Any opinions on the "face" in this cemetary pic?

Tonight myself and my 10 year old daughter have been going over the pictures that we took whilst on a ghost hunt the other night, i posted another thread about an "orb" we found in the photo.

Anyway, we were sat here just now, looking at a pic that seemed nothing special, a few gravestones in amongst the trees and that was it.

My daughter then turned her head upside down and said whats that in the tree? I rotated the pic and zoomed in a bit, and there in the tree is something that looks very much like a face.

Now then, i'll post the pic for your opinions, but i am aware of the following things....

* Yes it was very dark, so maybe things were'nt quite as they seemed.

* This image of a "face" was up in the lower branches/leaves of the tree, i'd say roughly eight feet up or so. At no point did we see this when the pic was taken, i promise you if i had, i'd have royaly filled my pants and legged it!

*Lastly, i'm aware that if you look at something long enough, you can probably find a face image in anything.

What makes this one odd, is that as far as i know, the leaves in the tree where this face is, are all green. If this image is just a pattern of leaves, they appear to be brown and the only ones out of place on the tree.

I will however go up there again in the next few days to clarify that. Bit hard at the moment as i've fractured my ankle and am in plaster up to my knee.

Ok, first pic is of the original photo. What you are looking for is the small brown patch up to the left in the tree leaves, just under the brighter green foliage.

Original pic

Now then, heres that same pic, but turned upside down. The "face" is now down to the right of the picture, just above the bright green foliage.

Original pic upturned

Now heres that "face" zoomed in.



So what do people think?

I was trying to recall where i'd seen the face before, but all i could think of was a mixture of those stereotypical Satan faces, a puppet from a kids Punch and Judy show, and those masks from the theatre logos.

I have a feeling i'm probably just having a case of overactive imagination from the ghost hunt, which admittedly was pretty scary once it got dark.

I'm kind of hoping that this will be very easily explained away by anyone who has better photo analysis skills, because to be honest i'd be reluctant doing another night time investigation there again if it turned out to be unexplainable.

Thanks for any assistance with this. If anyone can suggest any decent software that can help me look at pics in more detail, i'd be most gratefull.

CX.



[edit on 29/5/08 by CX]

reply to post by CX



Well, you explained it ("away") very well yourself - it was dark, things are often not what they seem, pictures are relatively easy to "read into" - so there's not much to add - unless somebody does have a different theory, of course.

But I was wondering... what exactly made you take this particular picture?







[edit on 29-5-2008 by Vanitas]

I mean no disrespect at all, but when looking at the original photo for the face ( knowing I was looking for one) I ran across several spots that looked face-like to me.

Human beings are wired to see human (and human like faces) we see them in a lot of things.

That of course doesnt mean the one you singled out isnt significant, it may well be, I am far from an expert on ghosts. It just means our brains fill in the gaps and create meaning sometimes when there isnt any.

I dont know what it is but its scary looking.To me it looks like a witch mask.

Originally posted by Vanitas
But I was wondering... what exactly made you take this particular picture?

I actualy took a few pics in this direction, but this was the only one that caught the trees like it did.

I took pics all over the cemetary, but this one was looking up a long gravel path with gravestones either side. At the end of the path was the church, and i thought it would make a good pic, but the church did'nt come out in the darkness.

CX.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
I mean no disrespect at all, but when looking at the original photo for the face ( knowing I was looking for one) I ran across several spots that looked face-like to me.

I know what you mean, i was saying to my daughter only moments before she found this image, that the logs in the bottom right of that pic almost looked like arms and legs coming out of the ground lol.

Thanks for your replies anyway everyone.

CX.

when looking at the original photo for the face ( knowing I was looking for one) I ran across several spots that looked face-like to me.

So did I.
And they were "scary", no doubt about it.

I lean towards the idea that it may have been diffused reflections from resin on the bark.
After all, there are pines or pine-like trees around, and those secrete A LOT of resin.

Obviously, I am not saying that's what it is, period, but it could have been.
It would also explain the "glistening" parts on the left side of the picture.


P.S. I just had another look, and the bits on the left side seem to be tombstones. Maybe the "face" could have been also a part of a tombstone - OR... just the night sky (partly illuminated by town lights) "peeping" through the branches?











[edit on 29-5-2008 by Vanitas]

I would have to say that you I think you already have explained what it is.To me this image is brown leaves and stick formations that create the appeal of a face.Although it is to note that on trees that are becoming brown like that it could be attributed to a few things.On a tree there a variance of different shades of a uniform color IE: different but close shades of green and/or brown, in this case a different shade of brown.It could have also have been that a single branch was broken off which lead to that particular set of leaves to become brown.I also noticed that you had set your camera to use flash.Which at night time would be expected.This could have been the reason why the image stood out more than other areas of the tree as it was facing the flash when the picture was taken.One good idea is to return to the spot in the cemetery during daylight and look for anything that could indicate this affect.

Originally posted by Vanitas

P.S. I just had another look, and the bits on the left side seem to be tombstones. Maybe the "face" could have been also a part of a tombstone - OR... just the night sky (partly illuminated by town lights) "peeping" through the branches?

If you look at the first pic, the correct way up, thats a gravel path leading all the way up to a small set of steps which then go up to the church. All along this path are headstones on either side, so you are correct there.

Theres no way the face is part of a tombstone, it's up in the tree and not at the side of the path where the stines are. Even the tombstones further up the path are seen to the side of the path.

Your comment about it possible being a gap in the trees showing the night sky could be plausable though.

*Edit to add, although this could be the night sky through the gap in the branches, the village is about half a mile away, and there are no street lights around here. The only lights within a huge distance of this church is the four security lights, one on each corner of the church. These were off.

CX.


[edit on 29/5/08 by CX]

reply to post by CX


I thought so.
I couldn't be sure, because there could be a steep path leading up a hill or something.

It could be the night sky.
The colour is certainly "right" (brownish-reddish) - for its effect on a night time photograph, I mean.






[edit on 29-5-2008 by Vanitas]

Originally posted by ~Waffles~
I also noticed that you had set your camera to use flash.Which at night time would be expected.This could have been the reason why the image stood out more than other areas of the tree as it was facing the flash when the picture was taken.One good idea is to return to the spot in the cemetery during daylight and look for anything that could indicate this affect.

Thanks for your reply Waffles.

Returning to the churchyard to inspect the site of this pic is first on my list of things to do. I'll find out in the morning if i can get this plaster cast off my leg, so hopefully i'll go up there in the next few days.

CX.

You are more than welcome CX ^~^.A nice close-up picture of the specific area would do wonders to help in determining what this image may represent.Best of luck, hope your leg is feeling better soon.^^

s203.photobucket.com...

maybe this helps

To me it looks like a part of the tree possibly reflecting the flash. The daytime investigation should prove to show what it really was.

Hey CX whatever it is is quite creepy looking...."real" or not. Can't wait to see the daytime pics!

It just looks like a clump of leaves on a bush to me. Either that or its that dude from V For Vendetta

[edit on 15-6-2008 by Matt.Trakker]