Fascinating Orbs

[Les E]

HI Snowkissed,

Roslin Glen the area that my orb image was captured is supposed to be a layline area,the whole place is rather creepy, a wooded valley overlooked by the imposing Roslin Chapel and the castle its quite a mystical place associated with the Knights Templer and Holy Grail.The castle is haunted as is the nearby site of the Battle Of Roslin.Where the image was taken is also very close to the ruins of a old gunpowder factory which provided explosives for the two world wars.During WWI a spark from a train on a nearby railway line caused part of the factory to blow up claiming several lives.

Regards Les.

[Snowkissed]

HI Snowkissed,

Roslin Glen the area that my orb image was captured is supposed to be a layline area,the whole place is rather creepy, a wooded valley overlooked by the imposing Roslin Chapel and the castle its quite a mystical place associated with the Knights Templer and Holy Grail.The castle is haunted as is the nearby site of the Battle Of Roslin.Where the image was taken is also very close to the ruins of a old gunpowder factory which provided explosives for the two world wars.During WWI a spark from a train on a nearby railway line caused part of the factory to blow up claiming several lives.

Regards Les.

I can't wait to see that orb Les! Have you looked closely at the structure of the orb? Can you remember the type of weather it was when you took the photo?

I was reluctant to post these photos below as it may appear that I am bias towards the belief that orbs are manifestations of ghosts or spirits. However, I feel that it would be appropriate to share with you something I did as an experiment. I purchased two small stones, known as Shaman Stones which are made of iron ore and are found in North America. The ancient Shamans were supposed to hold the stones in order to move energy around the body and when holding the stones they could make contact with ET's. On a clear, dry, mild night I decided to walk to the top of the garden (where the dowsing rods spin around) and hold a Shaman Stone in each hand. I meditated for five mins, concentrating on the energy of the stones. I then asked my husband to take a couple of photos of me holding the stones. He took three photos in total. In two out of the three photos you can clearly see a large orb which appears to travel from my left to my right (supposing it is the same orb in the two photos). There were no other orbs apparent in the photos at all. There were no orbs at all in the third photo. It appears that I am looking straight at the orb in the first photo. I can only tell you that I could not see a thing, but I was aware of a 'feeling' that something was there!

[pottyprof]

It's interesting stuff..

The great thing about Netweather is the detail in the charts within the archive. You can check out the detail to eliminate some factors at the time the photos were taken.

Ley lines are just routes that have been travelled over the years, some for many centuries. They are usually connected with line of sight objects. Ancient burial grounds, water sources, cheese wrings, high ground.. Call it an old version of GPS if you want.. There is nothing mystical about them. What is interesting is the way they cross fault lines and some of the things that are built at that point..

With regards to dowsing rods.... These induce currents into your body. If you're not familiar with Voltaire's discovery then Google his name.. The rods act as an antenna for moving ions within a local field. The water boards used dowsing for years with about 99% success. Moving ions and all that makes dowsing real despite some so called scientific researchers calling it into doubt..

(running water in its natural state creates the best response for a dowser..)

[Coast]

Fascinating stuff Snowkissed - I wasn't even aware of the phenomenon until now and you have some great shots in your first post, thanks for opening the thread.

There are many views on the web as to the origin of orbs, here are some differing ones which each have their merits:

Due to the size limitations of the modern compact and ultra-compact cameras, especially digital cameras, the distance between the lens and the built-in flash has decreased, thereby decreasing the angle of light reflection to the lens and increasing the likelihood of light reflection off normally sub-visible particles. Hence, the orb artifact is commonplace with small digital or film camera photographs.

The orb artifact can result from reflection of light off solid particles (e.g., dust, pollen), liquid particles (water droplets - especially rain) or other foreign material within the camera lens.

The image artifacts usually appear as either white or semi-transparent circles, though may also occur with whole or partial color spectrums, purple fringing or other chromatic aberration. With rain droplets, an image may capture light passing through the droplet creating a small rainbow effect.

