Where to turn with UFO pics?

Good post johnny. Good info. I'm not asking for myself , as I never took a UFO photo in my life. But I always asked questions about any that I heard of in my area, as it has been my interest for years. And so, I started this thread as a way to get better information/proof.

You mentioned the ATS staff looking into forms for reporting, great idea. We could even go one step further, and have a few ATS members volunteer the time to do interviews and basic investigations that were in their geographic area. This could really help bring in info. (I'm thinking how nice it would have been to have someone on the ground when the O'Hare thing came down.) If nothing else, the volunteer's report would give perspective for the other folks here.

Thanks.

Thank you all for the above comments and helpful posts. I'll save these for my own personal use in the future, and try to learn from them. I had hoped to gain enough practical ideas on this, to combine with other practical steps, that I could compose a sightings handbook that could be passed out to as many people as possible.I was even hoping that it could get out on the web as a field guide. I was apparently overestimating the need.

I must say that I came back today and was shocked at the lack of further response. I was even more shocked to find the 'c2c' thread had reached 14 pages and 270 posts and 15 flags, which just goes to prove that people would rather argue than try to find ways around problems. I can understand the charm of the thread devoted to a one armed con man easier than just endless attacks and counter-attacks, some by people I would not have expected to react that way.

It is also very instructive to new members on how to get a major thread going on ATS. It seems that starting an argument will get more results than trying to do something constructive.

Please don't think that I am whining over not getting the attention I want. I was just very enthused with the hope of contributing to the efforts here, but it seems that help is not needed in this area.

God it's like my dream to be able to post a UFO pic on here someday... I hope I can find something worth posting just once in my life

And yeah the rules are quite simple and easy to follow.. i wish more people would follow them.

TOby, good to hear from you. Hope you get your pic soon. But do you want to get all the mudslinging that will come your way?

Earlier in this post I asked for help in getting something done so that people wouldn't be afraid to post pictures here. It seems no one is interested in making it less of a hassle.

I even U2Ued a person I thought would have a vested interest in it, and got no reply, even though that person had time enough for pointless arguments, and was online when I sent the message.

It seems if you get a good pic, look for another venue, ATS seems not to want to do more than argue.

At the urging of my wife, who thinks I am hasty in my presumption that this is a subject that no one wants to address, I will once more ask if there is further thought that could make such a project go forward.

She reads over my shoulder and it seems that the right to point out my shortcomings was included in the 'I do' part of the ceremony, though it was so long ago that I can't remember.

Perhaps she just doesn't want to tell me this was a bad idea from the start.

I think that it is a noble idea to attempt to find a more civil way of vetting photos and videos here at ATS, but that vetting would require quite of bit of site control over the photos initially without any kind of interference from the members. That in itself would ignite a conspiracy firestorm here that would simply fan the flames of the already heated ones in existence here at ATS as of now.

[sarcasm]OMG, they have the photos and are sending them off to an NSA photo lab and god knows what they are doing to it![/sarcasm] Yes it sounds rIdiculous but some people think that way.

That and people simply love to argue - sometimes over what most would consider nonsense.

You are so right in your assessment of the love of fighting that is here. But I am trying to find a way to produce a FREE (as I'm not trying to profit) booklet that could be downloaded and passed out to a lot of people. If these guides were widely distributed, it would not only raise awareness in UFOs, but give our experts a better chance to cover the subject.

And maybe let the photos be put up as usual, so all the jolly arguments could be ongoing while analysis took place. Because hoaxers would know what was expected as a 'deserving level of proof', there should be less fakes. And, if it caught on, observers of such things would know what was expected of them to be included with pictures, if they wanted these photos to be taken seriously.

This forum prides itself on being on the cutting edge in the fight to bring reality into focus. To me this would be one of those ways. Wouldn't you just love to see a picture from the O'Hare incident that met all the criteria that photo analyist need? I know I would.

Excellent thread. Thanks to the OP for starting it.

I ask myself, if I saw a ufo and got pics what would I do? Why do anything? What do I have to gain from it? There definately is a downside. The ridicule, humiliation. Why does anybody ever come forward? Chad with the C2C pics said he only wants an answer to what it was. That certainly explains his actions. That may explain why he would probably never come here with it. He likely does not want to be scrutinized. Why would he? He's not getting paid for it. Makes me wonder why we have as many reports as we do. Could be only a fraction are actually reported. I'm sure we see all the fakes. But I'm thinking most of the legit sightings are not reported.

