course there are people who suffer from ‘real’ hallucinations and so on but most of this UFO etc is just down to people not using proper investigative methods and inventing magical things, egged on by a few charlatans who are making money etc from them. Sadly it‘s spread into the mainstream and affecting our political and economic life now.
 
Tringa said:
Interesting comment about the cloth moving. I use a trail camera regularly to see what animals visit the garden at night. Most of the time it is the local Bengal cat, hedgehogs, the mice that live at the bottom of the hazel tree and the odd fox.

One video showed two small and discrete bright objects floating across the garden.

I'm not of the same persuasion as the OP on this thread and always look for a simple explanation, but I could not work out what these lights were.

Only after a neighbour's security light came on(probably from a fox in their garden) was it obvious. The security light illuminated, between and either side of the lights, a thread of spider silk.

Without that it was impossible to explain the lights or make a guess at their distance. As it appeared the silk and the reflections from, I assume, water on the thread were much closer than I have first thought.

Without that I could have 'seen' aliens/ghosts/fairies.

Dave
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I have an indoor web cam using infra red and find that insects also show up as unidentifiable ‘fairy lights’.
 
sphexx said:
I have an indoor web cam using infra red and find that insects also show up as unidentifiable ‘fairy lights’.
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Yes, some of us have insect 'fairy lights' and then others are really 'away with the fairies'.

Dave
 
Being serious for a moment, myself and a mate watched a bright ball of light being followed by a helicopter many years ago. I watched it through a starlight scope and my mate binoculars. We had a half decent view, the object flew along for about two minutes, stopped dead for about 30 seconds, then shot off at fantastic speed. The copter just turned around and went back.
Theres no aircraft I know can go from zero to about 500mph in a split second, the G force would kill the crew. I have no idea what it was and I suspect I'll never find out.
 
swanseamale47 said:
Being serious for a moment, myself and a mate watched a bright ball of light being followed by a helicopter many years ago. I watched it through a starlight scope and my mate binoculars. We had a half decent view, the object flew along for about two minutes, stopped dead for about 30 seconds, then shot off at fantastic speed. The copter just turned around and went back.
Theres no aircraft I know can go from zero to about 500mph in a split second, the G force would kill the crew. I have no idea what it was and I suspect I'll never find out.
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There are things like ball lighting, much reported but never verified I think — obvious difficulty in studying transient phenomena.
 
sphexx said:
There are things like ball lighting, much reported but never verified I think — obvious difficulty in studying transient phenomena.
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How odd........I thought I clicked post on regard to saying just that ~ ball lightening.
 
Box Brownie said:
How odd........I thought I clicked post on regard to saying just that ~ ball lightening.
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Great minds ... :cool: or maybe I have implanted something in your brain using fuel rods and a gravitational field.
 
sphexx said:
Great minds ... :cool: or maybe I have implanted something in your brain using fuel rods and a gravitational field.
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Or maybe I was writing it in my head and your hand did the work.......spooky, eh! Very twilight zone :LOL:
 
About 20 years ago I was 'followed' round a small lake by a pair of glowing eyes that were about the same height off the ground as those of one of the smaller 'big cats' such as a puma or panther. My colleague and I were both carrying 1-million candlepower torches of the sort 'lampers' use, and we kept shining a torch in the direction of the eyes to see if we could make out the shape of the animal, but we couldn't! It followed us at a distance of about 50 yards until we climbed over a stock fence and crossed a piece of wasteland to get back to the car.

When we arrived back at the car we scanned the area with the torches and saw the eyes had stopped at the fence. Determined to find out what animal the eyes belonged to I set off back across the wasteland towards it and shone the torch at it at regular intervals. However, the animal with the glowing eyes didn't back away... about half way across I started to wonder if it might actually be a big cat... after all, if it had been a sheep I'd have seen the round outline of its body, and as I got closer I realised the eyes seemed a bit too high off the ground to be a sheep too. Common sense prevailed and I decided to go back to the car, with my colleague covering the animal with his torch in case whatever it was attacked!

We both wondered what it could have been for a few days until I revisited the site in daylight and found fallow deer tracks in the soil where it had been standing. Mystery solved, not a fierce big cat or a werewolf, but a curious (and quite possibly dazzled and transfixed) fallow deer!

As for night vision cameras and trail cams; moths can look like a variety of white or dark entities when they fly past the camera, and lacewings can look a bit like mini angels when overexposed in infrared light close to a camera. Don't forget, may night vision cameras run at 30 frames per second at most, so motion blur comes into play. Indoors, light-blitzed particles of dust close to the camera look like translucent orbs in flash or IR illuminator lamplight. I imagine some of those paranormal TV shows would probably have a field day with stuff like that, but as I said before, the truth by way of a logical explanation is usually out there the vast majority of the time.
 
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I might as well join in ...

All unadulterated and straight from a webcam ...

image01.jpgimage03.jpgimage07.jpg
 
In the first, it's raining. The second is obviously of an alien, because - well, we have more fingers. The third is part of the craft they emerged from.
 
It's very easy to be fooled by something quite common in an unexpected setting. Umpteen years ago I was standing in a High Wycombe street one night when I saw two incredibly bright lights climb slowly into the sky. I was convinced it was an alien visitor going home until I realised the lights were rising but also coming towards me. When I heard the jet roar and caught a glimpse of the delta against a cloud I realised it was a Vulcan taking off.

Mind you: Vulcans look like something out of science fiction at the best of times!
Canon 1Ds II 8021.JPG
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
It's very easy to be fooled by something quite common in an unexpected setting. Umpteen years ago I was standing in a High Wycombe street one night when I saw two incredibly bright lights climb slowly into the sky. I was convinced it was an alien visitor going home until I realised the lights were rising but also coming towards me. When I heard the jet roar and caught a glimpse of the delta against a cloud I realised it was a Vulcan taking off.

Mind you: Vulcans look like something out of science fiction at the best of times!
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Mr Badger said:
I believe you because I saw the exact same thing fly past the end of my mother's garden in 2015! :)

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A few years back I was so pleased to see her displaying at Jersey international Airshow in the Channel Islands.

As they were displaying offshore she made a couple of low speed, lower level passes. On the last pass she turned out to sea, opened the throttles and made a climb away.....the sound was awesome and visceral. You not so much as heard it as felt it in your guts. :)

It is such a pity they could not keep her in airworthy condition!
 
Box Brownie said:
It is such a pity they could not keep her in airworthy condition!
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One of the engineers was on the radio when they decided to ground her. He said the problem was that each Vulcan was more or less unique because of the way they were built. Even the electronics sometimes had to be adapted to a particular airframe. This meant they couldn't just strip one of the other aircraft to keep XH558 flying. It's a great pity because the Vulcan is a seriously impressive aircraft to see in the sky and one of the all time great crowd pleasers...

Canon 1Ds II 8001.JPG
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
One of the engineers was on the radio when they decided to ground her. He said the problem was that each Vulcan was more or less unique because of the way they were built. Even the electronics sometimes had to be adapted to a particular airframe. This meant they couldn't just strip one of the other aircraft to keep XH558 flying. It's a great pity because the Vulcan is a seriously impressive aircraft to see in the sky and one of the all time great crowd pleasers...

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The Vulcan was the best ever and my favourite aircraft I have had the pleasure of photographing over the years, a great shame I last took a photo of her was Shoreham 2015.
 
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