Underwater photographers notice the effect also, which occurs for the same reason as above-water photographic artifacts. Sand, small sea life or other particles close to the lens, invisible to the diver, reflect light from the flash causing the orb artifact in the image. A strobe flash, which distances the flash from the lens, eliminates the artifacts.

en.wikipedia.org/

One popular orbs theory is that the orb is the energy being transferred from a source such as power lines, heat, batteries and so on. 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. I have certainly seen orbs around people's heads when I am making a spirit link. There is one instance that I have described in detail in my book "Protecting the Soul" in which Jane and me saw a brilliant ball of light -an orb about the size of a football- appear in the middle of the room. It was astonishing and in this instance we believe that it may have been a protective spirit. The difference between this spirit light phenomena and orbs caught on camera is that spirit lights can be seen with the naked aye and by everyone present

www.psychics.co.uk

Orbs are a phenomenon that appear on photographs taken by digital cameras. Digital cameras work on infrared and it is this feature that allows the camera to pick up these odd balls of light which are known as 'orbs'. Many sceptics would have you believe that orbs are simply particles of dust, hair or something similar which is illuminated by the cameras flash and we have to agree with this theory in some cases. However, through our investigations, we have come to recognise the difference between dust particles and proper orbs. Later this article we explain and demonstrate the differences. As part of our on-going investigations into the paranormal, we at 'Cosmic Conspiracies' have been hanging around several graveyards in Spooky Gloucestershire. Naturally, or un-naturally, enough, we have been doing this at night-time, and have used digital cameras, a digital thermometer, an EMF reader and a night-sight camcorder. We've also set up some controlled experiments to ascertain whether we could reproduce the orb phenomenon by other means.

www.ufos-aliens.co.uk

It should also be noted that "orbs" were actually quite rare (if not nonexistent) before digital cameras became common. In the early days of low-cost, cheap digital cameras, some "ghost hunters" actually proposed that digital cameras are "superior for orb photography". And since they were producing more "orb" photos, this was technically true. But the digital imaging chip is very different than traditional film photography and was far inferior until recent times. Some of the earlier, low-end digital cameras were made with CMOS chips and they would create "noise" in low-light photographs that would be mistaken for "orbs". It seemed that when they were used in darkness, or near darkness, the resulting images were plagued with spots that appeared white, or light coloured, and where the digital pixels had not all filled in. In this manner, the cameras were creating "orbs", and they had no paranormal source at all.

The most common “orb” photos are merely refractions of light on the camera lens. This occurs when the camera flash bounces back from something reflective in the range of the camera. When this happens, it creates a perfectly round ball of light that appears to be within the parameters of the photo but is actually just an image on the lens itself. Many people often mistake these "orbs" for genuine evidence of ghosts, although I have never really been quite clear as to why that is. Most “orb” photos occur when the camera flash is used. Some of the photographers will insist that their flash was not on, which means it was and they didn't know it. The automatic exposure control on most any standard 35 mm camera uses fill flash in all but the brightest light.

Even so, “orbs” don’t have to have a camera flash to be created. They can also be caused by bright lights in an area where the photo is being taken, by angles of light and by many types of artificial lighting.

But are lights and camera flashes the only thing that can cause “orbs” to appear? Far from it! Other objects that end up in front of the camera lens and are mistaken for paranormal images are dust, moisture, pollen, insects, snow, rain, hair, ash and scores of other semi-microscopic particles. In almost every case, the camera flash reflects on the surface of one of these particles and seems to “glow”, as one might expect a ghostly image to do.

www.prairieghosts.com

So as you can see - a few differing opinions and I'm still not sure what causes them, but I do know they look great when captured as you have. I'm just keeping an open mind on the subject and enjoying the photos!

[Snowkissed]

Thank you so much for all the information Coast. As you say, it is always best to have an open mind on this subject. Aristotle once said ... 'It is a sign of intellegence when one can entertain an idea without accepting it.'

