A Kid's Play?
The Bragalia Files
Copyright 2012 InterAmerica, Inc. [Permission needed to reproduce, otherwise copyright infringement will be pursued)
Found clues point to a prank behind the most cherished UFO photographs in history. For over six decades the two images taken by Paul Trent of McMinnville, Oregon have continued to generate great debate about their authenticity. But investigation now indicates that the two Trent images were likely ones of invention. If so, how did a farmer fake so many for so long?
TRENT REDUX
Paul Trent and his wife Evelyn were farming folks who lived in a rural area of the Pacific Northwest. On May 11, 1950 Evelyn claimed that she had spotted a disk-like UFO in their backyard and she called out for her husband to retrieve the camera inside their home. Paul managed to run inside, run back out, and then snap two photos of a mysterious aerial object. Those images even today are emblazoned in the minds of those with UFO interest.
THE PHOTOS AND THE LIMITS OF PHOTO ANALYSIS
Though many UFO researchers (and even the Condon Committee) could see no obvious evidence of hoaxed images, other researchers did.
The essential fact is that the two photographs are gray and grainy. They are of low resolution and they are produced from a simple box camera. Endless techniques, technologies, enhancements and enlargements have been applied to test the veracity of the images by many individuals over many years to varying interpretations. But in real life one cannot always make lemonade out of a lemon. Simply, the information that is gleaned from a given image can only be as good as the image. And these are poor images from which to work. Conclusively determining whether the object was suspended or thrown- or whether the UFO is actually a rear view mirror, a small scale model or a Dual record changer spindle part from 1940, or whether it is indeed an actual full-sized unknown aerial cannot be accomplished solely by technical analysis.
What we can do is to investigate the photos in a far broader context. We must examine the sequence of events and other elements of the story like this:
THE BOY ON THE LADDER: DADDY’S LITTLE HELPER
Trent Son on Ladder Where UFO Pictures Were Taken (Same Roll)
We must ask, for instance, things like this: What did the other photos taken on the roll containing the UFO photos depict? Well, a picture of Paul Trent’s son is within that roll- and it speaks proverbial volumes.
Often an accompanying image can tell a lot about images that are in question. And in this case, it surely does. On the very same roll that the UFO photos were taken we see a picture of a kid up on a ladder next to the very barn-like structure that was found in the UFO pictures.
And this young man is very interestingly positioned right where the saucer action was about to occur. He is directly under where the UFO was also captured on film.
Why is this kid on a ladder and being photographed in the “UFO spot”? And on the same roll?
And the Trents later contradictions on just when the photographs were taken can be accounted for when we understand that Trent and the boy probably spent a great deal of time extending throughout the day to do it just right. He couldn’t remember the precise time or he was not astute enough to realize the significance of accurately correlating your story to your image.
It is just beyond curious and headed to the obvious: The boy was acting as Daddy’s little helper, assisting in the preparation of the hoax set up in some way, perhaps serving to frame the photos- or helping to angle and position the “UFO.”
It is known that the other pictures on the roll were taken at a time well preceding the photo of the kid on the ladder and the UFO photos. And Trent waited until sometime after the UFO photos were taken to develop the film as he wanted to use up the film exposures that were left remaining on the roll.
The farm boy on the ladder certainly looks appropriately dressed for a cloudy, early day in May in the Pacific Northwest, the time the UFO pictures were taken. And the cloudy gray background sky above him appears suspiciously consistent with and similar to that of the UFO photos. That is, by the looks of things, they could have been taken on the very same day.
The fact that the photo of the child on a ladder (which is taken near the barn-like structure underneath the overhead wires) where a UFO would later also be photographed appears in the same film roll give one more than simple pause. This all clearly points to a prank. It almost appears that Trent was getting a lesson in forced perspective and how to take pictures when your “subject matter” is elevated in the air.
