Two Books and two Kelpies

Christmas is coming and I noticed two books related to the Loch Ness Monster which might be of interest to readers. The are both novels and so won't make it into my Nessie bibliography but a good read is a good read.

The first is "Wonder of Ness" by James Jeffrey Paul. Some may recall James as the man who recently donated his collection of Loch Ness Monster books to the Inverness Library. His book is reviewed here by Kirkus Reviews and you can find out more at Amazon.

Amazon previews the book thusly:

"To some, Loch Ness is a joke. To some, it is the most important thing in the world. A major new expedition has been formed to locate the elusive creature of Loch Ness. Suddenly it seems as if everyone in the world is rushing to join the expedition, and for every conceivable reason. For each of them, it will be a journey into wonder--and a plunge into mystery, terror, and his own personal heart of darkness. A grand symbolic adventure in the tradition of Moby Dick and The Hunting of the Snark."

The second book is entitled "The Loch Ness Legacy" by Boyd Morrison. His book is discussed by the Highland newspaper, the Forres Gazette here and is listed on Amazon though strangely they list it unavailable despite an August publication date. His own website also promotes it. I haven't read these books myself, so offer no comments either way!

And, finally, before the Loch Ness Monster there was the Loch Ness Kelpie. In recognition of that ancient Highland terror, two 100 foot high Kelpie statues have been unveiled near Falkirk and have received national attention. They're looking good and I hope to visit them some time!

The Problem With Nessie Photographs

You might think the title suggests this is an article about debunking Loch Ness Monster photographs. But it is not, it is rather the problems researchers such as myself have in accessing what is presented as evidence for the creature. Take a look at the four pictures below of the Hugh Gray picture (which just turned eighty years old).

This highlights the first problem with trying to assess Loch Ness Monster pictures - the quality of the reproduced image.

The first picture is the best one and is called the Heron-Allen image but more often than not it is the inferior over-contrasted third image that has made its way into the literature. Ted Holiday used image three for his detailed analysis in "The Great Orm of Loch Ness", but it is my opinion that if he had had access to the Heron-Allen image he would have come to a very different conclusion about what that picture showed - a fish like head gawping at us on the right. 

But to be fair, some newspapers at the time did faithfully reproduce the untouched image. For example, the Daily Record was so impressed by the image that they decided not to put it through their normal retouching process which would have "enhanced" what they though were relevant features. The 1934 Gould book reproduced that native image. In fact, so used were readers to seeing such retouched pictures that the editor saw it fit to put a clear statement in the article that the picture was completely untouched.

Not so lucky were readers of the Aberdeen Press and Journal who were subjected to image number two which is a travesty of photographic reproduction. It is in fact what the picture looks like after going through the retouching processes of the time and gives a wrong impression of what is in the picture. However, the Press and Journal repented of their deeds and showed the untouched picture the next day!

Image four is one for the future. It is also a retouched picture by Tony Harmsworth which he created to try and demonstrate the presence of a labrador dog in the picture. He was not being deceptive and was upfront about his effort. However, Tony, I would say the chances are well odds-on that this picture will eventually end up on some website touting it is as a faithful reproduction (if it hasn't already).

ZOOMING IN

The second problem with Nessie photographs is the zoom-in symptom. Time and again we see pictures which zoom in to get a close up of the beast or so called beast. The Hugh Gray picture above is a zoom in but it is not the only one. The Surgeon's Photograph is typically displayed as below.

When the Daily Mail first printed it in 1934, it was typically a zoom in to increase the "Wow!" factor.

But the actual, uncropped image seemed to disappear from view for years until it was discovered in the 1980s (correct me if I am wrong on that point). Now we have a frame of reference and a better idea of what is going on. When you have an uncropped picture and know something about the camera, you can extract more information about objects in the picture which can be used to support a given opinion of the picture.

It's a problem that pervades many Nessie pictures and can prevent further progress on whether the picture is the genuine article or something else. Photographs which suffer from this lack of frame of reference are the Hugh Gray and F.C.Adams pictures but others get printed blown up and getting the original can be next to impossible.

JUST PLAIN GONE

But it gets worse when we realise that some pictures just seem to have been completely lost to researchers or are locked up somewhere gathering dust. This is especially applicable to motion pictures. For example, where is the G.E. Taylor film of 1938? A still is shown below but that is just not good enough!

What happened to Peter MacNab's second photograph? And where is the first ever purported film of Nessie taken in December 1933 by Malcolm Irvine? This is not to be confused with his 1936 film which can be viewed here (8m19s in). I would also count the various films and photos captured by the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau in this regard. They are not lost, but are beyond public access.

So, never mind apocryphal tales about sensational films by MacRae and Currie locked away in bank vaults. What about the films and pictures we do know about? It's bad enough trying to convince the world with what we have only to be disadvantaged by this as well.

