Bigfoot Picture?

December 1, 2005 6:14 PM

This entry from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization website is kinda creepy, especially if you download the high resolution JPEGs and look at them in an image editor.
posted by dbiedny (42 comments total)

"Bigfoot populations require vast amounts of land to remain elusive in. They typically dwell just behind rocks, but are also sometimes playful, bounding into thick fogs and out-of-focus areas."

Now then, what am I looking for in an image editor that I can't see in the browser window?
posted by Gator at 6:22 PM on December 1, 2005

What is your point caller?
posted by fire&wings at 6:27 PM on December 1, 2005

What am I supposed to see if I look at the file in an image editor? I see the same blob I can see on their website. Could be a human, could be a rock outcrop, could be a Bigfoot. Hard to tell.
posted by hattifattener at 6:29 PM on December 1, 2005

That is clearly a man with his hood up and a large backpack. Either that or judging by the 4th image from the top Bigfoot has joined Ghostbusters.
posted by fire&wings at 6:33 PM on December 1, 2005

Most snowshoers or backpackers in these conditions would look different than this silhouette.

What? How, exactly?
posted by brundlefly at 6:37 PM on December 1, 2005

I downloaded the high res file with the larger figure, opened the JPEG in Photoshop, and zoomed as far as possible (1600% magnification). After some noodling around with Curves and Levels, a little more detail appears. You can see it here.
posted by dbiedny at 6:46 PM on December 1, 2005

Quick! Someone call Leonard Nimoy.
posted by Fat Guy at 6:56 PM on December 1, 2005

I took your advice, and opened the image up in Photoshop... after a little fiddling with levels and curves, I managed to reveal a little more detail:


posted by Robot Johnny at 6:58 PM on December 1, 2005

These photos have not been digitally manipulated or enhanced. They were copied by our own investigator straight off RC's digital camera. The full file has not been compressed. You can download the full files by clicking the top two photos.

I don't know all that much about digital cameras and stuff, but I'm pretty sure that JPEG format actually does involve compression.
posted by c13 at 7:02 PM on December 1, 2005

Should I say "Enhance!" out-loud to my computer and everything'll become clear? Seriously, dbiedny, not to be mean or anything, but am I supposed to see something more in the "enhanced" picture you posted? Seems like a Rorschach test to me....

On preview: You sold me, Robot Johnny. That's amazing.
posted by brundlefly at 7:02 PM on December 1, 2005

Seriously, dbiedny, I don't get it. The hell?
posted by Gator at 7:03 PM on December 1, 2005

That is clearly a man with his hood up and a large backpack. Either that or judging by the 4th image from the top Bigfoot has joined Ghostbusters.

Looks like a backpacker facing away to me too.
posted by itchylick at 7:10 PM on December 1, 2005

Dude. Don't post your beliefs or superstitions to Metafilter unless you've got rock solid proof. This is skeptic central.
posted by fungible at 7:16 PM on December 1, 2005

Actually, it looks a little bit like Darth Vader.

The shield will be down within moments, You may begin your landing.
posted by jimfl at 7:20 PM on December 1, 2005

but I'm pretty sure that JPEG format actually does involve compression

The degree of compression is arbitrary, so it's quite plausible that a camera will store in JPEG but with little compression.

Having said that, so what? I can write JPEGs to my camera before I hand it over...
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 7:54 PM on December 1, 2005

If Bigfoot species existed we would have found conclusive evidence by now. Frozen bodies washing out of glaciers, 49's finding or shooting one, Native American bone artifacts, etc.. the possibility of any large mammal species escaping detection in the lower 48 of the USA is on the order of impossible. It's a romantic fantasy of an unspoiled wilderness where savage man roams free -- it doesn't exist except in the "sivilized" man's dreams.
posted by stbalbach at 8:07 PM on December 1, 2005

Sure, but it's also possible that there's something out there that gives rise to the bigfoot legends. Bears with weird genetic anomalies or something.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:12 PM on December 1, 2005

If Bigfoot species existed we would have found conclusive evidence by now.

But we're not looking, stbalbach.
posted by Gator at 8:15 PM on December 1, 2005

Bears with weird genetic anomalies or something.

posted by Baby_Balrog at 8:35 PM on December 1, 2005

I'm not saying it's bigfoot, I'm saying it looks... creepy. The text on that page is definitely goofy, what can I say.

But I agree with jimfl, it's more Vader than Wookie.
posted by dbiedny at 8:40 PM on December 1, 2005

fungible, I didn't post this because I believe in Bigfoot. I just thought it was a bit odd. And hey, if it was good enough for BoingBoing...

But I'm wondering, does posting a weird link on MeFi automatically imply that one believes in the content of the posting? Would a link to a SubGenius-related thang mean that I believe Bob Dobbs is the greatest cultural icon of all time?

OK, bad example.
posted by dbiedny at 8:45 PM on December 1, 2005

Damn sasquatch, leaving their skeletons all over the place all the time.
posted by dhartung at 8:52 PM on December 1, 2005

Sorry ahead of time....

MetaFilter: hey, it was good enough for BoingBoing!
posted by brundlefly at 8:55 PM on December 1, 2005

And hey, if it was good enough for BoingBoing...

Careful there, dbiedny. You'll earn a reputation.
posted by sjvilla79 at 10:23 PM on December 1, 2005

I saw Bigfoot and he got mad at me and said, "Stalking is a crime! Stop stalking me!!" and he ran off.
posted by alteredcarbon at 10:30 PM on December 1, 2005

I have always loved reading the bigfoot sighting pages. Some of the reports are sorta creepy to read at 2 am despite knowing they are crap.

