Faking UFO Photos in the 21st Century

By Tom Callen
Astronomer / Program Producer, Cosmonova, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm

As the producer responsible for bringing Cosmonova's latest public planetarium show, "UFO" - The Truth is Here" to reality, I knew that one aspect of the UFO phenomena that would be important to cover would be that of fake photographs.

Ever since so-called flying saucers were first spotted in the 1940s, there have been a variety of people around the world who have created fake images that they claimed were authentic. The vast majority of them have been found out and shown to be the fantasies that they are. And yet even today there are those who continue this peculiar hobby. Rather than feature such photos as part of "UFO," I thought that the best example for our audiences would be to provide examples that were made specifically for the show to give an idea just how easily it could be done.

The first step was in coming up with the "UFOs" that would serve as my examples in these photos. Since it would not be visually interesting to show the same vehicle in every picture, I needed a variety of different models. Time did not allow me the luxury to "kit bash" together some from parts of different existing plastic kits, so I had to find another alternative. The Internet was very useful in locating a small model company in California, Lunar Models, that specialized in making unusual kits with a science fiction theme. They offered a series of resin-cast UFO models that were based on so-called "famous" UFO sightings.

With the most appealing way to show these images being as 35 mm slides projected in a montage, I bought seven kits from Lunar Models. Having only constructed styrene plastic model kits in the past, working with resin models was a whole other experience. The only thing that I can liken it to is to imagine that you're working with a model that has been cast out of hard white soap and you'll sort of get the idea of some of the problems involved. I had to almost rethink how to work with models. Each had surface imperfections treated with a hobby knife, sanded where needed and then finished off with two coats of flat white primer spray paint. Any gluing required had to be done with super glue-type adhesives and due to the variety of their compositions the model manufacturer couldn't guarantee results.

The model's final color schemes were based on information about "actual" UFOs that were found on a web site by one of the most well known of the UFO photographers, "Billy" Meier, of Switzerland. To achieve a metallic luster for the models I used a special finishing compound over the white primer coats known as Rub 'n Buff. This is a wipe-on finish that makes objects look like they are made out of metals of various colors. I had used it nearly 30 years ago when I made models of military aircraft and much to my surprise, the company that made it was still in existence.

Tom Callen and 35 mm camera. Author Tom Callen is seen aligning his 35 mm camera during the photography of one of the UFO models. To capture as much details in the models as possible it was necessary to get close to the models and try to fill the film frame.
Image ©2001, Cosmonova.

At the same time I was working on the seven UFO models, I was also taking photographs that would become the background plates that the UFOs would be appearing against. In order to make the scenes more interesting I chose several well-known sites around the Stockholm area that would be easily recognizable to those who came to see "UFO." I also included a couple that showed everyday locations, but still appropriate to the models and the concept.

Two of the things that are even pointed out in fake UFO photos are that the images look too composed and that there were no foreground objects in the images that would help to make identification possible. Both of these considerations were taken into account. The idea of the background photos was as if I had been somewhere, looked up, saw something strange in the sky, and grabbed a quick photo before the object disappeared from view. Foreground objects were also included in every image. This is most evident in the fake photo "taken" at Skansen, Stockholm's historic open-air park, but more about that later on.

Just as important was how the background photographs themselves were taken. As each shot was made - with the same camera, lens and film type - I also noted the date, time and a compass was used to find the direction in azimuth that the camera was pointing at the time the photo was taken. All of this would be useful later in putting together the final fakes.

Once the background plate photos came back from the lab, they were scanned in at high resolution and saved as JPEG-format files. Imperfections, such as dust and small pieces of hair on the photographic prints were digitally removed from the scanned images using a software program called Paint Shop Pro (PSP). Similar to Adobe Photo Shop, PSP would also be used to composite the final images together.

Before the completed UFO models could be photographed, I had to find out the position of the sun for each of the background plates. Since I already had the date and time that these photos were taken, it was a simple matter to use an astronomy program called Starry Night Pro to calculate both the altitude above the horizon and azimuth around the horizon for the sun. Why was this important? It would allow the UFOs to have the same lighting and shadows as the real objects photographed in the background plates, thereby avoiding another common fake UFO attribute; mismatched shadows and lighting.

Olle Linder and the UFO model photography set-up. Cosmonova technician, Olle Linder, is shown taking a look at one of the UFO models through the 35mm camera during photography. In the background can be seen the solid green cloth that was backlit by photoflood lights in order to get an even, uniform color that would help in "cutting out" the UFOs from the background of the final photographic prints.
Image ©2001, Cosmonova.

The UFO models were now ready for the "star treatment." We photographed them against a very large piece of solid green cloth that was lit from behind with photoflood lights so that the green would be an even color. One of our technicians at Cosmonova who helped me with the model shoot, Olle Linder, had once worked at Swedish Television as a lighting technician, so he was aware of this little detail to make the background as good as possible to make the final digital composition easier.

This green was to act in exactly the same way as the Chroma Key process used in both films and television in order to separate foreground objects from their backgrounds and add in different backgrounds at a later time. In this case I was going to use this green color to "cut out" the UFO models and superimpose them in front of the background plate images. To aid in the background removal, the bracket and tripod head used to hold the models was also wrapped in a piece of the same green cloth.

Each UFO model was positioned after looking at a copy of the background plate that it was to be placed in so that it would have the most interesting attitude as far as the lighting in the scene was concerned.