Such is life. Other historical researchers in other fields will no doubt bemoan the lack of access they have to various items. So I do not regard Loch Ness Monster research as especially obstructed in any way.

Note I haven't even got on to the subject of accessing original negatives, but to be fair, I should not expect so much.

Anyway, back to researching the photos we have. I hope to publish an analysis of the latest photograph by Jonathan Bright next week.

Another Loch Ness Monster Painting

I was tempted to selfishly keep this one quiet so I would have less competition from bidders! However, I have shown Andy Walker's art here before and this item that is currently for sale on eBay deserves wider publicity.

It's a painting worthy to be hung on any Nessie lover's wall or even in a cryptozoological museum. Anyway, you can find the item listed here. It is entitled "More Than A Legend" in recognition of Constance Whyte's book. I am sure she would approve.

The auction ends this Sunday (24th November).

The Jonathan Bright Nessie Picture

I got a heads up that the latest issue of Fortean Times was publishing a new story on a Loch Ness Monster photograph. It was taken by Jonathan Bright who was on a mystery tour of Britain back in November 2011. If you want the full story, get the latest issue of Fortean Times (number 308).

What do readers make of it? Is it a ridged back or a head-neck with a mane like appearance in true Water Horse fashion? On the other hand, sceptics may think it is just a wave, debris or a hoax. I will put up my analysis in due course.

All I will say just now is that if it is a picture of the Loch Ness Monster, it is one of the best (and the first taken in infra-red).

Some Pathe News Reels on Nessie

The British Pathe website contains a wealth of material on news events covered by the famous media company from decades past. Naturally, the Loch Ness Monster features in a few of them. I found these ones on a search of their archive.

Leslie Holmes sings "The Monster of Loch Ness" from 1934.

LESLIE HOLMES

The Loch Ness Monster and 1933. This fascinating clip mentions the emergence of Nessie but also gives the historical context - what was happening in the world when a strange monster in a remote Scottish loch turned up?

TIME TO REMEMBER -  THE TIME OF THE MONSTER  1933  - reel 4

This clip appeared on the Loch Ness Monster Debate Facebook page, but I include it for completeness. It details Dan Taylor's Viperfish and the Sherlock Holmes model that sunk.

TWO SUBS LAUNCHED

The Gordon Holmes Expeditions

Those familiar with the Loch Ness Monster scene will have heard of Gordon Holmes. Back in 2007, his two minute footage of something strange and eel like in Loch Ness caught the imagination of the world's media. I covered some stills from that day here.

But Gordon wasn't there on a tourist jaunt, for that was his fifth trip to the loch in a series of expeditions to hunt down the Monster of Loch Ness. I have been in touch with Gordon since I met him for the first time at the Edinburgh Symposium in April. Having brought me up to date on his activities, I now detail them here.

The summary of his trips is shown below to give you the overview of what Gordon has been up to in the last ten years.

                                                      

2003 -2004: Search the loch using binoculars and camcorder

2005–2007: Underwater search using Hydrophone & tape recorder.    

26^th May 2007: Captured two minutes video footage of 2 creatures.    

2008–2010: Radio controlled sonar and hydrophone boats

2011: Radio controlled boat with cam and sonar.

2012: Underwater Cam towed by Radio Control boat.

2013: Helium Balloons lifts cam 80 ft above loch

Gordon says the results have been mixed. Unusual dark shapes were seen in the first two years though he puts that down to windrows and similar phenomena. As Gordon told me:

Visual results (apart from the 2007 sighting) were difficult to interpret due to the distances involved and the general fuzzy shapes etc due to waves, lighting conditions, unpredictable winds and tourist boat wakes.

Some sounds were recorded from the hydrophone experiments. The image below shows the hydrophone signature of a tourist boat. Although his self-built hydrophones performed well, the main problem became apparent. In his own words:

However, the problem was the noise pollution from the tourist boats' propellers and their sonar. Plus a low frequency hum from the Power Station at Foyers. After about 5 years, I gave up on this research since any animate sounds would be virtually indiscernible due to the background noise pollution. The only solution to this would be to monitor in the middle of the night and record around the corner of Urquhart Bay away from the power station low-frequency hum.

Two images are further shown from the sonar experiments Gordon conducted over 2008-2011. Gordon stated:

The sonar results (based on my equipment) were very encouraging with several unusual yet solid contacts obtained. Also, I received permission from a few boat owners to monitor their sonar displays and once again I obtained a few convincing solid contacts.

Obtaining these images is, of course, only half the job - interpreting them is the other task. He quotes Dick Raynor as suggesting the second image seen at 65 feet is that of poacher's net support. When I asked him if he had the chance to go back and inspect this area again, he did, but his boat broke down and he had to abandon the operation!

