There has been a lot of discussion and speculation in recent years on orbs and they mostly seem to go into 2 categories 1 - all orbs are paranormal or 2 - all orbs are just dust. Did anyone consider that there may be a middle ground with this?
Let me start with a brief story on why I believe there to be some credence to orbs. I have personally seen some compelling evidence on orbs which makes me not want to dismiss them across the board. As time goes on hopefully others may also see something similar for themselves. The sad part of this is that these are now stories; I saw them while they were being filmed with infrared cameras but they did not record properly. Another person witnessed this phenomenon with me but yet it is just more anecdotal evidence now.
We had been investigating a documented haunted museum. We were in a bedroom display of the former owner, which is normally roped off to the public. We notice thru our video equipment that orbs were not present except when one particular investigator entered this one room. We tried to replicate the orb phenomena we witnessed by shaking the pillows and disturbing the rugs, all to no avail. We sent in this investigator and asked him to stand next to the camera; all of a sudden the orb storm began. We had been positioned outside of the room and could clearly see inside the room both on the TV cameras and with our own eyes. As we were watching we began to ask the former owner to come to the camera and show us his face. Almost immediately an orb approached the camera and began to expand, to a point where we could start to make out a body and the formation of a face. As quickly as it started it dissipated. We immediately went and rewound the tape. When viewed it looked like a fresh new tape that had never been recorded on, useless but we had a story. We saw an orb start to transition into a form. This was an orb that was only seen with an IR camera. I have another similar account if you are interested please email me and I will gladly relay that you.
What is this phenomenon? Is it just the backscatter or is it possibly something more. How do you explain the orb’s that are viewed in the IR light spectrum? We all should already understand that on today’s digital cameras the distance between the lens and the built-in flash has decreased, thereby decreasing the angle of light reflection to the lens. That means that you are more than likely to pick up a reflection off a small, before invisible to the naked eye, particle. We all know that walking around can produce orbs and that we should never take photo in rain, snow, fog or high humidity. But aren’t we trying to be as scientific as possible when doing our research? If you are going to an investigation and you’re doing any of these things then you need to find something else to do. You are creating a contaminant in an area where you are controlling, as much as possible, the environment. I believe the "orb" discussion needs to be categorized to get a better understanding of everything that has been said or could be said. By that I mean who is making the statement on what the anomaly is.
I believe there are 3 categories that need to be assigned to groups and individuals that are looking at and quantifying these photographs and they are:
Scientific Researchers – Those that use a scientific approach to research and have an understanding of what could cause these photographic anomalies.
Hobbyist – These are the individuals or groups that get together after reading one or two web sites and decide they will make their judgment and that is what it will be. They don’t completely understand what else could be the cause of these elements.
Pure skeptic – These are the people that no matter what you say or how you it will believe anything but their point of view.
What else should we consider? Yes it is believed that spirit manifestation begins within the invisible infrared light spectrum. Many did not realize at the time when they came out, but digital cameras can see into this light spectrum. We can correlate the "rise" of orb photos to the inception of looking into a previously invisible spectrum of light which the normal researcher could not view before. Does this mean that now orbs are paranormal? Absolutely not, but does it now create a possibility that they could be? Let’s not forget we can also attribute many to the backscatter due to the flash/lens proximity.
Many researchers that keep track of what they do and how they do it can confirm some of what I am going to say here. First is that we all know we will capture some form of "orb" photography on an investigation. Does this make it paranormal, once again the answer is no. But if you start to correlate all you are doing you may see some interesting findings that you didn’t look at before. Now most serious investigators keep track of everything, what time did this occur, weather conditions, etc. Many even keep track of how many photos they have taken. This is an important number and I will explain why in a minute.
We all know there are documented haunted locations, non-haunted locations and those we need to yet look into. Researchers keeping track of their photos along with the locations may see some interesting things. You may notice that the "orb" phenomenon occurs in a higher concentration in a known haunted location. We all know we will see orbs when we take our photos, but why is it that they are in a higher concentration in a known haunted location? On average you may see a number of 4% of your photos containing some orb manifestation. But in a known haunt that number can rise to 5, 6 or even 10% of photos having orbs. Does this mean that the location has a bad house keeper? Or that the investigator is running around causing these dust storms? Once again if you are in control you can answer those questions, however for the prudent investigator that leaves the question of why are there more in these locations?
Should I just submit an orb photo as evidence alone? Within in our group there are many thoughts on orbs; most do not agree they are anything paranormal. That also doesn’t mean they are not. We try to maintain an open mind when reviewing them.
Do get me wrong, this is not an affirmation saying all orbs are paranormal, this is just saying what about these other facts. As scientific researchers move on in this field we have to remember we cannot throw out all of the possibilities yet. We are learning and have to keep an open mind to all possibilities. Keep track of what is occurring on your investigations, keep track of your numbers and start to formulate your own catalog of information. Reading what others have to say is a great start, but your own research must be done to properly formulate your opinion.
Just remember there is more that we do not know out there. We are in this field to study and advance it. Until we can say and prove without a doubt that orbs are just dust we still must keep an open mind to what they could be.