That said, supposedly there are no mountain lions left in Arkansas and have not been any since at least the seventies. Yet earlier this year video was captured of one (which was simply answered with "it was probably a released pet") and a lot of people have reported seeing them in the wooly areas of northwest and north-central arkansas. Including three people I know personally, not a one of which is prone to tell tales.

I doubt if anything close to the bigfoot stereotype exists undiscovered simply because of it's size - but I would not be too surprised to be proven wrong either. Especially if the creature is intelligent enough to avoid us.

People have sophisticated and extensive marijuana growing operations that can only be found by people hiking into the area and looking for them. People get lost and it takes days to find them in the woods and they are not trying to keep from being found.

I still have hope for animals thought extinct to be found. Things like passenger pigeons.
posted by weretable and the undead chairs at 10:40 PM on December 1, 2005

If you go there please photograph anyone you see up there with a long gun.

what?
posted by mosessmith at 10:46 PM on December 1, 2005

Didn't someone admit to concocting the Sasquatch thing as a hoax?

I suppose True Believers think he's lying, kind of like those folks who think the guys behind the crop circles hoax are lying (or a certain Fertile Crescent nation and ... nah, let's not get into that here).
posted by moonbiter at 10:47 PM on December 1, 2005

I find your lack of faith disturbing.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:11 PM on December 1, 2005

Quick, call this person
posted by Rumple at 11:23 PM on December 1, 2005

Didn't someone admit to concocting the Sasquatch thing as a hoax?

You might be thinking of this: "According to Michael Wallace, Bigfoot is a hoax that was launched in August 1958 by his father Ray L. Wallace (1918-2002), an inveterate prankster. Shortly after Ray’s death, Michael revealed the details of the hoax, which were reported widely in the press. Ray had a friend carve him 16-inch-long feet that he could strap on and make prints with." (source)
posted by Ljubljana at 1:28 AM on December 2, 2005

Enhance 224 to 176. Enhance, stop. Move in, stop. Pull out, track right, stop. Center in, pull back. Stop. Track 45 right. Stop. Center and stop. Enhance 34 to 36. Pan right and pull back. Stop. Enhance 34 to 46. Pull back. Wait a minute, go right, stop. Enhance 57 to 19. Track 45 left. Stop. Enhance 15 to 23. Give me a hard copy right there.

Now that's image editing.
posted by Joeforking at 2:46 AM on December 2, 2005

I want to believe. I WANT to believe.

But I don't.

As cool as it would be to have a large undiscovered primate running around the western US (perhaps even a telepathic one with connections to extraterrestrials), I just don't think the evidence supports it. The body of physical evidence for bigfoot has not improved over the last thirty years, despite technological advances and increased population. The pool of evidence has gotten smaller, not larger, and there persits a complete vaccuum of testable, credible hard evidence.

With any cryptozological beasties, one has to look past the immediate hype and popular media (pictures, blurry videos, witnesses, footprints, etc) which are usually tainted by people involved trying to exploit the situation in some way. Consider the bigger picture, including things like minimum sustainable populations, breeding diversity and densities, how the animal fits into the local ecology, the natural history (lack of large primates besides man in north america at ANY time in evolutionary history--what did bigfoot evolve from?) and secondary physical evidence (scat, hair, nesting, bones, bodies, etc). While one can argue each of these issues down individually, but as a whole, occam's razor points to it not existing. It's *possible*, and would be way cool, but it's an extreme long shot.

For example, the loch ness monster is still floated around by the local tourist trade, but the complete lack of a viable food source in the lake for a sustainable population of large animals makes the creature's existence biologically highly unlikely. I think the case is stronger for bigfoot than nessie, it's not enough to make me a believer. However, the case stronger for a undiscovered large primate in southeast asia (which is supported by more physical evidence than bigfoot).

Given that, here's an egregious yet relevant self-link: yeti at home
posted by Larzarus at 4:31 AM on December 2, 2005

Larzarus: were do you get of coming to this hear site and going on with your high faluting science talk. Lack fo viable food source indeed.

Och eye, yee deserve a sound thrashing laddie.
posted by smcniven at 6:28 AM on December 2, 2005

Bigfoot and Principal Skinner were in the closet making babies and I saw one of the babies and the baby looked at me. /Ralph Wiggum
posted by Jikido at 6:53 AM on December 2, 2005

My sasquatch's breath smells like sasquatch food.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:02 AM on December 2, 2005

Hi Principal Sasquatch! Hi Super Nintendo Chupacabra!
posted by mikrophon at 11:57 AM on December 2, 2005

I am not Chewbacca. Me think Chewbacca jerk. He no can act.
He ride Bigfoot coattails. He think he cool but he not. He phoney loser with no class.
posted by gottabefunky at 12:04 PM on December 2, 2005

There were some sci-en-tists/ tried to figger out the-Sas-quatch-Rid-dle
Then they figured out he was a mis-sing link.

In Search Of... Sasquatch, that was a kick-ass In Search Of... with Leonard Neeee-moy/ kickin' out the jaa-aa-ams/ HAI!
posted by Hat Maui at 3:44 AM on December 3, 2005

I hiked to the top of Silver Star Mountain earlier this year. No Big Foot but the view was amazing.
posted by Staggering Jack at 1:12 PM on December 3, 2005

Ok, ok. In the pictures it doesn't seem that far over to where Bigfoot was.. Why no Bigfootprint pictures?
posted by HyperBlue at 1:50 PM on December 3, 2005

Beastie Boys Kidnapped By Sasquatch
posted by Dean King at 4:47 PM on December 4, 2005