But let us move onto Gordon's novel approach for his expedition this year.  The modus operandi was to attach a spy pen and suspend it over the loch with helium filled balloons. The Aberdeen Press and Journal publicised this in an article dated September 9th and you can see Gordon showing the small spycam he used for the experiments.

Here is the "SKYNESS" project in Gordon's own words.

Hovering about 80 foot above Loch Ness, a tiny camcorder monitors signs of water disturbances. Like a Golden Eagle, the spy in the sky is carried aloft by 10 helium filled foil balloons. This is the latest project by Loch Ness Investigator, Gordon Holmes from Shipley, West Yorkshire. On paper the idea sounds crazy but, surprisingly the results have been amazing. During the last ten years, Mr Holmes has visited the loch armed with sonar, hydrophones, underwater and surface cameras mounted on radio controlled boats. His intention is to record any unusual activities or obtain proof of unknown creatures. 

Originally, I had hoped to drag the cluster of balloons plus cam around the loch using a radio controlled boat, but the winds are so unpredictable. Within minutes, the wind direction can change by 180 degrees. During my first launch attempt, two balloons exploded when blown onto the local sharp rocks. However, by the third attempt on the final day the conditions were perfect to launch. The spy in the sky cam produced better results than previously expected. Duration of the flight was 40 minutes although, the camcorder is capable of 90 minutes recording time.

The main difficulty is turbulent wind causing the SkyNess system to swirl, thus blurring the images obtained. As long as wind-levels remain below 3 knots, the system is capable of discerning any creature surfacing, obviously to observe the strange cluster of balloons. As far as I am aware, this is the first attempt to search for Nessie using the principle of a kite, involving helium filled balloons and a miniaturised cam. Now the system has proved itself, hopefully, future missions will record any unusual activity on the Loch. 

Gordon would like to thank Borlum Farm, Drumnadrochit, for providing access to their loch ness shore side property for his research during the past few years. The first picture shows the balloon rig while the second picture is a picture of Urquhart Bay below taken by the cam from 80 feet up.

 

The next picture is a view from the cam back down to the jetty from where it was launched.

The setup was working well and it was down to Nessie to put in an appearance. That part is pretty much beyond the control of any monster hunter but Gordon sent me one picture to show what the elevated camcorder was capable of. The image below is taken over water which has a depth of 3 to 12 feet and the objects you can see are sunken driftwood and other rubbish. 

This at least demonstrates that objects can be seen below the water surface though (in my opinion), any monster would have to be swimming quite close to the surface to emerge from the opacity of the peat stained water.

So that is Gordon's monster hunting results to date and I am sure monster hunters everywhere will wish him the best of luck as he embarks on future expeditions in the pursuit of the Loch Ness Monster.

Asterix, Doctor Who and Nessie

Two items of cultural interest to Nessie followers have recently come to my attention.

Firstly, "Asterix and the Picts" has been published and as you may guess from the title, the indomitable Gaul is heading north to the Highlands. And, yes, he meets the Loch Ness Monster on his travels. This is no surprise as the Picts were the indigenous people around Loch Ness during the time of the Romans.

However, an appearance by Saint Columba is unlikely as Asterix predates him by over 500 years! Unlike Columba's man-killer, and going by this image I found via google, the publishers have gone for a blue, docile Nessie. Well, it is aimed at a younger audience. I was a fan of the Asterix books in my youth and hope to get my hands on this book soon.

Talking of my mis-spent youth, the next item to recently go on sale is a DVD release of the Doctor Who's "Terror of the Zygons". Broadcast in 1975, it pits the Doctor against an alien race which feeds of a pet cyborg called the Skarasen (Nessie to us). This Loch Ness Monster is not so blue and not so docile as it goes on a trail of destruction.

I watched this as a kid but the memory of it has long faded. Apparently, the Loch Ness Monster was a bit of a flop in terms of special effects, though I doubt I would have been complaining as a 1970s kid. One suspects it got the scrag end of the production budget but the story itself is first class. Again, I hope to see this in my possession soon as some nostalgia is indulged in.

This story was broadcast  over September 1975, a mere three months before the famous Rines underwater photographs reached a peak of media frenzy. In fact, the Loch Ness Monster was on such a high, that when Target Books published the story as a paperback the following January, it was the alien pet that usurped the alien owners as the title was changed to "Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster"! The BBC trying to cash in on Nessie fever? Surely not!

By some coincidence, this is also the 50th anniversary of the Doctor Who phenomenon and the Zygons will be featuring in the anniversary episode on the 23rd November. There is no word either way on whether their pet cyborg will be making an appearance. I think they ought to as recompense for the poor rendition of 1975!

Talking of 1970s recession TV from the BBC, I really ought to end with that other Nessie appearance contrived by them in 1971 with that other great series "The Goodies". Whilst hunting for haggis and tackling a venomous bagpipe spider, our favourite cryptid appears - or does he?