"Energy like a globule of water in zero gravity is drawn together to form a sphere. Orbs may also have something to do with human bio energy and may be an effect of the energy of the aura"
www.psychics.co.uk/ghosts/what-are-orbs
So if we start where I left of yesterday...
Energy is NOT a thing but a property of a thing - so the above opening statement has some serious flaws within it - and perhaps this is the best place to start when thinking about things paranormal.
With the Haunted Cornwall 'investigation' this coming weekend I thought I'd try to offer some outline thoughts on investigation techniques and a skeptical consideration of what is often produced as evidence from such ventures. The reason I have decided to start with photographic evidence is because it is one of those pieces of 'evidence' which is frequently presented with a 'see I told you so' air of triumph after a 'ghost hunt'.
Firstly a general point about any and all investigations.
What are you setting out to do?
Are you trying to prove there is something there because you believe, or want to believe, that ghosts are real?
Are you simply going out for a spooky thrill ride?
Are you looking for evidence, anomaly hunting, to prove a point?
Are you collecting data and experiences in a controlled, carefully defined and methodical way. Data which you will later analyse in a non-emotional manner?
If your intent is the last of these then perhaps you are approaching a mindset which has at its heart the spirit of research. Of course if you had identified some specific questions, or drawn out some ideas you were going to test, then you'd be close to following the scientific method.
Earlier today I spoke to Lewis at Radio Penwith. Now Lewis is one of our young presenters. He is bright, lively, intelligent and enthusiastic. Over the weekend he had attended a 'ghost hunting' event and it is true to say that he was brimming over with excitement about the evidence he had showing ghostly manifestations (yeap, spirit orbs). Now I do not wish to dash any personal belief here, but the fact of the matter is that these photographs do not constitute compelling evidence.
Firstly, if we take the rationalists view point (and one incidentally supported by all legitimate paranormal investigators) we have to discount ALL natural explanations for the evidence being presented.
For spirit photographs there are so many natural, everyday explanations that have to be discounted first - even if we leave aside any suggestion of trickery or fraud.
Lets look at how most photographs are taken at 'investigations'.
1) the cameras are generally compact digital cameras
2) photographs are taken with the flash setting on. (ie flash photography)
3) unless the camera has advanced settings they are normally left to autofocus
4) the 'investigators' are happily snapping away in the dark
5) the cameras are rarely on a tripod
Now here are some of the things we see in such photographs...
1) Generally what the photograph shows is something that WAS NOT seen by the people
2) There are frequently a preponderance of what have been called 'spirit orbs'
3) There are occasional mists or dashes of coloured light, again that were not observed at the time
4) Inside the shapes, orbs or shadows faces, outlines of people may be seen
So now some questions to consider before looking at some natural causes....
If there were orbs on one photograph can they be seen on a second photograph taken by another camera at the same time?
Why, if the objects are obvious to the camera were they not seen by the people?
What were the weather conditions - temperature and relative humidity specifically?
Did you clean the lens of the camera before taking any photographs on the investigation?
What was the environment like - windows, reflective surfaces, amount of dust?
How many people were in the area where the photograph was taken?
Was anybody in your investigation team smoking before the photograph was taken (or had you been using candle light)?
Was anybody in your investigation team wearing a watch or jewelry with in built illumination or with highly reflective properties?
What do you know about pariedolia (the minds ability, and natural ability, to make sense out of random patterns)?
Why these questions?
Well even groups dominated by 'believers' in the paranormal will now accept that most ghost photographs have an 'earthly' explanation.
Airborne particles show up incredibly well in digital flash photographs. Dust particles are everywhere and are easily stirred up during investigations. When light from the camera hits a dust particle it create a round circle of light - an orb.
A digital camera with autofocus will try to resolve the image so that the item in the middle of the frame is sharp and clear. Hence anything close to the lens will appear orb like, fuzzy and much much larger than it really is.
Fine rain, water droplets and even high humidity can also produce 'orbs' and related phenomena.
Non-SLR cameras provide a view for the eye that is slightly different from what would otherwise be seen through the lens. Therefore if there is an object close to the lens it will not be noticed, increasing the chance of producing a 'ghostly artifact'.
If the cord drops in front of the camera it cannot be seen, resulting in a whitish blurry image of a curving strand-like object. If it is closer to the lens it will produce a more diffuse, mist-like effect. The cord does not appear black, its typicl color, because it is brightly reflecting the light from the flash only inches away (see an earlier post of mine on the photograph taken at Lanyon Quoit)
Camera cords are not required for the camera cord effect, however; any object will suffice, be it a thumb, hair, jewelry, or even clothing.
Another common out of focus object found in paranormal photos is a strange mist. It looks particularly odd because it is out of focus and often strongly illuminated by the camera flash.
Though ordinary mists can be photographed this way, a more common source of such spooky mists is the photographer's breath (or that of others nearby), caught against a dark background on a cold night. Smoke from a cigarette can also cause the effect. Due to the intensity of the camera flash, mists may appear on photographs that are not visible at the time of exposure to witnesses present. Such mists are frequently interpreted as ghosts despite the fact that apparitions are not generally reported to look misty!
Spurious light sources or partially reflective surfaces can produce a whole host of 'lens flare' and similar light anomalies - from curves of light at the edge of the photograph, to halos around people and objects. Also bear in mind that many compact digital cameras when set to flash mode send out orange-red pulses of light prior to the flash photograph being taken (it's part of the range finding, auto-focus mechanism) so your camera may be picking up the light from another camera being used by one of your eager fellow investigators.
Many coloured orbs pick up their hue through Moire patterns. These fine patterns, found within 'orbs' are usually concentric rings. This is an effect caused when photographs are being taken which are near to the limit of the resolution of the camera. Oddly enough, coloured orbs are becoming more common as cameras have more megapixels so showing finer detail. The patterns in the orbs are characteristic of the lens. Every lens has minor imperfections, so each will produce its own characteristic patterns within orbs.
Some cameras may have trouble functioning in low light in the first place and may have minor faults in the sensing diodes that will of course predispose that camera to produce spurious, random effects in those conditions in which most ghost hunting happens.
A photograph of a strange phenomenon is just that - a strange phenomenon.
Careful investigators need to rule out all the things that could cause such an anomaly before reaching the conclusion that it has some paranormal explanation.
Was it a bug?
Is it a reflection?
Is it dust?
Is it condensation on the lens of the camera?
Is it dirt on the lens of the camera?
Could there have been vapour or, more likely, smoke in the room from a previous activity/person?
Was it someone else's camera flash?
Was the camera working properly - was it damp, damaged, or in need of service?
Was the camera up to the task - think camera-phone versus SLR?
Were all of the local atmospheric and environmental factors considered?
Only when these questions and more have been satisfactorily answered can be even approach considering photographs as representing any sort of evidence that something 'paranormal' was happening. Then, of course, we have to rule out any obvious fraud or trickery before staring to look at how we can interpret these images.
The challenge for investigation teams is HOW to try to control for some of these natural effects and HOW they are going to keep meaningful records of the photographic data (time, place, temperature, humidity and so on).
Here are some interesting places to find out more about this topic...
http://www.thebutterflygift.com/index.php/Articles/Science-of-Orb-Photos.html
http://www.assap.org/newsite/htmlfiles/Investigation%20hints.html
Until next time
Alan
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