Racetrack Photo Mystery

This photo I took of some track fire marshalls on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal just after the end of the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One race in June 2002 has always puzzled me.

At first glance, it looks like a normal photo, and, for overall composition, it's actually one of my favourite photos that I've ever taken. But, looking at it closely, I noticed something very odd in the window of the passenger side door (see inset). It looks kind of like an old man Muppet. You can see shadows that seem to represent deep-set eyes and prominent cheekbones and a patch of what looks like thinning grey hair over the ears. It also looks too short and too pale to be human.

I've shown it to people, and the best explanation I've heard is that it's a puppy, like a dalmatian because they're firemen. I'd say that's likely, but the head appears to be behind the guy's shoulders, and I'm not sure what it would be sitting on. And it could just be the angle, but I'd swear it looks more like it's something outside of the passenger door, not inside.

I'm not saying it's a ghost... if it was, it would be one that likes daylight and large crowds, just I would love to go back in time and look at the scene from a different angle as the mystery of exactly what it is still perplexes me.