Silhouette Video System

In 1975, we developed a safer way to search beneath the waters of Loch Morar using the same idea as the Machan submersible camera hide. Instead of putting people underwater, a video camera was placed on the loch bed, pointing upwards with a wide-angle lens.

By 1976, the expedition team could safely watch the live video from a tent on the shore, more than 300 metres away, and record anything unusual. The clear waters of Loch Morar allowed the camera to see more than 30 metres upwards and across the surface.

This silhouette technique gave researchers a much larger area to monitor and could have captured the full outline of any large creature passing above the camera. This would have been more useful for identification than earlier still photographs, which often only showed unclear shapes or parts of objects.

Because the camera recorded movement, it also helped prevent mistakes. Objects such as tree branches or clouds of silt could be recognised as they moved, rather than being mistaken for something unusual. Researchers also hoped that the way a creature moved could help identify it — fish and reptiles move differently from mammals.

The 1976 expedition was supported by the Royal Engineers, allowing teams to place monitoring stations along the full 12-mile length of Loch Morar. The shore station was staffed around the clock, with crew, batteries and supplies changed each day.

In the end, the system worked so well that it provided no evidence of a monster — but it showed how new technology could help explore the mysteries beneath Scotland’s lochs.