THE SAUCER AND FORCED PERSPECTIVE
With the boy high atop the ladder under the wires near the barn, Paul Trent could practice his UFO shot by looking through his viewfinder, aiming and framing and composing the shot of the UFO to come. This would be a dry run. To have taken practice exposures using the actual UFO model would of course be too damning.
And Paul may have noticed something about kneeling when taking a picture- you can force the desired perspective. The essential thing missed by most is that they assume that Trent was standing upright when taking the photo. But Trent, in taking shots of his small child off the ground, realized that you could create illusions from varying perspectives.
If Trent crouched down low with the boy high on a ladder, he could make the flying saucer look farther away than it really was:
By kneeling down even a little bit, and by shooting up from that position, he could force the perspective of the resulting photo to make it appear to have greater distance, yet remain reasonably sharp in focus.
And a disc-like object could easily have been thrown from that very ladder by his boy accomplice when the ladder was placed out of view of the shot. Or the ladder could have been used to suspend the object from the overhead wires. Take your pick. But whatever the choice, a ladder, a kid atop it and forced perspective somehow most certainly figure into the prank.
THE TRENTS WERE “REPEATERS”
Kim Trent Spencer, the Trent’s granddaughter, told journalist Kelly Kennedy of the Oregonian something of missed importance- the Trents were repeaters. That is, they had multiple UFO “experiences.” Kennedy reports:
“Kim remembers talking about the UFO pictures when she was young, but back then she didn’t know the details- but that her grandmother had said she has seen UFOs before.” And much ignored is that Mrs. Trent herself told the late researcher Philip Klass that she had seen UFOs both before and after the photos were taken.
As Jerry Seinfeld might say, “not that there’s anything wrong with that” –but when you combine her prior UFO interest and prior sightings, her later sightings, her family discussions about UFOs- with the fact that Mrs. Trent reported being the first to see the photographed UFO- it is Mrs. Trent who should have been given more attention when investigating the photos. Paul finally got his wife a photograph of one of her coveted UFOs. She was certainly one darn lucky “repeat witness.”
A STRANGE NOTE LEFT
An intriguing handwritten note has surfaced that was composed by an apparent friend of Paul Trent’s. Trent passed in the late 1990s. The note (in male writing) was directed to Paul and was attached to one of Paul’s UFO photos. The note-writer signs off to Paul by simply using his initials, “CM”- indicating that they knew one another well.
CM writes,
“Paul I wish I could have been there shooting with you on this day in 1950. If it’s real, then whoa! But if you faked it, that’s even cooler. We can’t really fake stuff anymore. Years later if it’s all fake… or maybe it’s all real. Same difference. Thanks for this though.” CM
I can’t of course agree with Paul’s letter-writer, CM. There is a big difference between what is fake and what is real- and it is our obligation to truth to distinguish the two. And strange that Trent’s own admirer CM cannot commit to certain belief that his friend is telling the truth.
THE REASON FOR THE HOAX?
The Trents have been described in the literature as having been “simple” farm folks. In 1950 there were only 6000 residents in McMinnville. And the Trents were actually out in the sparsely populated hinterlands of Yamhill County, running their ranch.
“Fun” during those times, in that kind of place, may have encompassed playing around with a new camera, wanting to outwit the city folks, involve the family in some UFO entertainment and satisfy a wife’s saucer interests.
Though Paul Trent is always spoken of in “neighborly terms” as being salt-of-the-earth, Paul Trent was not an “unassuming man” without any interest in attention. He was not humble nor “meek and mild.” And he was not at all shy to pose for the press like an actor in these photos ops, ensuring his name in print and in history:
In fact it would be hard to fathom anyone doing today what Paul Trent did to publicize his photos: Just after the UFO photos were developed, Paul went to his local banker Frank Wortman and allowed them to be displayed in the bank’s window where a local passer-by and reporter would then spot them and have them published locally and wind up carried nationally. Paul never objected to the publicity.
