Photographs of the obelisk
Photographs of the obelisk are a series of 35-millimetre slide film photographs that, according to contactee Jonathan Reed, document the black, marquise-diamond–shaped obelisk he reported finding levitating at the site of the Jonathan Reed forest incident in the Cascade Mountains near Snoqualmie Pass, Washington, in October 1996. Reed described shooting approximately four rolls of film during the incident and its immediate aftermath, on a Nikon camera, capturing the obelisk alongside the forest video and the photographs of the non-human intelligent being he called "Freddie". Were the obelisk genuine recovered exotic non-human technology, as Reed maintained, the slides would be among the few photographic records of it, no independent party being documented to have examined the object.[citation needed]
The photographs' authenticity is disputed. Investigators who concluded the wider case was a fabricated hoax and the debunking site UFO Watchdog hold that the slide film Reed said he used was not manufactured until after October 1996, so that it could not have existed on the stated date. Against that reading, Art Bell, who circulated the images, said the originals were so clear that some objected to them as too good to be real, with the versions later seen online appearing lower in resolution: "Back when you took that photograph they were better quality than they are now. The obelisk was so clear that people got upset about it."
Forest site photographs
Reed reported photographing the obelisk at the encounter site both before and after filming the forest video. The photographs show a dark, marquise-diamond–shaped object levitating above the forest floor amid ferns and undergrowth.
- 35mm slide photographs taken by Jonathan Reed at the forest encounter site, October 1996
- Distant view of the obelisk in the forest clearing Distant view of the obelisk in the forest clearing
- Obelisk among ferns at the encounter site Obelisk among ferns at the encounter site
- Wider view of the forest clearing Wider view of the forest clearing
- Wide-angle view showing surrounding vegetation Wide-angle view showing surrounding vegetation
- Obelisk centered in frame Obelisk centered in frame
- Medium-distance photograph Medium-distance photograph
- Close-up showing vegetation around the obelisk Close-up showing vegetation around the obelisk
- The marquis diamond shape visible in profile The marquis diamond shape visible in profile
- Close photograph showing the obelisk levitating above the ground Close photograph showing the obelisk levitating above the ground
- Close-up from a second angle Close-up from a second angle
- Obelisk framed by forest canopy Obelisk framed by forest canopy
- View from below the levitating object View from below the levitating object
- Enhanced view showing color detail Enhanced view showing color detail
2009 return site photographs
In October 2009, Reed returned to the encounter site with a camera crew filming for the ODISEALINK Requiem documentary series. He identified the encounter location within a 300-to-500-foot area and noted that storms had since felled trees that had been standing in 1996. The photographs from the return visit do not show the obelisk but document the terrain where Reed said the original slides had been taken, along with the route he described following during the encounter.
Authentication of the photographic record
The Seattle UFO-Paranormal Group investigation — later published through the Northwest Museum of Legends and Lore — concluded that the Reed case was a fabricated hoax, asserting that "Jonathan Reed" was a pseudonym for one Jonathan Rutter and that the alleged encounter never took place. A separate investigation by the debunking site UFO Watchdog reported that the slide film Reed said he used was not manufactured by Kodak until after October 1996 — a point the site attributed to Tony Edwards of the company's Product Information Department — which on that reading would place the film's existence after the claimed encounter date, so that the photographs could not have been shot when stated. The "OMG Alien Footage" YouTube compilation countered that Reed's 1996 material captured the obelisk in a full 360-degree view across both video and 35-millimetre stills, arguing that not even a professional effects crew could reproduce such an all-around view without exposing a hidden support structure.
See also
Sources
- "3/16/2001 - Dr. Jonathan Reed - Alien in the Freezer" (Podcast). I heArt Bell. 2001-03-16. Retrieved 2026-03-04. 📄
{{cite podcast}}:Unknown parameter|people=ignored (help) - Art Bell, Jonathan Reed (2013). Art Bell Dark Matter - Jonathan Reed - Alien In The Freezer. youtube.com. Retrieved 2026-03-14. +
- Dr Jonathan Reed (DrReedCase) (2010-06-14). Dr Jonathan Reed Requiem Documentary Part 10. youtube.com. DrReedCase. Archived from the original on 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2026-04-01. +
- Charlette LeFevre; Philip Lipson. "Report on Jonathan Reed and the "Alien in the Freezer" Story". Northwest Museum of Legends and Lore. Archived from the original on 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2026-03-10. +
- Royce Myers III. "The Reed Files 5". ufowatchdog.com. UFO Watchdog. Archived from the original on 2025-06-07. Retrieved 2026-05-02. +
- Jonathan Reed. OMG Alien Footage - Jonathan Reed. youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2026-03-14. 📄
References
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