At the next annual competition of photographs of the famous and most mysterious Scottish Loch Ness, the organizers of which dream of solving the mystery of the lake, a tourist from Texas won the first place. Her photographs clearly show how some huge dark creature is moving under the water of Loch Ness. Will the dispute over whether the Loch Ness monster exist, will there be an end?
For eight decades, mankind has been confident that something mysterious is happening in the waters of the Scottish Loch Ness. A recent series of photographs confirms the existence of some strange creature in it - although what this creature is is still unclear. These images were taken by Natasha Heidledge, winner of the annual Loch Ness Views Competition. She managed to capture a very clear image of some dark and apparently large creature below the surface of the water.
According to Miss Heidledge, the creature did not appear for long, but she is sure that she saw it. “At first I thought it was just a shadow, but then I realized that it was not,” she says. - It was a very cloudy day, and nothing was reflected in the water. And behind my back there was nothing and no one so large as to cast such a huge shadow. We were sailing in a boat towards the center of the lake, and this shadow was huge, with a flexible valley part stretching into the distance."
Natasha Heidledge from Texas, USA, won £ 1,000 in the annual Loch Ness Photo Contest organized by the local Inverness Courier newspaper and sponsored by the bookmaker William Hill. Harry Cappbell, the official registrar of all images of the Loch Ness Monster, has identified seven finalist images. These included two photographs taken on the same day in different parts of the lake with a difference of several minutes. The first was this photo taken by Mr. Smith, who came to the lake from Aberdeenshire.
This photo was taken on the same day as the previous one. But if the photo above barely shows a strange ripple in the water, showing that someone massive is moving under the water, then this photo, taken by Jolene Lin from London, shows the serpentine head of the monster rising from the water.
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This photo was taken by Ian Campbell cycling along the western shore of the lake. He noticed in the water two creatures about 10 meters long each, and barely had time to photograph them.
Another participant named Joaquin, who lives in the Canary Islands, managed to capture the head of the monster. According to him, at the time of the photo, there were no birds or other living creatures or objects around that could create such a visual effect. When Joaquin wanted to take another picture, the mysterious creature disappeared.
Mr. Campbell, the contest registrar, said he was impressed by the quality and variety of photos submitted for this year's contest, which included both shots taken from different sides of the lake and photos taken from the water. “They show that the Nessie phenomenon is truly global,” he says.
However, pictures taken with webcams also took part in the competition. One of them is this one: it was made by a certain Jim from Iowa, looking at Loch Ness through a webcam connected to a camera, and who photographed a strange point on the surface of the lake right during lunch. And in 2014, distance photography even won the main prize! It was made by the 52-year-old Swede, a resident of Stockholm, Barn Siestrand, directly via Google Earth. In all his life, he has never been to Scotland.
“This photo was also taken through a webcam and, of course, had no chance of winning. Harry Campbell rated Natasha's winning shot very highly, especially because it was taken from the water, not from the shore. “This is a non-standard photograph,” Campbell admits. “At first glance, the dark silhouette under the water looks like a shadow cast from the boat, but the girl showed me other pictures taken from all sides, and proved that this could not be.”
"Very interesting! Campbell exclaims. "Perhaps the Loch Ness monster swam closer to the surface to watch the boats, or maybe chase them!"
This photograph, taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson, has long been considered the most famous depiction of the Loch Ness monster. Later it turned out that it was just a joke. Its organizer, Chris Spirling, admitted years later that the picture was staged. However, this year's contestants are not eager to follow Spirling's path: they not only claim that their photographs are genuine, but are ready to prove it. All in all, in the collection of Mr. Campbell, who is also the head of Nessie's fan club, there are already more than a thousand photographs of the alleged monster.
Videos of the monster also exist in abundance. For example, the authors of this film are still wondering what they managed to capture - just a wave or a trail of a monster floating near the surface? What do you think? Share your opinion!