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- The following is a letter from Don Ware and Charles Flannigan
- concerning a recent article in the Pensacola News Journal
- dealing with the Ed Walters UFO photographs. The letter was
- sent to both the Pensacola News Journal and the Gulf Breeze
- Sentinel.
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
-
- October 30, 1990
-
- Dear Editor,
-
- As the primary investigators of the famous Gulf Breeze UFO
- case now involving over 70 photographs, Charles Flannigan
- and I feel we must comment on the "road shot." This photo,
- #19, has received doubtful comment in newspapers and TV
- recently. One investigator said that the reflection on the road
- doesn't form a round spot, so the photo most be a double
- exposure. A careful look at the surface of Shoreline Drive,
- 191B where the UFO hovered, will help explain the reflection
- resulting from the large bright light source on the bottom of
- the UFO.
-
- Looking down on the surface, you can see that about 30% is
- mostly white with some tan rock. This rock has a hard smooth
- surface. It is embedded in comparatively soft dark asphalt,
- and the light colored rocks have become oriented with mostly
- flat surfaces up. Over time, some asphalt has worn away 1 to
- 2 millimeters below the hard rock surfaces. A series of photos
- taken with a 100,000 candlepower light shining at various
- angles on the road shows enhanced reflectivity at shallow
- angles. This seems to be the result of spectral reflection from
- the light colored rocks. Because the asphalt is worn down
- below the surface of the rock, only the rock is visible when
- looking farther down the road. This causes more photons to
- reach the camera than you would normally expect from
- light reflected at a small angle. Now the shape of the
- reflection from the UFO becomes easier to understand.
-
- For those who still have doubts about the authenticity
- of this photo, you might look carefully at two photos in a
- copy of THE GULF BREEZE SIGHTINGS. Turn to page 129 and
- look at the daylight photo of the road. Compare the brightness
- of the double-yellow line between the hood and windshield
- wiper with the brightness near the spot where the UFO hovered.
- Now look one page back at photo #19 and make the same
- comparison. (Good light is helpful here.) The double-yellow
- line appears brighter near the UFO. This tells us that light
- from the UFO is reflecting off the line; hence, NO DOUBLE
- EXPOSURE (emphasis theirs).
-
- We have had the good fortune of getting to know Ed and
- Frances Walters well since our extensive investigation of the
- many Gulf Breeze UFO encounters of 1987 and '88. They are
- two of the most considerate, hard-working, and lovable people
- we know. They have shown great courage and composure
- under public attack by several UFO debunkers. We wish them
- the best of luck in all of their endeavors, whether it is a $1-a-
- year job or the sale of a mind-broadening book.
-
-
- Charles D. Flannigan
- MUFON Field Investigator
- State Director
-
- Donald M. Ware
- MUFON Field Investigator
- Eastern Region Director