IS THIS NESSIE?

A chance visit to a web site has produced the best underwater pictures of 'Nessie' in 27 years.

Andrew Whyley (35) was surfing the web when he decided to make a visit to the underwater webcam at Lochness Live (www.lochness.scotland.net), part of Scotland Online, who host web cams above and below the water at Loch Ness.

"I was browsing the internet, and the site is always good for a five-minute look on the off-chance," he said.

"When the image came on the screen I thought 'What the hell is THAT?' and snapped away," said Andrew, a buying manager from Nottingham.

He managed to captured four or five good images during the time the 'creature' was in front of the camera.

Andrew said the 'monster' wasn't shy. "It moved all over the screen and seemed to have a purpose in its movement. The web cam refreshes every three seconds and I was able to get five shots over a minute or so."

"At first I thought it was weed moving with the current, but I have since captured weed."

Andrew admits it could be an eel or a sturgeon, but says the creature seems to have has pectoral fins.

"There seems to be a head with ear-like features, a neck and body. The neck even seems to have a shadow underneath.

"The movements were undulating." He hopes that publishing the pictures will help rule them in or out as more people get an opportunity to comment on them.

Robert Rines famously captured a 'creature' on film in 1975 in an organised expedition to prove or disprove N essie's existence.

Speculation has surrounded his pictures ever since. His best picture showed what is thought to be a flipper, but the detail was never good enough to be conclusive.

Gary Campbell, president of the Loch Ness Monster Fan Club said: "The pictures show something that appears to be moving across in front of the camera."

He said that scale and depth of visibility on the day needed to be explored to get more idea of the size of this creature.

"However, if you look at the facts and assume that the thing is quite large then it is an unidentified object spotted moving underwater at Loch Ness so therefore on the face of it could be Nessie.

"If it can be proven to be a reasonably large object then these pictures are equally as conclusive as Bob Rines's 'flipper' pics taken in the 1970s"

Despite not having any plans to visit the scene of his sighting, Andrew has become a bit of a Nessie Hunter.

"I visited Loch Ness around nine years ago and took some scenery shots, but there was no sign of Nessie," he said.

"I'd love to believe that there is something different in the loch. My head says it is probably an eel, my heart wishes for a plesiosaur!"

After seeing Andrew's pictures here, Paula Schuman contacted us to say that she'd captured a monster-like face also on the same web cam.

She said the 'creature' appeared to be feeding on something and was hiding behind a pillar. See her pics here

Sun 8 Sep 2002 show images

One of the photographs taken by tourist Roy Johnston.
New Nessie pictures spark debate

STEPHEN FRASER

NESSIE mania returned to Scotland yesterday after new pictures were printed of Scotland’s most reclusive resident.

The new photos appeared to show a slimmer Loch Ness monster, prompting fervent speculation that the living dinosaur could have been pregnant.

Instead of the usual fleeting glimpse afforded her followers, Nessie stayed above the surface long enough for retired printer Roy Johnston to take at least four photographs showing the suspiciously snake-like Nessie arching out of the water and returning to it with a splash. The new photographs, printed in yesterday’s Daily Mail, prompted an immediate debate as to whether they are genuine.

Johnston, 63, said he and his wife, Janet, had been nearing the end of a Highlands driving holiday two weeks ago when he decided to stop in a lay-by near the loch.

He made his way to the loch’s edge at around 9am and had been standing there only a few minutes before the "creature" emerged.

"I thought I was going mad," he said. "The first thought that sprang into my mind was, ‘That’s an elephant.’ I know it sounds silly but it looked like a trunk. It was the same length and width.

"I wondered if the creature was a conger eel, but it was way too big for that. It was about seven or eight feet out of the water and it was obvious that there was more of it underneath the surface."

The sighting has delighted tourism businesses in the area. Malaina Krott-Thiarry, a worker at a tourist information centre close to the loch, said: "I have no idea what to make of these pictures, but I think they’re good news for the area. This might lead to a boost for business later this year or next year."

Lawrence Sear, the managing editor of the Daily Mail, said there was absolutely no sign the photographs had been doctored.

"We collected the negatives from Mr Johnston and they were absolutely genuine. They have not been manipulated at any stage," he said.

"Who knows whether the images are of the Loch Ness monster or not? All we can say is that those pictures are genuine and have not been doctored."

But Scotland on Sunday’s picture editor, Kayt Turner, said there was room for doubt.

The Daily Mail published a sequence of pictures to represent the object emerging from the water and then submerging.

But the third picture in the sequence, representing the splash of water, was appreciably lighter in colour than the previous two images.

Turner said: "Those pictures were not taken in sequence."

A picture editor for 15 years, she added: "Anyone with a spare £500 can get the equipment needed to digitally manipulate this kind of image, using a simple software package such as Photoshop. All you need is a scanner and a computer.

"Looking at this image it is impossible to tell if there has been any manipulation. It would be very simple to take a picture of an object and place it in the loch.

"The only way you could be sure they are genuine would be to see the original negatives."

The pictures have started a squabble between the Daily Mail and the News of the World. The latter is expected to pour cold water over the sighting, as it has signed up a Nessie expert to analyse the pictures.

The expert, Adrian Shine, who has spent 20 years in a scientific quest for Nessie, was barred from talking to Scotland on Sunday but a friend said: "We’re all very sceptical."

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