So the only answer I can come up with is to take it to somebody who can guarantee I will be compensated. But who can you trust? Dan Akroid? Stanton Friedman? I'm thinking that if I had really good photos maybe the first person to talk to would be a lawyer.

[edit on 9-5-2007 by Latitude]

This is a question I've always wondered about too. If I get a good UFO shot who is the best person to send it to? I couldn't keep a great photo to myself knowing the craving I have for UFO info. I had a very close daylight sighting in 2004 but my camera was in the house. By the time I got it out the object had moved on so all I have is a black blob in a few photos then a silver ball in the last. I should have paid attention to my intuition that day. At least a dozen times I told myself "get the camera out, there might be a good photo to be taken today". I ignored it, then a genuine unknown craft appeared less than 100 yards away. One good thing came out of it though, my sceptical partner was with me at the time. I left him to view it while I ran in the house for the camera. One other strange thing worth mentioning; the schools had just come out. I live in quite a busy street but when I ran in the back door for the camera then out the front door with it there was no one to be seen in my street. No cars, no people. As the craft moved slowly upwards and off things returned to normal. As a result of this sighting I bought a better camera that almost never leaves my side and I always have both batteries charged to the max.

lattitude, see, without ever thinking about these things BEFORE they happen, you might have been so excited that you ran right in and put the pic on you tube. And even a chiseling lawyer would get you some compensation. That's what I'm after with this, getting people to think about what to do, how to handle the pictures, who to contact first, second, so on.

And wigit, if you had run across a 'dummy's guide to UFO photos', maybe you would have had your camera handy the first time you saw one. Let's hope you get a second chance.

Everyone has ideas about what to do, but most of them are considered after the fact. If there was a guide, real down to earth (sorry about that pun) suggestions for how to be prepared and what steps to take to get photos authenticated, and how best to show them to the world, then we all win.

Good posts folks. (Maybe my wife was right and I just wasn't asking hard enough for more input.-*Shame*)

Please put up flags to help get more ideas here. I will put all of them into some type of format and see what can be done to make them available to the forum and to visitors.

[edit on 9-5-2007 by NGC2736]

Hi NG, I actually made my first, and only, UFO hoax photo when I was 12. It was the classic peice of black sellotape with "portholes" stuck to my window. I'm now 43. Do you think if I got a really good UFO photo this might be held against me? Seriously though, I was wondering what sort of info. you've already decided to put in your handbook?

NGC2736,

The one thing I would NOT do is take it to a government agency. I would not call the police or the air force, no way. You do that and you are asking for only bad things to happen.

Well, as brilliant as my wife tells me I think I am, I don't know everything yet. That's what I'm trying to do here, get good ideas. There are a lot of very smart people who come to these pages, and I want to pick their brains.

Every post with suggestions is one more potential page. And every page could be one more chance to get GOOD pictures instead of the crappy disputable ones we get now.

I think a lot of the problem is about people not being prepared mentally for the UFO to show up.

A question that could be answered here, Who do you call first if the thing is hovering over the town you live in? Would that person even bother looking? If that person isn't home, who do you call second? At what point do you call the cops/Air Force/Civil defense?

There's really a lot of things to consider here. I'm just trolling for ideas, which can be boiled down later. Every idea is worth posting, as who knows which one is best yet.

Originally posted by wigit
Hi NG, I actually made my first, and only, UFO hoax photo when I was 12. It was the classic peice of black sellotape with "portholes" stuck to my window. I'm now 43. Do you think if I got a really good UFO photo this might be held against me? Seriously though, I was wondering what sort of info. you've already decided to put in your handbook?

Ha ha, wigit. The guy who cried wolf. That is the best reason not to fake a ufo sighting. Because if it really does happen, for sure nobody will believe you. You'd be screaming help as the ETs break out the anal probe and nobody will come.

