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- 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:
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- I. THE ALIEN
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- 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.
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- II. THE IMP OR GNOME
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- 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.
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- III. A GHOST.
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- 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.
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- IV. A TREE BRANCH.
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- 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.
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- V. A CHILD
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- 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.
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- VI. A MONKEY
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- 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.
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- VII. LIGHTS AND SHADOWS
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- 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.
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- VII. THE HOAX
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- 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
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- Superimposed Images
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- 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.
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- El Barrido
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- 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.
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- IX. A PRANK
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- 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.
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- Translation (c) 2004. Scott Corrales, Institute of Hispanic
Ufology (IHU). Special thanks to Camilo Valdivieso, Terra Networks.
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