Overview
A photograph attributed to Orval Wyman has renewed attention among UFO researchers and archival enthusiasts more than five decades after it was reportedly taken beside Idaho’s Clearwater River. Dated to September 1973, the image appears to show a translucent, bluish, bell-shaped structure near the riverbank, accompanied by forms that resemble small, crouching or animal-like figures. The image was recently highlighted in a Reddit discussion and in an archival post published by Alien Archivist, but the available material does not independently establish the photograph’s full provenance or determine what is depicted.
According to the account reproduced from Canadian UFO Report, the photograph was taken by Orval Wyman and his wife, identified in the publication as residents of Columbia Falls, Montana. The couple reportedly said they noticed nothing unusual when the snapshot was made. The anomalous features were apparently recognized only after the film was developed, a detail that has contributed to the photograph’s continued circulation in UFO literature.
The “Bell-Jars and Gargoyles” Image
Canadian UFO Report described the central feature as a “bluish bell-jar shaped object” positioned beside the Clearwater River. Around it, the magazine said, was a “cluster of gargoyle forms” that appeared to be facing or looking toward the object. A smaller, darker-blue shape can reportedly be seen within the larger transparent structure. Betty Jones, the correspondent who brought the photograph to the magazine, called this inner feature an “energy cell,” although that term was an interpretation rather than a scientifically established identification.
The image first appeared on the cover of Canadian UFO Report, Vol. 3, No. 2, Whole No. 18, beneath the question, “What Is Happening Here? See p. 14.” The publication also drew attention to a circular feature visible above the hill in the background. Such descriptions reflect the magazine’s period UFO-investigative style, in which unusual photographic forms were often catalogued and interpreted as evidence of an unidentified craft or associated entities. They do not, by themselves, establish that the shapes were physical objects.
Follow-Up Visit and Reported Effects
The account states that Jones and the Wymans returned to the location approximately one year later. Canadian UFO Report reported that all three experienced stomach distress after the visit. The magazine also said that sand and gravel collected at the site were tested with a Geiger counter, producing no unusual radiation readings. That negative result is significant because it places a limit on one possible interpretation of the story, even though the source does not provide information about the instrument, testing conditions, or calibration.
Jones reportedly photographed the area where the animal-like forms had appeared. The magazine later reproduced one of those images and described it as containing an unexplained dark streak across the scene. It also referred to camera peculiarities that the Wymans allegedly noticed in the area. However, the available source material does not include technical records, original negatives, exposure data, or an independent examination of the photographs.
Interpretation and Unresolved Questions
Artist Brian James later prepared a drawing based on the photograph and estimated the apparent bell-shaped structure to be approximately 11 feet high. That estimate appears to have been derived from visual comparison within the scene rather than from documented measurements at the site. Perspective, lens characteristics, image processing, reflections, vegetation, and accidental exposure effects are among the ordinary photographic factors that would need to be assessed before the image could support extraordinary conclusions.
The case remains a historical UFO photograph accompanied by retrospective descriptions, not a verified encounter. The available records identify the photographers, approximate date, location, and publication history, but leave important questions unanswered: who preserved the original negative, whether the image was cropped or altered, and whether independent photographic analysts have examined it. Until that evidence is available, the “Bell-Jars and Gargoyles” photograph is best treated as an intriguing archival claim whose visual anomalies remain unresolved.
