During some of researcher Richard Carter's visits in the mid-1990's, he deliberately set out to photograph misleading objects at Loch Ness to show how easily people can be fooled. Three of his pictures have been reproduced on an unauthorised web site and presented in a sensational tabloid style as genuine. Mr Carter has requested that his pictures should not be used in that way.
The Truth is not Out There, but In Here.
A few quotes from the site...
"Will these photographs finally silence the doubters? There really
is something out there and now you can see it:We want tourists ...to get the facts. We try and give them the facts and that is that.
Web publishers should present factual information and not sensational misrepresentation if they pretend to any educational function. There is no point in showing confusing material and inviting the reader to guess if it is "genuine" or not, unless the web site is clearly identified as a competition or joke site. But perhaps the recent awarding of £500 prizes in the William Hill Nessie picture competition to two separate and obvious pictures of boats makes any clearer identification unneccessary . Click here for that story.
Claim 1: "The first photograph shows Nessie's hump as it breaks the surface of the water."
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Photo copyright © 2000 Richard A.Carter Reality1:
This is a rock just off the Invermoriston Wastewater Treatment plant... lump, yes, Nessie, no.
Claim 2:
"In the next picture the photographer has managed to capture the long trunk of the beast..." and "The second photograph clearly captures the long trunk of a monster as it stretches out of the water."
Photo copyright © 2000 Richard A.Carter Reality 2:
During a visit to Invermoriston Camping Site Richard and his son crossed the loch and took this picture of a tree branch floating in the water. It was about one foot (30 cm) high and two feet long.
Claim 3:
"It is no wonder people living by the Loch keep a constant vigil for a monster which although thought to be amenable, could be dangerous." and " in the next frame, a monster is clearly seen travelling towards the shoreline..."
Photo copyright © 2000 Richard A.CarterReality 3:
This picture shows part of a wrecked boat protruding through the surface at Lochend Beach. A "constant vigil", had one been kept by the community at Lochend, would have recorded its continuous presence at this location for over 50 years.(In the old days before modern technology arrived, the camera operators at "ye olde LNI" headquarters at Achnahannet, 3 leagues (14km) away used this object for target practice and focus checking with their ancient 35 mm motion picture cameras and 36" (~930 mm) focal length "glass" lenses taken from aircraft reconnaissance cameras. Using modern techology, a web-cam situated at the same location has such poor resolution that it cannot even resolve such an object, as it is smaller than one pixel in size. )
There is a collection of Richard Carter's articles and photographs at http://www.myspace.co.uk/nessie/nessie/hunter4.html and on his own site now under construction
I am grateful to Richard Carter for his assistance and permission to reproduce his pictures here.
The great midi is one of many brilliant sequences on Bob's site