This placement of photos in the window of a business reminds me of confessed UFO hoaxer and barber Ralph Ditter of Zanesville, OH. Ditter placed his UFO photos up in the window of his barbershop. Ditter too involved his child. His little girl wanted to see a UFO. So Ditter “made one” using a toy wheel and captured it on camera for her.
And some say of the Trents that no money was ever sought for the photos. But in reality, in 1970, twenty years later and realizing their accrued value, the Trents insisted on having their negatives back from the McMinnville Register, which held them. According to Register Editor Philip Bladine, the Trents were not shy to note to him that ‘they had never been paid for the negatives and thus wanted them back.”
In the end, a farmer had some fun. He wanted us to join along in the entertainment of trying to solve his puzzle. Thank you for that, Paul Trent. Because I too have enjoyed playing make believe in McMinnville. It was fun while it lasted. And it certainly lasted a very long time.
AJB
Evangelist Billy Graham has had a ministry for 50 years to almost every US. President since Truman and is close to the Clinton’s. In his bestselling book, "Angels God’s Secret Agents" Graham states, "Some reputable scientists deny and others assert that UFOs do appear to people from time to time. Some scientists have reached the place where they think they can prove that these are possibly visitors from outer space. 
"Don't be afraid! I bring you the most joyful news ever announced, and it is for everyone! The Savior-yes the Messiah, the Lord-has been born tonight in Bethlehem! How will you recognize him? You will find a baby wrapped in a blanket, lying in a manager! Suddenly the angel was joined by a vast host of others--armies of heaven-praising God: Glory to God in the highest heaven, they sang, "and peace on earth for all those pleasing him." When this great army of angels had returned again to heaven, the shepherds said to each other. "Come on! Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. (Luke 2) The armies of heaven may describe UFOs that are often seen in large numbers.
Kenneth Larson writes, “In the Bible, the actual scriptures state that the "Star of Bethlehem" appeared in the eastern sky and led the wise men westward to Jerusalem. While at Jerusalem, the star hovered overhead and then when the wise men appeared from the building the star made a sharp 90-degree turn and led the wise men four miles to the birth of Jesus Christ in the manger at Bethlehem.” 
The Bible claims each person has a soul, a life force that continues after death. At the time we take our last breath the soul or spirit leaves the body and is taken to Heaven by Angels perhaps using UFOs. My brother who was thought dead was taken to the hospital by ambulance and brought back to life in the emergency room. He claims to have observed his body from above and saw the ambulance ride and the Doctors working on him. Later he returned to his body to live again. 
The scripture says there is a time to be born and a time to die. And when my time to die comes an angel will be there to comfort me. He will give me peace and joy even at that most critical hour, and usher me into the presence of God, and I will dwell with the Lord forever." (Angels Page 188.) 
Merrell F. Unger Th.D., PH.D., plus several other scholars wrote the book. The Bible and Torah are filled with references to clouds, angels, pillars of clouds or pillars of fire. We are told angels and even God rides on chariots that appear as bright clouds. The word cloud or clouds are used 156 times in the Bible and describe anything that flies in the sky except birds or insects. Below are a few interesting scriptures.
(TEPCO) is unable to locate the source of a leak in Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant reactor as of December 12, 2012
Radioactive cesium is a human-made radioactive isotope produced through nuclear fission of the element cesium. It has a half-life of 30 years, making it extremely toxic. A remote-controlled robot is now scouring the basement of the reactor building
This image from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows a vast river system on Saturn's moon Titan. It is the first time images from space have revealed a river system so vast and in such high resolution anywhere other than Earth. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI
FORT SMITH -- My son and his uncle was outside watching shooting stars on December 12, 2012. All if the sudden this object appeared with no tail and was quite brighter than anything they had seen. It flew northeast; stopped and hovered at this point my son began to take pictures with his iPhone. The object changed direction backwards. Then it hovered again for a minute and the shot off this time leaving a ‘U’ shaped cloud. My eleven year old son terrified called me at work and I told him to send me the pictures. After seeing the pictures I realized it may be something else. The cloud of smoke left clearly looks like it was flying back into space. Thanks to MUFON CMS
huntington beach --While at work something caught my eye outside my window on December 12, 2012, that I thought was a police helicopter. There were absolutely no blinking navigation lights onboard. The left side had one very bright red light and the right side had one very bright white light. It appeared to be heading in a northerly path and then stopped, hovered momentarily, dropped altitude, changed direction and continued to drop in a diagonal path. It changed direction once more and descended and dropped so low I lost visual contact. I noticed it once more, nearly at the same altitude, and then descended once again, this time straight down. I have video of this event.