Close-up of a UFO model against the solid green cloth. This image shows how one of the finished UFO models looked after photography against the green cloth background. You can also see the aluminum "fork" made by Olle Linder, one of Cosmonova's technicians, to hold the model on the tripod. This special mount allowed the UFOs to be turned in whatever direction was needed to get the best view of each model.
Image ©2001, Cosmonova.

The same camera, lens and film type that was used to photograph the original background plate photos was also used to photograph the UFO models. This is a trick that Hollywood has used with much success in special effects-intensive films, such as Woody Allen's "Zelig," and "Forrest Gump," which starred Tom Hanks. Hollywood cinematographers keep such good records of their shoots that it is often possible to go to these records and find out which type of lens was used to make a particular scene in a film. By using the same type of lens -- and in some cases the very same lens -- to shoot a modern actor against a Chroma Key screen it is possible to digitally add an actor into another, older film.

One famous example would be Tom Hank's character receiving the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon Johnson in the White House, a man long dead at the time that the movie was made in a location where the character "Forrest Gump" was never even present. Since the UFOs were supposed to have been photographed flying over a particular landscape, or location, it only seemed to make sense to follow this same Hollywood special effects trick.

To match up the relative positions of the sun and the camera with respect to where the model was to go in the background plates, I made two very simple tools for measuring angles. The first was an enlarged copy of a 360-degree protractor to serve as an azimuth reference for placing the camera and light source in the correct position relative to the model sitting on the tripod before the green cloth background.

The second tool was a variation of the enlarged protractor, but this one only had to be 180-degrees since I only needed it to determine the altitude above the horizon for our "sun," a bright photo lamp on an adjustable height light stand mounted on wheels. This enabled us to wheel the "sun" around to the correct azimuth and then raise it to the proper height above the horizon to duplicate the date and time of day that the background plate photo was taken.

When the photographic prints of all the UFO models came back from the lab, they too were scanned in at high resolution and cleaned up with PSP just as the background plates were earlier. The UFOs were then carefully "cut out" from the green background color by using a special selection tool in PSP that could be told what color to select and delete.

One of the simplest ways for investigators to determine if a UFO photo has been faked is to look for the wire, string, or thread, that the model was suspended from during the picture taking. Unless the picture has been purposely copied many times to blur out fine details, photo investigative techniques can usually pick out the line running to the model. In order to avoid this give-away I had already decided that the final images would be digitally composited together in PSP by using its layering feature.

Another clue that a UFO may have been faked is that the UFO itself may be too sharp and well defined in the photograph when compared to other distant objects. Things at a distance appear to be a little unsharp due to properties in Earth's atmosphere, such as dust and moisture, so this too was taken into account.

I made a new copy of each background plate shot and then, one at a time, I added n a particular copy of a cut-out UFO on another layer in the most realistic looking position. The size of each UFO was an important consideration since they also had to look believable. Too large and the UFOs would look like models, too small and they would not look like anything interesting. But, at the same time they also had to be far enough "away" from the camera to make subjectivity harder and therefore the UFOs would be more believable objects.

The "Skansen" UFO. A UFO seems to have suddenly appeared, flying right by the tower at Skansen in Stockholm. Note the horizontal motion blur that simulates the speed of the vehicle and the leaves that appear over the right end of the UFO. It is this sort of small detail that adds an extra sense of reality.
Image ©2001, Cosmonova.

One image that received some special treatment was the so-called "grab shot" from Skansen. To make the final image seem more believable, I made a copy of that part of the background plate that had some tree branches. I pasted this copy onto a separate layer in PSP, cleaned up the sky from all around the leaves and then sandwiched the UFO in front of the background plate, but behind the layer with the branches, which was aligned over their original position on the background. This made it appear that the UFO was physically passing behind the trees as it came around the Skansen tower. A little horizontal motion blur on the UFO made it look as if it was travelling at a fast speed, a little faster than what the camera's shutter speed could record.

Perhaps one of the hardest images to get right was the "Gulf Breeze" UFO that was seen passing so close over a large body of water (the bay in front of my house) that it reflected on its surface. This required making up multiple layers for the UFO that included a version that was mirrored rippled and faded in brightness to look as if it were the reflected image. To get this right I first looked at a variety of photographs of water with real reflected objects. Then it was just a matter of trying it over and over again until I was satisfied with the final result.

Just as "UFO" main character "Karl S. Andersson" (played by actor Fredrik Dolk) says in the show, "With a camera, some models, a computer and a painting software program anyone - with a little time and a little patience - can create impressive UFO photos that would fool just about anyone." Anyone, that is, except for those who investigate such seemingly incredible images and understand just how easy it is to make them.

The "Rindö" UFO. Here we can see a UFO that has dipped down so close to the water of Grönviken ("Green Bay") off the island of Rindö that its reflection can be seen on its surface. This image was the hardest one to create because of the need to get the reflection to look as real as possible.
Image ©2001, Cosmonova.

The "Stortorget" UFO. This UFO model was based on those that were supposedly photographed by Californian George Adamski in the 1950s. It seemed to be the most appropriate choice to show over some of the antique buildings in Stortorget, Gamla Stan ("the Great Square, Old Town"), Stockholm, once the center of the capitol city.
Image ©2001, Cosmonova.