CALVINE

This page contains information regarding the infamous Calvine UFO Sighting based on research undertaken by a team of academics, investigators and other contributors led by Dr David Clarke of the Centre for Contemporary Legend at Sheffield Hallam University. These include:

  • Dr David Clarke – Associate Professor / Investigative Journalist (SHU).
  • Andrew Robinson – Senior Lecturer in Photography / Image Analyst (SHU).
  • Matthew Illsley – Independent Investigative Researcher.
  • Giles Stevens – Local Resident / Community Councillor.
The Calvine UFO Photograph
Photograph courtesy Craig Lindsay / Sheffield Hallam University

The Calvine Story

This photograph was reportedly captured on the moors above Calvine (pronounced ‘cal – veen’), close to Pitlochry, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, UK on the 4th August 1990 by two young men who at the time were working in a hotel in nearby Pitlochry. The photographers took a series of six photographs of an unknown object in the sky above them and after having their film developed, took the resulting images and told their story to the Glasgow Daily Record. The Daily Record produced this black and white copy print for the RAF press officer for Scotland Craig Lindsay, who they had contacted for comment. Upon receiving it Lindsay immediately produced a number of photocopies of the image in order to fax it to the Ministry of Defence in London. The MoD then obtained the original negatives from the Daily Record, studied them and produced a report and briefing for the Minister of Defence before returning them to the Daily Record. Criag Lindsay safely kept the copy he was given by the Daily Record for 32 years before revealing it to Dr David Clarke and ultimately donating it to Special Collections at Sheffield Hallam University on the condition that the image was made freely available on a not-for-profit basis jointly crediting him and the University.

The Calvine UFO | Information and Analysis

For a quick outline of the the Calvine story you might like to watch the behind the scenes video of Dr Clarke’s interview with James Fox during the filming of Fox’s documentary THE PROGRAM filmed by Andrew Robinson:

Dr David Clarke has provided a range of information regarding the Research Team’s activities and his quest to discover the true story behind this facinating image. Below are a series of links to key information posted on his Blog and Website:

Andrew Robinson undertook the original analysis of the image the results of which were included in David Clarke’s story published in the Daily Mail 13th August 2022 when the photograph was first published. This anaysis was extended with new information in the summer of 2024. Follow the link below to download the updated analysis:

Andrew has also posted a number of additional updates and further information on his SUBSTACK account which may be of interest:

The Calvine UFO – Media Coverage

THE CALVINE PHOTOGRAPH | DOWNLOAD & REPRODUCTION RIGHTS

TITLE – The Calvine UFO Photograph (The ‘Lindsay’ print)

DETAIL – The only extant photograph of the Calvine UFO – a cropped black and white copy print from the original colour photograph. Donated to Sheffield Hallam University Special Collections by its owner, Craig Lindsay, in June 2022.

IMAGE FILE DOWNLOAD – A high-resolution digital copy of the GENUINE CALVINE PHOTOGRAPH (the Lindsay print) is available for download and use under the terms and conditions outlined below.

DOWNLOAD IMAGE HERE

Scan QR Code to Access Photo

PROVENANCE – Prior to being deposited in the University Archive the original Lindsay print was photographed by Andrew Robinson, Senior Lecturer in Photography at Sheffield Hallam University who also undertook an in-depth analysis of the image

The image file produced is © ANDREW ROBINSON / SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY 2022.

All medium and high-resolution copies of this image that are currently in circulation originate from the digital file produced by Andrew Robinson and to avoid breaching copyright all and any reproductions of this image should be accompanied by the credit – “with permission of Craig Lindsay / Sheffield Hallam University”.

Lower resolution digital copies which have been made without permission from a photograph of Mr Craig Lindsay holding the print are also in circulation. The image concerned was taken by Dr David Clarke when collecting the print from Lindsay in June 2022 and these reproductions are © David Clarke 2022 and should not be reproduced without Clarke’s permission and the payment of a fee – the image can be seen reproduced in the Guardian article HERE and on Clarke’s Blog HERE. Dr Clarke can be contact regarding the reproduction of this image HERE

All other prints and the original negatives of this and the other five images mentioned by the MoD are assumed to be lost or destroyed aside from the three photocopies Lindsay made in August 1990 (also donated to Sheffield Hallam University) and two poor quality, cropped photocopies made by the MoD as part of their analysis which were released by the National Archive in 2009 – available on page 37 – HERE.

AVAILABILITY AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS – Following the wishes of the owner of the print, Mr Criag Lindsay, this digital copy of the ‘Lindsay’ print is being made available under a Creative Commons license for free distribution on condition that whenever reproduced it is credited “with permission of Craig Lindsay / Sheffield Hallam University”.

COMMERCIAL USE of the image, in publications, films and online related to the Calvine UFO story is allowed without payment of a fee upon condition that the image is clearly credited “with permission of Craig Lindsay / Sheffield Hallam University” on screen upon the first appearance of the image AND also in the end credits of the programme.

Any additional enquiries regarding use of the image beyond the scope of the information provided above should be directed to –  lsss-specialcollection@shu.ac.uk