June 8, 2004

SANTIAGO - The photo taken by German Pereira, showing a strange "character" walking across Parque Forestal, has gone all around the world, appearing in a variety of internet sites as well as news dailies and television. Despite the fact that the digital image has been studied in detail, no one knows what the curious phenomenon might be. However, the following theories have been put forth:

I. THE ALIEN

One of the better-known stories is the presence of an alien in the photo taken at Parque Forestal. The strange character that appears near the mounted policemen's horses is very similar to the "Greys", whether on account of its macrocephaly or its elongated arms. What is odd is the creature's size, since tests to the digital image show that its height would not exceed 80 centimeters. Some ufologists state that there is no precedent for such small extraterrestrials, therefore this possibility has been discarded. However, UFO research has always been based on eyewitness testimony and photo evidence, therefore a new concept of space beings, smaller in size than those hitherto known, would be a new line of research.

II. THE IMP OR GNOME

Without a doubt one of the most accepted theories by the public regarding the strange creature. Certainly the characteristics that can be made out on this entity are similar to the ones described by those who have seen imps, whether on acount of its size or its greenish hue. Furthermore, these mythical creatures are believed to inhabit places filled with trees and flowers, making it not at all strange that Parque Forestal should form part of their habitat. Experts in manifestations by these entities reinforce the theory that imps can only be seen by certain people, since they belong to another dimension, and that a digital photograph could be a good option for seeing them.

III. A GHOST.

Cyberspace is filled with countless photos showing specters or ghosts in poses similar to that of the Parque Forestal creature. Among thousands of photos, a good number of them are fakes, but an equally significant amount has not been dismissed as hoaxes. Therefore, within the possibilities of this image, the possibility of a ghost could easily coincide with many others of its type.

IV. A TREE BRANCH.

The trails of Parque Forestal are covered with many leaves and branches that constantly fall from the trees, especially during the fall. For this reason, one of the theories put forth explains that one such branch could have created the capricious image of a walking alien. The blurriness of the image could lend credibility to this explanation.

V. A CHILD

Another theory posited states that a small child was walking between the two Carabineros horsemen. This is not unlikely, since such things happen constantly in that area of the park. But upon studying the image and being's size, the child could not have been more than a year and half old. As the image shows, the creature walks erect and its body does not present the characteristics of a child of that age. Furthermore, there are no signs of clothing covering the body of the alleged child, and the neck is absent from beings quasi-deformed head. However, the sweep of the image deforms the possibility of evaluating details such as clothing or other traits that could make this the solution.

VI. A MONKEY

What would an ape be doing in the middle of Parque Central? Well, its one of many interpretations of this image. The characteristics of the "creature" could be projected on a small ape who had escaped at that time from the zoo or from a private home. What is odd is the color of the alleged ape, aside from the calm way it crosses between two animals of far larger size than its own.

VII. LIGHTS AND SHADOWS

For those knowledgeable in the subject, it is easy to capture a significant light and shadow play which can mislead us easily. Upon observing this photo, we can see that there are several patches of light between the leaves. These give the sensation of possessing a color that is similar to that of the strange being. We also see another light spot over the entity's body, suggesting an object on its back, which could be interpreted as a rucksack, but is only light play after initial analysis. Under this premise, we cannot dismiss the possibility that the phenomenon photographed by German Pereira is only the product of light and shadow play.

VII. THE HOAX

Under the magnifying glasses of several experts, the image from Forestal is no more than an absurd hoax to promote the subject of UFOs and aliens. However, we lack any proof that completely rejects the veracity of the alleged alien photo. The following are some possible means of hoaxing the image

Superimposed Images

One of the most common tricks when creating photos of this sort is the superimposition of images, whether through a computer or employing sophisticated design programs, which aid us in constructing photos with external elements. This can be done by taking a photo obtained by a conventional original (a traditional photo with a chemically-processed negative) which has been scanned and then digitized. Then, an external element is attached (as strange figure or other object. After printing it on a laser printer on high-quality paper, it can be photographed using a digital camera, obtaining the result we have come to know.

El Barrido

One of the photos limitations is the sweep generated by the digital camera, which blurs the image, making it impossible to make a firm conclusion. But the most curious detail is that these "sweeps" are hard to do with a digital camera. Digital cameras generally operate as sensitivities of 100, 200 and 400 ISO (standardized sensitivity units between ASA and DIN, which are the U.S. and German units, respectively). This means that the exposure speeds for an outdoor shot on a clear day (such as in this photo) would never be lower than 1/100th of a second. A sweep of such a magnitude could never be obtained at such a speed. The photo would be underexposed (in its original) for which reason the contrast (luminance) or colors (chrominance) cannot be fully seen, which are needed to distinguish capacity and depth in each cell.

IX. A PRANK

Another possibility is that it was all concocted at the site of the events, creating the impression of a being calmly walking among two mounted horses. When looking closely at the image, we can see that the at the second post to the left of the photo, there is a diagonal element supported toward the ground. This could be a stick, but its thickness could readily represent one of the legs of a tripod supporting the strange character.

Translation (c) 2004. Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic Ufology (IHU). Special thanks to Camilo Valdivieso, Terra Networks.