MIAMI -- I was outside smoking and saw a triangle looking object to the east so I went inside to get my camera and started to take pictures.
PRINCETON -- Kimlee Mccaw, a local UFO witness, told the Channel 14 TV reporter she saw triangle shaped UFO lights on November 30, 2012, and showed multiple photographs of the object taken by her camera. 
CALVERTON – I was just getting back to my shop after work on December 14, 2012. As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed a light in the sky that was, to me, too big and bright to be a star especially at 5 PM twilight. 
MARSTON – On November 30, 2012, I was driving just north of Rockingham Dragway looking at a group of stars that seemed to disappear as an object flew by. 
ASHEVILLE -- On November 20, 2012, about 4:30 PM, I looked up in the clear sky at the moon and saw a bright point-sized object moving near the moon. I thought it was odd that it was not leaving a contrail, so I took out my camera and took several pictures at maximum optical zoom (5 xs). I estimate the moon was at 70 degrees altitude. It took the object about two minutes to transit the sky silently. It was at jetliner height. The object was solid with three glowing sections: left, right, and a middle vertical section rising up like a dragonfly shape. Thanks to MUFON CMS 
ERIE -- At about 6:30 PM, I went outside for some air and noticed that the night sky was very clear on December 13, 2012. Since it was early and knowing of the meteor shower I went back inside to round up my wife and two small boys to go outside and look at the stars. We were scanning the sky and when looking to the southeast I noticed three moving lights heading to the southwest in a triangle pattern. I asked my wife if she could see it and she did as well. The area between the three points of light looked to be filled with waves of black and dark gray light that mimicked the night sky. There was no sound. It didn’t appear to be too high in the sky. It continued to the southwest quickly then did a strange turn to the southeast and was gone from sight. This happened within a minute or two. It was an exciting experience. I’m a graphic artist so I put together an example of that the object looked like with and without the sky background. Thanks to William Puckett, Director 
Macungie – On November 21, 2012, this description is written by the Field Investigator after conducting an on-site interview with the main witness (MW), another family member and a neighbor who were all witnesses to this event:
HASLET -- My son and his uncle was outside watching shooting stars. This object suddenly lit up with no tail and was brighter than anything they had seen. It flew northeast, stopped and hovered at this point. My son began to take pictures with his iPhone. The object returned and then hovered again for a minute and the shot off this time leaving a ‘U’ shaped cloud. My eleven year old son was terrified and called me at work. I told him to send me the pictures. After seeing the pictures I realized there was no way he could have got so many pictures of a moving star. The cloud of smoke left clearly looks like it was flying back into space. I am (was) a non believer but these photos are sure strange. Thanks to MUFON CMS
Lively -- Here are a couple of pictures that I took a while back that were taken in August of 2011 in my front yard. The info on the data may not be exactly correct because it is always adjusted whenever I put the image on the computer and crop or enhance. Anyway, this thing looks a lot like your Isle of Man object. The other (IMG_3153CR2) is a detail of a much larger picture that I took in September of 2012.
BLACK SEA, ORDU --
COLE HARBOUR -- I am currently serving 23 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, Air Force. On the 12th December 2012, I went outside my house and was looking up at Orion and Jupiter at 19:30 hours and saw a very dark dim red orb moving at a high rate of speed. It came from the east and made an abrupt 90 degree turn wobbling left and right just after the turn and shot out straight north at an insane amount of speed and disappeared. 
