Ghostly Legs at Arson Fire

This story was taken from Coast To Coast With George Noory.

Last spring, in the AM hours of April 22, 2007, my mate Ben and I were returning from a night out. About a quarter mile from home we found our route blocked by multiple fire engines and yellow tape. Billowing smoke and fire filled the sky. We feared it was a friend's business or an apartment building on fire. Since I had my camera, we parked and walked to a spot across the street. It was a popular pizza restaurant. Fortunately no one was injured, but the business was a total loss, and several young people lost their jobs. The other day I was viewing my photos from that night and saw something in one that I hadn't noticed before. There were five distinct phantom shoe-clad legs with not even a hint of a body above! The shoes seem oddly positioned, but they are not blurred. I took the pictures with an Olympus Camedia D-560 with flash from a fixed position. I have tried to duplicate the picture using the same settings and lighting- but I could not even come close. I am reminded of the 'Leg' picture from the Willard Library ghostcam. Here are the stats on the photo; Exposure time 1.3 seconds, ISO speed 50, Exposure compensation (minus) -1 second, Flash- yes, Quality- HQ 2288 x 1712. Distance from subject- 20 ft. There were multiple light sources- street lights, headlights and breaking dawn. I am an experienced photographer of 40+ years. There were few people at the scene due to the late hour, excepting two news teams, but only fire personnel were permitted behind the tape where the picture was taken. I have checked the 15 + pictures and video I took and cannot see anyone wearing this type of shoe, including two fire marshals. All the firemen had reflective tape near their ankles. We joked that we'd somehow caught the image of the fleeing arsonists' guilty footsteps. There was an attempted arson across the street two nights later. These crimes remain unsolved, so far as I know. --Patti Rizzo momatomic7@hotmail.com The first picture is the original photo. The second is a cropped enlargement of the 'legs'.