Hunt for the Photographer Who Took the ‘Best’ UFO Picture in Existence
The “best ever” photograph of a UFO has resurfaced and now the hunt is on for the person who took what’s known as the Calvine photo.
Taken in August 1990 by two young chefs hiking in a remote area of Scotland, the pair have remained anonymous but are believed to have captured six photos of the mysterious aircraft before it allegedly accelerated away at an immense speed.
After witnessing the unusual event, the two young Scots handed the photos to a newspaper. But instead of publishing them, the Daily Record passed the images to the British Ministry of Defence where they disappeared.
Release of the Calvine Photo
As is standard protocol, the Calvine file should have been released after 30 years; in 2021. But British authorities withheld the original photo and the names of the witnesses until 2076; citing “privacy concerns.”
However, British journalist David Clarke discovered that former Royal Air Force (RAF) press officer Craig Lindsay had secretly held on to a copy of one of the prints.
Lindsay is now 83 years old and was the first official to speak with the authors of the photo.
“As a press officer for Scotland, I dealt with many UFO reports but most were just of lights in the sky,” Lindsay tells Clarke in an interview.
“It was obvious this one was different. When I asked what sort of noise it had made, the man said, ‘It didn’t make any noise at all.’
“Up to that point I wasn’t treating it very seriously but when he said it was silent, I suddenly realized there is no aircraft that I know of that is silent.”
The retired press officer says that after he handed the photos over to officials in London he didn’t hear any more about it and was discouraged from asking questions.
What Does the Calvine Photo Show?
There are two objects in the Calvine photo: one is a geometric flying saucer, and the other is a Harrier jump jet further in the background.
Clarke is an associate professor at Sheffield Hallam University where he asked the senior lecturer of photography there, Andrew Robinson, what he thinks of the photo.
“My conclusion is that the object is definitely in front of the camera, that is, it’s not a fake produced in post-production, and its placement within the scene appears to be approximately halfway between the foreground fence and the plane in the background,” Robinson tells Clarke.
If there really is a solid object hovering in the sky, then what exactly is it? Clarke doesn’t think it’s an extraterrestrial visitor.
“Sadly, I do not think that mysterious aircraft arrived from another galaxy,” Clarke writes in the Daily Mail. “I believe it was man-made somewhere in a secret hangar—and whatever it was remains on the secret list and highly sensitive.”
There have been rumors of an American reconnaissance aircraft called “Aurora” since the mid-1980s. There has never been any evidence that it really exists, but UAPs such as the Calvine photo fuels the Aurora myth.
“The other option is that the whole thing is a practical joke, a prank that got out of hand,” Clarke tells Newsweek.
The Hunt for the Photographer
Despite the best efforts of Clarke and other UFO hunters, the two young chefs who witnessed the UAP have never been tracked down.
However, on the copy of the photograph obtained by Clarke are the words “copyright Kevin Russell.”
“Despite 10 months of work tracing 200+ Kevin Russells in the U.K. and further afield we have been unable to find our photographer,” Clarke tells PetaPixel.
“I was told by someone who worked with them that they had ‘their own reasons for not talking or coming forward’ that may not have anything to do with the UFO incident.
“But two reliable sources have told me they were ‘advised’ not to talk by the intelligence officers who visited them after the Record passed the negatives to the Ministry of Defence. The source said ‘they did a very clever job’ with the images and ensured that the full story and the photographers identities will remain hidden.
“I don’t know whether to believe these stories. But after 10 months investigative work — including mainstream media appeals — has failed to locate the mysterious Kevin Russell, I suspect they scent has gone cold and we may never resolve this mystery.”
If you are the photographer or know who took the photo, then please get in touch.
Image credits: Feature photo courtesy of Sheffield Hallam University/David Clarke.
