Cumberland Spaceman Photographer Dies

Well hello there strangers! It's been quite a little while since I last posted, and sadly I'm here to pass along some sad news. I was perusing AboveTopSecret again this evening (instead of paying attention in class) when I came across this posting. Tributes paid to late Carlisle man who took photo of Cumberland Spaceman.

The thread post linked to a news article (of the same name) that said the following;

Army medic, fireman, photographer, community volunteer, local historian, author, and a raconteur... In his long and colourful life, Carlisle born James Parker Templeton – Jim to his friends – excelled at all these things and more besides.

He unwittingly achieved world-wide fame in May 1964 when he photographed his daughter Elizabeth, then aged five, during a family picnic at Burgh-by-Sands.

What captured everybody’s attention was the image that loomed in the photo’s background, a mysterious figure clad in a white space-suit. Even now, the picture, published and talked about around the world, remains a complete mystery. But as Elizabeth said yesterday, Jim packed far more in his life than his passion for photography.

Follow this link for the full article. Here is the photo in question, although I'm sure many of you are likely familiar with it. In fact I included it in a post sometime back. It's sad to hear that this man has passed away, but at the same time he did live to the ripe-old age of 91 so it seems as though he lived a good life. And he certainly made his mark on Forteana and Ufology with his famous photo.

Look out behind you!

As for the photo itself? I really haven't made my mind up as to what in the world it shows. According to Templeton's account the figure evidently wasn't there when he snapped the shot of his daughter. But likewise, we also were not there either so unfortunately we may never know the provenance of the figure. Hopefully now Templeton has had the riddle solved for him. Until next time, stay classy internet!