In case you were checked out of social media this weekend, the Internet was blowing up with shares of news stories about the Loch Ness Monster, such as :

• The Scotman’s Most convincing picture of the Loch Ness monster ever taken?
• The Express’s Loch Ness Monster FOUND at last? Astonishing new photo of Nessie
• The Occult Section’s Most Convincing Photo of the Loch Ness Monster Yet?

All the fuss was about a photo that amateur photographer Ian Bremner, 58 from Nigg, Invergordon, captured while in search of red deer. Instead, he noticed something he’d never seen before in the Loch and caught what may prove to be the photo of the century.

Or just another exciting fake.

What do you think? Here’s the photo:

His photo, if not proven to be a fake, will surely add fuel to the fire.

It is one of the most convincing yet. I’m hoping it’s actual proof but…

If his camera had a video function on it, I would’ve liked to see him try to capture both video and still images of whatever he saw.

Also, the more I study the photo, the more it looks like a seal’s head on the part that’s sticking out of the water on the far left. The rest could be…? Photoshopped to make it look serpentine? A huge eel? Which might prove a significant find too, but would be a disappointing Nessie explanation. At least for me.

What do you think? Is it real? Proof of Nessie’s existence? Or just another elaborate hoax?