protohype_101,
The problem is not with fourier transforms, my friend, but sorting the wheat from the chaff.
A remote camera in an arctic region was used to estimate the population of penguins in the area.
I don't know about you but most penguins look pretty much alike to me except when they are very small penguins.
How might one tell that a new penguin was being photographed rather than one fellow (only male penguins were counted) who loved his picture taken and passed by the camera over and over?
It is really not quite so difficult if you know enough about penguins but spotting a face of a disguised fugitive in a crowd in a large metropolitan area?
That is not just a job for a fourier transform, fast or not.
Best, Terry