The Trent Sighting - Oregon UFO [Smithsonian Magazine]

I totally love this . . .and used to love reading strange unexplained phenomena journals and the like (for the laughs really!) The Fortean Times etc . . . . but this is a doozie!

"On the evening of May 11, 1950, Paul and Evelyn Trent were wrapping up their day on their small farm just outside McMinnville, Oregon, when they claimed to witness something extraordinary in the sky. 

According to the Trents, a metallic, disc-shaped object silently floated over their property. Paul rushed inside, grabbed his Kodak camera, and managed to snap two black-and-white photographs before the object disappeared into the clouds.

What happened next would cement their story as one of the most iconic and debated UFO sightings in American history. 

The Trents didn’t immediately share the photos. But once they did, their local newspaper, the McMinnville Telephone-Register, published them on June 8, 1950. The images quickly captured national attention. 

Soon after, Life magazine, one of the most widely read publications in America at the time, reprinted the photos. The images exploded across newspapers and magazines throughout the country, igniting public curiosity about what many believed might be proof of extraterrestrial life. 

In the decades that followed, investigators, scientists, and skeptics all took turns analyzing the Trent photos. 

🔍 Supporters argue: 

The Trents never sought fame or financial gain. The shadows and lighting in the photos support the claim that a real object was in the sky. No physical tampering or photo manipulation was ever definitively proven. 

The object resembles a side-view mirror or small hubcap, possibly suspended by string. The quality of the photos, and the lack of follow-up evidence, suggests a hoax. In later interviews, small inconsistencies in the Trents’ story raised suspicion.

Despite these debates, the Trents always stood by their account—and never tried to cash in on the fame their photos brought. 

Today, McMinnville, Oregon celebrates the mystery with an annual UFO Festival, complete with parades, panels, and speakers from the worlds of science, skepticism, and the paranormal. It has become the second-largest UFO festival in the U.S., behind only Roswell. 

Whether you believe the Trents captured a genuine flying saucer or pulled off one of the greatest pranks in UFO lore, one thing is certain: the McMinnville UFO photos continue to inspire curiosity, debate, and wonder more than 70 years later.

Were the McMinnville UFO photos a clever hoax—or did Paul Trent truly capture something otherworldly?"

 

Smithsonian Magazine – “The McMinnville UFO Photographs”

There is of course a howling error and problem inherent in these photographs and that is the improvement in photographic analysis and anyone worth their salt in the photography field will question why exactly the ‘craft’ as picture in the second image (above) appears to be between the barn and us the viewer [to the viewfinder on the camera], the depth of field and contrast and focus all leads to now (at least if not then!?) to realise it is a hoax . . . . .still fun thou . . . . .

It is a bit like watching Superman filmed at the time of Christopher Reave and thinking (you will believe a man can fly!) wow thats impressive and now you look for the strings, as TV and film production quality improves we are suckered into believing the Raptors and T-Rex in the  first Jurassic Park are more thand now it just looks hokey as our eyes are trained more and more.an real 

If ever there were a shot that looks like it has a sticker pasted upon it it is this last shot . . . .the top one however . . . . . . .