Sourced at last – this oft-posted
online photograph of a supposed pterodactylian thunderbird shot by hunters (©
Chris Smith, all rights reserved by him; NB – this picture is reproduced here on a strictly Fair Use
non-commercial educational basis only)
The missing thunderbird photograph is among the
most famous of all cryptozoological mysteries, and one that I have already
documented in detail on ShukerNature (click here).
As a result of its fame, over the years it has inspired the creation of many
hoax photos purporting to be the real thing, and also many non-hoax pastiches of
it – but unfortunately, when such photos appear online and become widely
circulated there, it is not always apparent which is which, especially as all
too many websites post such photos with credulous claims that they depict real
creatures, thereby blurring further an already nebulous situation.
One supposed thunderbird photograph that has been
circulated on numerous sites is the very striking illustration opening this
present ShukerNature blog article, and which has intrigued me for some time.
Looking at the pterosaur in it, it was evident to me that it was a model of a Pteranodon
(but based upon a fruit bat's wings instead of a pterosaur's, hence the difference in finger count) that had been added via some form of photo-manipulation process to a possibly
genuine, vintage photograph of hunters, thereby creating the oft-described
scene that the real missing thunderbird photo allegedly depicts (always
assuming, of course, that such a photo itself ever existed!).
Tracing this pterodactylian thunderbird photo from
one website to another, the earliest appearances that I've been able to find for
it online are from 2012 – but tonight, following yet another online search, inspired
by having been alerted by a correspondent to its appearance in the
newly-published December 2015 issue of the monthly magazine True West, I finally
discovered both its origin and its creator!
A model of Pteranodon
in flight (© Dr Karl Shuker)
It turns out that the photo is not a hoax but
rather an affectionate homage in pastiche form to the original missing thunderbird photograph,
and once you know where to look online it is openly identified as having been
created by highly-acclaimed digital illustration artist Chris Smith from Croydon
in London, England, who has also created an equally wonderful digital image of
a pair of mokele-mbembes encountered by some pygmies in the Congolese
swamplands. Click here to view both of
these excellent artworks, which were posted on the Vividvisuals website's blog
by Chris on 15 April 2013, and where I discovered them tonight.
Also, an enlargement of his pterodactylian thunderbird
photo can be viewed here on Chris's own
Flickr page, which reveals that he created this spectacular image on 27 October
2010.
I strongly recommend all fans of fantasy and science-fiction art to visit
Chris's Flickr page (click here), because it contains some of the most spectacular digital
artwork from these genres that I have ever seen, and even includes some awesome
front-cover illustrations that he has prepared for Fortean Times.
Another cryptozoological case solved and closed!
UPDATE: 8 April 2021
A colourised version of this photograph, the colourisation having been carried out by Western author and illustrator Lorin Morgan-Richards, can be found here on his Instagram page, which contains many vintage Wild West photos beautifully colourised by him. From the accompanying description of it, however, Morgan-Richards seems unaware that the original b/w version of this particular photo is not a vintage picture but is instead a modern-day photo that was specially created by Chris Smith, and therefore is not the original thunderbird photo... Many thanks indeed to longstanding friend and fellow cryptozoological enthusiast Mike Playfair for kindly alerting me to this colourised version today.
Further details concerning thunderbirds and the
missing thunderbird photograph will appear in Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors - the greatly-expanded, massively-updated edition of
my 1995 book In Search of Prehistoric Survivors…coming
soon.
I think the biggest giveaway on that first pic is the wings - clearly, noone looked up an actual photo of a pterosaur wing there..
ReplyDeleteCool article Karl. I'm looking forward to the new In Search of Prehistoric Survivors!
ReplyDeleteThere is also a photo that has been circulating for awhile of a cowboy holding a small so-called Colorado river dino that he apparently shot...
ReplyDeletehttp://s8int.com/eyewit4.html
Count me in as one who has, in days past, believed to have seen the photo. Always saw it with a giant, black bird, nailed to the side of barn, outstretched, with the cowboys (handle bar mustaches and all) in front. Then I would catch myself and realize that no, I have never seen such a photo. What a phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteFake. Look at the bat wings. The head is of a pteranadon and their wings were not like that. Karl, I expect better from you than that.
ReplyDeleteWhat on earth are you talking about, Michael? OF COURSE IT'S A FAKE!! It's not a hoax, however, because its creator, Chris Smith, openly revealed that he created it and he has never pretended that it was real! And that's what I've stated very clearly in my article - so, evidently you haven't read it! Here is the paragraph that says it all: "It turns out that the photo is not a hoax but rather an affectionate homage in pastiche form to the original missing thunderbird photograph, and once you know where to look online it is openly identified as having been created by highly-acclaimed digital illustration artist Chris Smith from Croydon in London, England, who has also created an equally wonderful digital image of a pair of mokele-mbembes encountered by some pygmies in the Congolese swamplands. Click here to view both of these excellent artworks, which were posted on the Vividvisuals website's blog by Chris on 15 April 2013, and where I discovered them tonight." Please read my articles properly before criticising them next time, thank you.
Deletewow what an ass, read the article next time pal. Karl clearly states it was created. sorry for being blunt but c'mon, really michael??
Delete