Oh my god, I shouldn't have told you this. lol. Seriously, I don't care and I don't think it's relevant. I've been interested in UFOs, paranormal etc. all my life. Always walked around with my eyes on the skies. I bought a kids UFO book at school. Near the back were instructions to create your own UFO photo. Wish I'd kept it now. I'd post it here.

And even in the most mundane of stories, well, it was funny, comes nuggets of ideas. A field guide should warn against hoaxes as they are bad for the truth, and in this day and age, you will be found out.

I really think that if a lot of folks put their ideas down here, we could go a long ways.

You never know what could come of a few 'off the wall' suggestions and a few dozen flags.

Hi NG, I wondered, have you been interested in UFOs for a while or have you had a recent sighting? I've always had an interest, reading the odd UFO book when I came across them etc. as I was growing up. However around '93 I bought Tim Good's Above Top Secret and around the same time I came across a UFO magazine in the newsagents. I suddently decided to look a little deeper and then the hook got me. I'd been casually looking at stuff over the years but suddenly it took over and it became the most important thing in my life for a long while. I wondered if you might be going through the same thing. Don't take offence, there's none intended. It's just a query but, I wonder what you're handbook will contain that's anything new to what's been written about UFOs over the last 50 years and what's inspiring you to do it?

Well, I've been interested in the idea of creatures from another world since the 1950s, when I was a kid. I think science fiction is just the dream that drives science fact.

I've seen a few things that were, how shall I say, out of place In the late 60s I really saw something, but it was not easily describable - just a dot that moved like it shouldn't, at a speed that was not then known to man. And yes, I was paying attention even back then to what man could and could not achieve. This was the era of the moon landings, and I was in 'heaven'.

Over the years I've seen more lights, more distant 'craft', but never anything I could prove. And before anyone wonders about how I could have multiple sightings, remember two things; I've always been interested enough to look up and be aware of the sky as much as the earth, and we're talking about a fairly good length of time.

I never really gave a lot of thought to being prepared for a UFO until I saw all the fighting and name calling that went on here. My first reaction was,"If I get a picture of an alien having a picnic on Times Square, I won't turn it in to anyone unless I have nine witnesses and a part of the craft." But then I started to really think about what would be needed to make a good witness, and posted this thread.

My motivation is simple. I want someone to come forward with a smoking gun picture, or other evidence. And the best way to have this happen is for enough people to have thought out their actions beforehand. So this isn't about me, as I don't seem to get those grand events in my life. But since so many more people are taking UFOs seriously, then it seems like a good idea to have a plan out there to make the most of such events.

But unless this thread picks up a lot of steam by getting a bunch of posts and flags, then it will be slow going, as I'm not bright enough to think of but so many angles by myself.

I hope that answered your questions, and thanks for asking. I only wish more people here would care enough to ask and answer questions instead of playing the "I'm right and you're wrong" game.

Originally posted by NGC2736


Over the years I've seen more lights, more distant 'craft', but never anything I could prove. And before anyone wonders about how I could have multiple sightings, remember two things; I've always been interested enough to look up and be aware of the sky as much as the earth, and we're talking about a fairly good length of time.

I've seen a lot of things too, & had all types of experiences, (I like looking up a lot too). The best was a very close encounter of a UFO with a witness. March 2004, just a day or so before the Gulf war started. I got photos but they're crap. I categorise my experiences as definites, maybes and maybe nots. With the definites, I don't mind who doesn't believe me and if they want to argue over it, well that's okay too. My "history" wouldn't stop me if I got a good clear UFO shot with a camera. No way. I mentioned before I got really hooked on the subject at one point. I'm totally calm about it now but if I get news of a good sighting near me or a "flap" starting, I get a brief rush of excitement that lasts a couple of days. Don't know why. It's just me. lol.

That's why we care, why we want real pictures, real evidence, real witnesses; to get that elevates heartbeat, because this time we might be one step closer to a dream. Oh, I understand exactly.

It's the reason I put so much effort into trying to get people to post on this thread, to give ideas, to flag it. It's why I'll try to do the booklet, and then give it away. It's because each effort we make brings destiny one step closer.

Each time we pursue a worthwhile effort in this area, we bring the very stars themselves closer. It's a heady thing to move the very stars.

I'm so glad that you saw what you saw. I wish the whole world could share that. In a way, it is the basis for this thread.