|
:: A Discussion on Orbs :: |
|
:: What is an Orb?
Orbs are believed (by many) to be ghosts in the form of balls of light. They are life forms that travel in groups and are believed to be the human soul or life force of those that once inhabited a physical body here on earth. Psychics claim to talk to them on a regular basis, and ghost hunters encounter them quite frequently. It is said that they are those spirits that have willingly stayed behind because they feel bound to their previous life or previous location for whatever reason. Because of this obsession they tend to become similar to a psychotic human beings. It should be said that the majority of us when we die proceed gladly and willingly to the next level of existence after saying our quiet good-byes, which means we're off to the spirit world. Then again, as stated, a select few elect to stay behind because of a refusal to move on. Apparently the longer they stay behind, the harder it is to find their way to the next level, which again, is the spirit world.
Ghostly orbs are the most photographed anomalies caught on film by ghost hunters and are quite photogenic (when they want to be). They can be completely transparent or display themselves in a bright solid form. It is not hard to capture them on film in their circular form. It is theorized that ghosts prefer the form of an Orb (ball of light) because it takes less energy thus being the mode of choice among the ghosts. The consensus is that small orbs take up the least amount of energy and apparitions and other fuller shapes take up the most. In the colder parts of the year, it seems that ghosts tend to find it easier to take on shapes other than orbs. That's when there is the most static electricity in the atmosphere. Those months being October through February. It is also believed that they are able to draw on our own energy when needed. |
|
|
:: Orbs - The Skeptical Approach
Since the introduction of domestic digital photography c.1995, it seems that the field of ghost research has become inundated with photographs of "orbs" - small spheres, of differing colours, sizes and opacity, reputed by some people to be the "Basic Spirit Form" (BSF), the first stage in a manifestation. These pictures first started to appear on the internet, on American websites, and usually chronicled intrepid adventurer's exploits in cemetaries at night - suitable places for ghosts, surely, and so the connection with spooks was made, and has been accepted nearly with question since. But people who have experience with photographic equipment dispute their supernatural origin.
Many of us believe orbs are bunkum, and experiments by Phil Walton of ASSAP and Philip Carr of the Ghost Club demonstrate that orbs can be replicated by introducing a fine, invisible cloud of small particles, such as water, dust - even cinamon powder (!) into the air! Furthermore, researchers such as Troy Taylor of the Ghost Research Society have done their own work into this phenomena (see here), and others suggest that the lens of the camera may be at fault.
So, why are people so keen to believe that these blobs are anything to do with ghosts? Firstly, ghost hunters are not experts in their field or the use of their equipment and anything odd is deemed "supernatural". Secondly, it does give the orbster something to do: sitting for hours in darkened buildings is pretty boring!
So, why are their so many orb photos? Well, I have seen some on 35mm film, but most are digital. I found the reason for this on a vigil in Kent this Summer. My friends were taking dozens of pictures, one after another and would dispense with the pictures that didn't show orbs. At the end of it, they had three or four pictures. The small screen on the camera allowed them to veto the ones they didn't like. Some ghost groups simply take hundred of pictures. 35mm film cameras can't allow such an immediate response as to whether to keep the picture or not. However, my friends did legitimately ask about photos showing just a single "orb": "you can't tell me that this is a single speck of dust".
:: What do "Canon" have to Say?
When a picture is taken and reviewed afterwards, circular spots may be noticed on the picture. The problem does not occur with every picture. Additionally, the spots are randomly positioned throughout the picture. Highest concentration is in areas closest to the flash unit when the picture was made.
The cause of the problem is common to a lot of digital cameras with small CCDs, not just the Canon digital cameras. Such digital cameras have a greater depth of field compared to 35mm cameras, due to their smaller focal distance. This in even higher degree when the camera is set to wide angle.
Because of the above, small dust particles, droplets of water, etc., drifting in the air close to the camera and not within depth of field for normal 35mm cameras, are within depth of field for digital cameras. Under normal circumstances this is not too big a problem, as these are very small.
When flash is used, its light illuminates these dust particles or water droplets, and these therefore show up and are extemely obvious on pictures taken. The problem is worsened, because the flash unit is positioned close to the lens barrel.
Due to the setup and operation of digital cameras using small CCDs, there is nothing that can be done about this phenomenon. You can take some measures though, to prevent this problem from occurring as much as is possible.
- Switch off flash in environments where there are likely to be small dust particles or water droplets in the air. To compensate for this lack of flash, you can increase the ISO value on your digital camera if this feature is available on your camera.
- Use an external slave flash unit further away from the camera and partially cover the camera's flash. These units are not available from Canon, but there are third party companies producing such units. Make sure a slave flash unit is chosen which can also be set to synchronize with the second flash as used by Powershot cameras. With Powershot cameras, the first flash is used to measure, the second is the actual flash.
:: Photographic Terms
'CCD' simply stands for 'charge coupled device', which is meaningless unless you're into advanced electronics - but all it refers to is the digital sensor that captures the image. 'Depth of field' refers to the amount of focus distance on either side of the focused 'plane' or any camera or lens. You might focus on an object six feet away, but objects at four feet (closer) and ten feet (farther) are acceptably sharp at certain settings and/or focal lengths. Digital cameras do have a greater apparent depth-of-field, mostly from using shorter focal lengths than film cameras to achieve the same photo.
You'll notice that, as something goes further out of focus, it becomes fuzzier, less distinct, and darker. So the lower (shorter) the depth of field on a camera, the less likely you are to see anything extremely close to the lens - it becomes so indistinct that it has minimal effect on the image. With greater depth of field, however, the focus becomes sharper, the objects brighter and more defined. Moreover, as I indicated above, you get a stronger effect when the flash sits very close to the lens, because the reflection of the light is more direct, not as scattered by the oblique angle of the light. Water droplets have an even stronger effect with such flashes, since you can get reflections from both surfaces - the closest one to you, and the back side from light passing through the droplet.
|
|
:: Contradictions and Conclusion
As above, "Canon" seem to hinge their results on images only taken on digital cameras when the flash has been used. But we have seen many times the images taken on non-digital cameras which clearly show orbs, and also digital images taken without the flash.
Many of the images featured on this website have been taken using extended shutter times to increase the amount of light travelling into the camera without using the flash. Using this method we can also capture movement of the so called orbs.
There seems to be alot of reference to Flash guns being situated too near the cameras lens. However if this was the case, we would be seeing almost every image taken with orbs. Wouldn't you agree that it is strange that these so called orbs only ever appear in haunted environments.
As far as misty images are concerned, Haunted Kent have studied the difference in picture when we take an image by blowing hot air in a cold environment. Also images that contain smoke. All of the results show clearly defined smoke patterns that are clearly part of the image. Whereas the images containing unexplained mists appear to have a different density which is clearly defined in the image, along with varing colours (in some cases), which would not be possible under normal circumstances.
There is an interesting alternative to both the above featured at:
www.orbstudy.com
What do you think? Post your views and comments in our Haunted Forums, as we would be interested to hear them. |
|
|
|
|
|
(Example of Orb Photo) |
|
