Soo... Can anyone guess what this is?

Wow, those do look really similar. It's interesting to see those small white puffs (clouds?) that are clearly not just background clouds in the sky, for they're oriented vertically and are right next to the shadow. About how far apart were these pictures taken?
 
-The \"shadow\" is between the clouds and the camera
Therefore, it is not a shadow.
Click to expand...

What does the white cloud and it passing infront of it have to do with calling it not a shadow? Did you see my image? Looks a HELL of alot like the casting in Jr's example if you ask me. What are the odds it's a bug when it looks this much like contrail shadows and it's clearly ending at the horizon? Certainly not a contrail shadow
though, lol.
 
I'll put in a vote for a bug as well. While there are some striking similarities to the contrail shadow effect - the biggest flaw with this is that the feature is purely transient (only there for one frame). See here:

http://members.purplehat.net/~anson/Flash/index.html


Contrails would seem unlikely to appear and disappear that fast - and fails to explain the apparent flash and smoke effect. Since it was pointed out by Zach that the flash was used - I really like the bug theory, it even looks like a bug imo.

http://www.dvdc.de/fly/

So, if it is a bug, then why the shadow? The suggestion that it is from the darker bug blocking light, this seems unlikely since the shadow width is constant - so the bug would have to be flying perpindicular and at constant range, speed (and pretty fast at that) and direction ... but not only is that too stringent, the bug, if in fact shown in the image above, is not oriented such tht it would likely be on this flight plane. I'd be very interested to know if there is a pane of glass between the camera and the scene - like this is set up in someone's office window somewhere looking outside. Then, if a bug was captured in the foreground of the scene, illuminated by the flash, then the shadow could come from differential lighting effects on the window pane.

Glen
 
For one, if it was a contrail, why isn't there ANY evidence in the pictures before and after that one... within 2 minutes apart? I know some contrails dissipate quickly, but with the length of the "contrail shadow" there should be some on the other frames. I don't doubt contrails make shadows... I've seen it myself... I just don't believe the geometry (sun position) supports it in this case.

Aaron
 
After seeing the contrail shadow pictures, I really want to say that's what it is...but like everyone else...the geometry doesn't add up for me. It looks like the sun is positioned behind the camera (due to how the cu in the upper right is being lit up), so I'm not sure how the angles would work out to cast a shadow like that. The pictures are very very similar, so I'm almost sold except for the splotchy greyness...

Here's a good analysis done in photoshop that hopefully will add some credibility to the bug theory. This is an image that was created by doing the difference of the image in question with either the before or the after picture (doesn't really matter which), then some lines (in red) drawn to see if the line is straight or not (it isn't).

http://www.dylanpowell.net/media/fly.png

Also, check out this picture to see the types of "trails" flying bugs can leave on exposures...

http://www.ufotheatre.com/rods/proof1.jpg

One more thing...judging from the exif data, it looks like the "before" and "after" pictures have been reversed. The "before" picture has timestamp 2004:11:22 18:53:07 and the "after" picture has timestamp 2004:11:22 18:52:37...
 
Umm, I guess I should of loaded every image and read more. So now I don't think it'd be a contrail, nor a bug. Anyone load all three? If it's a bug it had to blow the light up. I loaded all three onto one image and turn the layers on and off and it looks like a time sequence for sure and shows the light going pop with it. Someone shot a light out?

The light pole near the flash has been inspected and does not show any damage
Click to expand...

Umm, oookk.

I know what it is. It's someone wasting alot of people's time. The light goes POOF, but no damage? That or a meteorite doinging off the top of the light? I imagine you'd see some sort of damage though.
 
I can believe the bug flying in front of the camera theory. On a small portion of my May 12 tornado video, there are a series of black "thingys" that zig, zag, streak, and buzz in front of the tornado. The first time I saw this I was mortified; I thought there was a flaw in my source tape. Actually, when I finally watched it with the volume cranked to the max, you can hear the buzzing of what I presume is a fly or flies.

When you freeze the image as the fly is streaking by, it looks somewhat similar to that image's anomoli/artifact.
 
One must assume whatever it was(given we are assuming all is real here) that the shadow has something to do with the light pole flash and smoke. Certainly a bug has nothing to do with that, no?
 
Originally posted by Mike Hollingshead
One must assume whatever it was(given we are assuming all is real here) that the shadow has something to do with the light pole flash and smoke. Certainly a bug has nothing to do with that, no?
Click to expand...

If it is a bug, then the suggestion is that there is no light pole flash/smoke - instead it is a superimposed out-of-focus insect flying in front of the camera, illuminated by the flash. Since the sync speed of the flash is much faster than the camera shutter speed, the background is exposed some prior to the flash, resulting in a ghosting of the insect (the flash and smoke) and a dark trail as the presumably dark or shadowed insect traced in front of the lens and blocked some of the light reaching the sensor. Hope this helps.

Glen
 
For one thing, I don't think this is photoshopped because if it were, I think that this object would look just a little more impressive than this — something that you can actually see at first glance. (I didn't until I read the text.)

As for what it really is, I'm inclined to think it's a flaw on the film itself — as just about everone else has said, the line seems unusually straight for something windblown or close to the camera; that said, it could be something ike a spiderweb across the camera that blew around while the photo was taken, resulting in a straight but blurry line, then blew off altogether before the next picture was taken. That really depends more on the exposure time, though, and if it isn't long then I guess that theory doesn't count.
 
It could, sure, but the bug is oriented such that if it were flying in a straight line, it would not have left the indicated trace. However, as I questioned before, I wonder if there is a pane of glass between the camera and the scene. Then, as we've all seen, when a bug is flying into a pane of glass they often drift along it trying to fly though, so this could force the insect to move in a trajectory inconsistent with the bug's orientation.

Glen
 
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