ESSAOUIRA -- I never saw it live, I first saw it immediately when I uploaded my daily pictures that evening. I saw a streaking across the sky at a tremendous speed in Essaouira, Morocco on April 1, 2010 during the day.
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF states that it is keeping a twenty four hour vigil regarding the unidentified lights that were witnessed in the skies over several parts of the country in the recent past.
SERENGETI – The camera automatically takes three successive shots triggered by movement. In the first picture there is nothing, the second there is two small dots possibly UFOs above the horizon to the left. The third picture shows them gone.
LONDON -- A UFO image was captured over Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park, London, UK on December 3, 2012.
foto 1. voorbeeld van een Vimana
foto 2. Tripura Vimana
foto 3. tekening van een Vimana
foto 2. Vimanas in de ruimte.
foto 3. RUKMA VIMANA
foto 4. Schets van een liggende Vimanas.
foto2. schets van Vimana
foto3. ontwerp van schotelvormige vimana
The most immediate danger are earthquake like the one that shook north eastern Japan on December 7, 2012, triggering a one-metre tsunami in an area devastated by last year's Fukushima disaster. The quake shook buildings as far Tokyo and led to the warnings being issued for coastal areas. The U.S. Geological Survey announced the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.3. The tsunami warning was issued for the coast of Miyagi Prefecture, which was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. That quake triggered fuel-rod meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing radiation leakage, contamination of food and water and mass evacuations in the world's worst nuclear crisis. Radiation from the fuel rods still represents some of the greatest threats to life on the planet. Under water they are comparatively safe, but exposed the radiation could be devastating. Workers at the plant were ordered to move to higher ground, but after Friday's quake Tokyo Electric Power Co, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, reported no irregularities at its nuclear plants. ET has warned repeatedly against nuclear power and weapons.
Dmitri Medvedev, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation comment confirms aliens are here. He previously served as the third President of Russia from 2008 to 2012. After the recording of a television program, he did not realize that his microphone was still open and stated: “I believe in Santa Claus, but not too much,” Medvedev began, but then continued: “Aliens, I cannot tell you how many of them are among us at this time, otherwise it would trigger panic.” 
Gary McKinnon who hacked into NASA and the Pentagon warned that Chinese Hackers were everywhere stealing many US secrets. Advanced Persistent Threat is the favored term for China-based cyber espionage. We spend billions on research and a hacker can copy the discoveries for virtually nothing. The information is used for building their own new fighters with a few of their own improvements. The Chinese espionage and data collection is apparently very successful given the rapid development of the Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31 stealth fighter (shown here), which bear a close resemblance to the F-35 and the F-22. 
I once had a conversation with Igor I. Sikorsky a pioneer of aviation who designed and flew the world's first multi-engine fixed wing aircraft, the 
On 16 November 2010, an F-22 (shown right) based at Elmendorf, Alaska, crashed killing Captain Jeffrey Haney. The F-22 fleet was restricted to flying below 25,000 feet, before being grounded completely. The accident has been attributed to a malfunction in the bleed air system that shut down the aircraft's Environmental Control System (ECS) and On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS). The OBOGS, which is fed by engine bleed air, was apparently shut down automatically in response to an engine overheat condition detected by the main computer. The pilot's widow successfully sued, claiming the aircraft has defective equipment. A fifth U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter crashed on November 15th in Florida during a training flight and the pilot safely ejected. 
U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Christopher Bogdan, deputy leader of the F-35 program, noted in the course of his harsh September review of the project's status that the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS)—which combines logistics, mission planning and many other functions, and without which the F-35 cannot be operated—had gone through a development pause and redesign because of “vulnerabilities” discovered in a security review. However, ALIS includes a colossal amount of sensitive information, including details of the performance of stealth systems on each individual aircraft, mission plans and locations. It has important elements that operate over Wi-Fi links and that communicate over the public Internet, and it (ultimately) will have thousands of access points open to tens of thousands of users and potential hackers. Apparently, “The Department of Defense is fully aware of cyber threats and is taking specific action to counter them.”