Comments
Exploring and documenting anomalous events with an open mind and the tools of the scientific method is what needs to be done in this field. With the advent of digital photography the study of Orbs has taken on another variable, type of media. All of the other variables still need to be recorded, but now with both media. The advent of lower cost entry level digital high resolution SLRs with high frame rate video capability is an opportunity for most in the field to document the “life cycle” of the Orb. We all must continue to study this phenomena using good scientific method to finally definitely answer, what is an Orb.
You are correct Tony. The main point is that we cannot dismis anything at this stage of our learning in this field
A well known paranormal TV program would have us believe that 99.9% of the time orbs are dust and the other .1% orbs are "just collections of energy--like ball lightning." I was wondering where the evidence is to back either statement. We need to continue to give orbs the consideration they are due until we prove, beyond a reasonable shadow of doubt, that they are not a paranormal phenomena in any way, shape ,or form.
Ok first let me say that maybe just possible 1 in 10,000 claims of orbs being paranormal might require another look. Fuji corp. has discovered what caused orbs and has cameras that don't catch them. The s9000 or s9100's I've taken thousands of orb free photos with them. To see testing visit below.
ssprstn.tripod.com/id65.html
Now that being said with digital cameras lets look at how to eliminate orbs in video. We build a simple DEVA Dust elimination video apparatus.
ghostgadgets.com/_howto/DEVA.html
Now when you catch orbs after doing both of the above you may have something worth looking at.
In the spring of 1972 at dusk I watched a heavy thunderstorm approaching the Jersey shore across the Delaware River estuary from the Delaware state side. When it reached a moored sail boat, a white hot flash of multi-forked lightning was followed by the balls appearance; it appeared to be few hundred feet above the center mast of the boat, of a ball the color and size of the noon day sun. Its edges were fuzzy; it was about one mile away from my location and drifted with a non-rotating motion like a thrown water balloon across the direction of the wind. It settled on the top a power/telephone pole directly to my left and vanished without a flash.
This was different from orbs I have seen. The orbs I have observed also with the naked eye were indoors. They appeared without a flash and in some cases they moved around and behind stationary objects, which obscured them, and came out the other side till they disappeared, also without a flash. I do not believe them to be the same phenomen
JJA, it is true, without a shadow of a doubt, that orbs are dust...
I actually agree with Mr. Davis and believe spirits can and do manifest as "orbs," but what you see on all the paranormal teams' websites and in most photos are dust or other airborne particles.
Check out Island Ghost Radio in two weeks, we're doing a show on Orbs. Lloyd Auerbach is on this week and it's a really good episode, if you care to check it out. (www.islandghostradio.com)
I also suggest that anyone into investigating and ghosts, experienced or novice, should buy Orbs or Dust? It's one of the best, most thorough books on orbs and other photographic anomalies. I have nothing to do with the people who made it, so don't think this is a plug.
It's by Kenneth Biddle of PIRA. You'll probably have to search around, but you can find it here: www.parainvestigator.org
My best advice is that when you get your camera, take it out and test it with sprinklers, rain, cold breath, throw dirt into the air, dust off the shelves, shake a bush with blossoming flowers and pollen. Keep these samples so you know what those kinds of orbs look like. About 99.5% of the time, you'll know what kind of orb you just shot.
Ken's book is an excellent book. We have sat and discussed this in the past and I'm sure we will again
Attend a church function at Christmas time, for example. Try different churches. Don't forget to include a Catholic Church. Take several pictures within minutes of each other. Are all of your "specks" in the same places all the time? Are they all the same size? Hmmm..... What's going on here? God bless you and protect you. Amen.
Bad article title - phenomena is plural, phenomenon is singular.
Three things to consider...
1. If you zoom in on some orbs you will find patterns that look like a face, an embryo or a circuit board.
2. I know of two people who can see orbs in real time and have to step aside as they wiz by.
3. When I do speaking events there is always a large blue orb at my right shoulder. Several people with abilities have asked who it is and have been told it is the Archangel Michael... which is my experience of that presence.
Everything you capture is a combination of factors that are an interaction of the energy of the place, what/whoever is there and the energy of the living people. This stuff will never be predictable or consistent, although there are patterns.
Hope that helps. Blissings...
Comment to Anthony L Selletti (above): the phenomenon you describe behaved like, and was probably, a rare form of "ball lightning".
Orbs are a window to a world that we don't normally see or understand. When orbs start to display complicated pictures and images of people and animals then one has to wonder how could dust do such a thing and if it is in fact dust that we are seeing then what the heck is dust?
Hello all! I Googled for orb discussion after having studied them and caught them on film for about 10 years. I now have a personal theory (Don't we all?) that I would like to bounce off the wall. Energy. Either the place has energy, the subject in the photo has energy, or the photographer emits some sort of energy. Or all the above. I have taken multiple shots in a row that revealed orbs and some that did not. I have also done this along side a like-minded person with a pro-camera setup who took the same shots the same time I did and got the same results. So far we have been able to rule out dust, bugs & raindrops. But a newer phenom we have been catching is the smoke/mist/fog thing. Has anyone else caught this? During a recent orb shoot I told my buddy (on a warm night) that I felt like I was inside a meat cooler. The photos she took revealed a "fog" above my head. Elaborate, please, y'all.
ok i was walking in a park near me and i was takeing pictures and i got back home and put them on my computer and i saw in one of them. it looks like a orb.. can it be?
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