That is very informative!
I wonder how many members are aware of your “journey” you’ve mentioned...
This does raise some questions for me...
I was completely unaware of your tripod “discovery” in 2002... I do wonder if a better pic has surfaced that shows this “tripod” with more clarity... making it stand out more (so I could see it!)... and perhaps it might have you reconsider your reversal on this...
The colorized pic you’ve shown (plus our Unger gallery copy) is not near the quality of photo I’ve seen at the link below...
BTW, your colorization does capture what I think is this “blended in” figure in the Altgens photo...
Here’s the link...
https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/madison.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/5d/55dfdeb4-79a4-11e5-a78d-7f47972d641e/562a6242b0ec1.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C796
Do you now believe any of the Altgens photos were altered?

Here are the two examples of Altgens #8 from the Unger Gallery...
The quality is much less... with less definition in the “tripod” area...

One home movie disproves your theory, Jake. The Mark Bell film.
The Bell film shows Sitzman and Zapruder walking in two different directions, and Zapruder has nothing that resembles a tripod in his hands.
You are mistaking Zapruder's camera-held in his right hand in the Altgen's photo-with the carrying case, which I told you is what we are seeing strapped around Zapruder shoulder and back. In spite of your insisting that the carrying case is a foot of the tripod, it is nothing more than the carrying case for the camera. And there is no "third person" in the Bell film walking with Zapruder and Sitzman. Period.
The Sixth Floor Museum is going to be releasing the Mark Bell film on their website in the near future, according to Stephen Fagin. The sharpness and clarity of the original film is unsurpassed compared to the inferior multi generation copies we've had available over the years, and includes the sprocket hole area, along with the right edge of the film which a small portion of contains image that isn't included in copies of the film.