I was on a commercial flight from sea-tac airport Washington to Anchorage on November 11, 1966 on a clear day, when the pilot blurted over the intercom these exact words. I can still hear him after 50 years say, “Ladies and gentleman, if you look over the right wing towards the horizon you will see a hah, oh hell I don't know what it is.” 
I was watching a UFO show on tv when Captain Terauchi the pilot of a Japanese crew of a jumbo 747 freighter aircraft witnessed three unidentified objects while flying over Alaska in November, 1986,. This sighting gained international attention when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it was going to officially investigate this sighting because the UFO had been detected on radar. Captain Terauchi was featured on numerous radio and TV programs. Within a few months he was grounded, apparently for his indiscretion of reporting a UFO, even though he was a senior captain with an excellent flying record. Several years later he was reinstated. This Japanese pilot was in the same area where we had our sighting and held up his drawing of the UFO that was exactly the same as ours. NOTE: The above image is a rendering. Ken Pfeifer MUFON NJ 
Joshua Tree Valley -- I was sitting in the backyard of a friend’s house on September 17, 2011, around 9:52 PM. Four of us were talking when I noticed a light come into view from the bottom of this valley flying east. I didn’t know what it was at first. Then I jumped to my feet and exclaimed, “Look, here we go!” 
BLANFORD – Richard Bondira has been photographing UFOs on clear nights since January 2012. He sent me dozens of photographs of UFO that he has filmed over the last six months. Sightings are continuing in October and November. As many as ten or more UFOs can be seen on some nights. They mostly hover but can be seen maneuvering, spin around, or go straight up. They usually come from the southeast heading northwest. Thanks to Richard Bondira
appeared to be so. The light glowed and did not blink as I took pictures with my camera. The silent object appears to change shape near a tree, so this is not a hoax. This is my third sighting this year! First two were at Pune. Thanks to MUFON CMS
-- We watched many orbs turn into many formations and the military has cleared my airspace for the day and night and I know why! Stop chasing these things with fighter jets continuously over my neighborhood! This is a residential area and we are tired of jets screaming past our house after these crafts! Go practice over the ocean; it’s unsafe, and unethical to do such matters over a major tourist destination, I have been recording all this for six months, I know the air force has no reason to be training exercises continuously over my house. 
nd outside. When I decided to look around I saw stars and a big bright object the size of Venus cycling through every color.
HOUSTON – While driving back home, I was listening to the radio on November 28, 2012, a bright sunny day. I spotted an airplane high above leaving a contrail behind it. It was kind of impossible not stare at the contrails in front of me. While driving and looking up, I saw a bright round circle right where the airplane was going. The plane started making a turn to avoid whatever that circle was. The circle was moving like it was dancing. I thought nobody was going to believe what I was seeing so I grabbed my phone and took three pictures. I stop my car at a red light as the bright circle shined and disappeared. This picture is 100% real with no editing Thanks to Irwin O Valencia for this sighting report. Ken Pfeifer MUFON NJ 
CHAPLEAU -- I was sitting around my fire pit having a few cold ones at around 10:30 PM, on July 17, 2012; when two military jets flew over my house. I got my camera and later that night at 3:38 am, i saw a brighter than normal star and thought I’d take some pictures of it. 
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. -- I went to my friend’s house about noon on May 1, 1998, a nice clear warm day. I noticed what I thought was a flock of birds, but realized they were too far away to be birds. They were silent. There were about 15 objects by the green mountains that then flew in front of the snow capped mountains. They I could tell they weren't planes or helicopters or birds, they were just solid objects that made no sound. They flew out of my site as they traveled north towards Mt Klitsa... Ken Pfeifer MUFON NJ 
