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Archive 2010 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?

  
 
plc001
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p.1 #1 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


I am trying to either get the vehicle license number or a partial number. This relates to a vehicle accident that this car caused. I need to get photos printed of the car, so whatever, you can do to clarify them would be great!

http://www.plcarrillophotography.com/photos/765201768_2M2ih-O.jpg



Jan 15, 2010 at 10:37 AM
colinm
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p.1 #2 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


If you blow it up there are a couple candidates for letters (MSIL?), but life isn't set in the CSI universe and the hot spots are gone.


Jan 15, 2010 at 11:24 AM
mdude85
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p.1 #3 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


that seems completely and absolutely unreadable.


Jan 15, 2010 at 12:32 PM
UCSB
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p.1 #4 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


If you could post the original full size image, we could see what is possible. This image is to small.


Jan 15, 2010 at 12:50 PM
plc001
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p.1 #5 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


Yeah that is the problem. That its all that have.

Hey they do it on TV all the time;-)



Jan 15, 2010 at 01:38 PM
ModifiedPhoto
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p.1 #6 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


plc001 wrote:
Yeah that is the problem. That its all that have.

Hey they do it on TV all the time;-)


Shame it's utterly fake for the most part.

Edit: I gave it a look in Photoshop and did my best, simply not enough resolution or color detail to make out anything, even with the tricks I know. Regardless, this image wouldn't hold up in court to press charges against them. (I'm no lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!)



Jan 15, 2010 at 06:10 PM
Bobster2
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p.1 #7 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


I can't look at it right now, but there are definitely tricks that may help you. I have a plug-in that tries to correct for motion blur and another that tries to correct for focus blur. It often helps to work with individual color channels to pick the one with best contrast and lowest noise. You need to resize the image first so the plug-ins have more pixels to work with; the extra pixels are only approximations, but they help give a sharper result.

But if the police are interested, they could do the forensics themselves. If the police are not interested, you may have trouble convincing them that your analysis is better than theirs. That may be the biggest issue, not the photo processing. The police can narrow it down with the color and model information in the photo, plus old fashioned police work to investigate the partial matches. But they have to be interested in solving it.





Jan 15, 2010 at 06:18 PM
Eyeball
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p.1 #8 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


Let's

" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Enhance!


Seriously though, here is an attempt using Focus Magic.

http://www.paginasprodigy.com.mx/dennis7/fm/Plates.jpg

Just not enough pixels there. Send us your 22meg raw file and I think we're talking.




Jan 15, 2010 at 06:47 PM
Peano2
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p.1 #9 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


They (FBI) probably have software at Quantico, Va., that could help. I doubt it's available to the public.


Jan 15, 2010 at 07:26 PM
kdphotography
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p.1 #10 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


You're asking about more specialized software and analysis that is beyond the normal photography software such as photoshop or sharpening programs.

Forensic video analysis.

But not cheap----unless you're in the field.

try, www.oceansystems.com dTective and ClearID
Check for a trial version.



Jan 16, 2010 at 01:09 AM
Bobster2
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p.1 #11 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


I made an attempt to enhance the image and I got nothing useful.




Jan 16, 2010 at 02:01 AM
Intotheblue
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p.1 #12 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


I think you're giving any agency too much credit on being able to decipher the license plate. (Not the FBI's jurisdiction anyways). Now it would be easy given access to the vehicle registration database. Get a loose idea of possible plate numbers and match those against registered Infiniti QX4's in the state.

But no matter how good your software, you can't make anything out of pixels that are pure white or smeared together too much.



Jan 16, 2010 at 03:02 AM
plc001
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p.1 #13 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


Thanks all.


Jan 16, 2010 at 10:16 AM
Peano2
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p.1 #14 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


Intotheblue wrote:
I think you're giving any agency too much credit on being able to decipher the license plate. (Not the FBI's jurisdiction anyways).


Or, you might be giving them too little credit. Jurisdiction is irrelevant. The FBI has sophisticated ways to analyze and enhance digital images.

Example: "The FBI’s Digital Evidence Laboratory (DEL), one of the largest digital evidence laboratories in the world, was formally recognized today for its efforts in achieving international accreditation by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors/Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB)."
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel07/accretitation060707.htm

Example: "The U.S. government, and in particular, the military, the FBI, and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), and more recently, private technology firms, have developed advanced computer software that can dramatically improve the clarity of and amount of detail visible in still and video images."
http://www.trutv.com/shows/forensic_files/techniques/digital_image.html

You can be sure their software goes well beyond Photoshop's capabilities. I wouldn't sell them short.



Jan 16, 2010 at 12:13 PM
pointedem
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p.1 #15 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


negative>boost blacks> sharpen... maybe.

put up a bigger file and we might be able to help



Jan 18, 2010 at 12:17 AM
atsi
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p.1 #16 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


If this is just one frame from a video that shows the license plate, then it is possible to get more detail but I would need the video or all the frames from the video. As a single frame at this resolution it is fairly hopeless.


Jan 18, 2010 at 01:26 AM
AHPZuazua
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p.1 #17 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


If this is for real. then you need to contact the local authorities. How do I know your not a Stalker... No one here knows. If its an accident then it should be handled by the Authorities...



Feb 02, 2010 at 12:44 AM
wyofizz
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p.1 #18 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


Don't discount an old fashion magnifying glass


Feb 07, 2010 at 09:50 PM
R. Francois
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p.1 #19 · Forensic Photogarphy? Can you get me a license plate?


you guys don't get it. While enhancing you should also play some bombastic music and make some intense faces! Start squinting your eyes and vaguely look sideways for starters.


Feb 08, 2010 at 03:04 AM





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