[Les E]

HI All,

I wish I could download my orb images but I cant ,I think because Im on dialup.The orb I captured is not unlike the second set by Snowkissed but the image was taken in daylight against a gravel shoreline of a river,although it was a rather dull January day at the bottom of a river valley no flash was used.I remember seeing video footage on television of several orbs moving about a sitting room they dident strike me as defocused insects,dust or reflections.There are some really bad 'orb' images out there some I saw on the internet some time ago were obviously out of focus snowflakes in a dark garden.A lot of so called UFO footage that finds itself on the TV sometimes are so obviously defocused planets or aircraft landing lights its actually a insult to the intelligence and quite amazing how they can fool anyone.

Regards Les.

[frogesque]

This was taken way back on 21st July 05. It was a deliberate attempt to capture 'orbs'

I was at Loch Leven photographing the sunset and was getting eaten by midges and mossies so I turned the camera on them. No fake, no PS, just exactly as taken.

[Snowkissed]

I wish I could download my orb images but I cant ,I think because Im on dialup.The orb I captured is not unlike the second set by Snowkissed but the image was taken in daylight against a gravel shoreline of a river,although it was a rather dull January day at the bottom of a river valley no flash was used.

Les, I wonder if you would be prepared to print a small version of your picture and send it to me? I will PM you later with details etc.

Daylight orbs really interest me. I have posted below a photo taken by a boy ( named Luke) aged 11 years old. He took the photo while he was walking with his mother and his dog at a small local wood. The colour of the orb is a brilliant blue. To date I have not been able to take a photo of a 'coloured' orb in the day light.

Hi Frogesque,

The photo is very interesting. Very often insects can appear bright white when photographed close up with a flash. Sometimes orbs and flying instects can look the same. Usually though if you look closely at the photo you can make out the shape of the wings of an instect in flight. Myself and others who have sent me photos of orbs have taken photos of what are known as 'rocket orbs.' These are bright white balls of light which appear to be shooting upwards. What I like about your photo of the enlarged orb there is the rainbow coloured 'aura' surrounding it. You say that you went out to capture an 'orb' on purpose. Have you done this since and have you had any results?

[PEMBS PIRATE]

Orbs in Winchester Cathedral in September this year.....

[Snowkissed]

Orbs in Winchester Cathedral in September this year.....

Thank you for posting this photo, it is asthetically beautiful! I feel the orbs give a real sense of 'peace' to the picture!

[noggin]

I wondered what this thread was about and now I know. Interesting.

I am more inclined to an as-yet unexplained simple physical reason for these things appearing in photographs, rather than a supernatural manifestation.

Having said that, I would also like to stress my openmindedness with regard to "stuff".

I am firmly in agreement with The Bard, who wrote.......

....."There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy".

So much that we don't know.........

For the past two years I ahve been interested in the orbs which poeple can catch in digital cameras.

Hi, Snowkissed.

Have you, or do you know if anyone else has, approached companies such as Kodak or Fujifilm to see if they can shed any light on what causes this phenomenon in photos?

[Snowkissed]

Hi Noggin - no I have not contacted Kodak, but it is an excellent idea! I quote a page from the book 'The Orb Project' by Miceal Ledwith and Klaus Heinemann on this subject though.....

'An exception is a rigorous investigation from 2005 conducted by Gary E. Schwartz and Katherine Creath of the University of Arizona. Based on a small selection of orb pictures, this paper correctly warns against too readily attributing orb phenomena in digital photographs to some form of paranormal agency and investigates how stray reflections in uncontrolled environments might produce results such as these. However, the authors also acknowledge that it would be neither logical nor repsonsible at this stage to dismiss all orb phenomena as due to mechanisms such as reflections....

.....There is no doubt that dust particles, pollen or moisture droplets in the air can produce images that may in some respects resemble true orb phtotographs and care must be taken to assess the evidence. It is likewise true that some camera mechanisms in certain circimstances will produce false pictures of orbs. But it takes very little experience to be able to clearly distinguish the false from the real....Technical problems with the camera lens and CCD can cause the appearance of 'false' orbs. The most common prblem is 'lens flare,' which happens when light comes into the camera lense that is not part of the image being photographed. Instead it refects back and forth on the internal surfaces of the lens any number of times before it reaches the digital sensor. These reflections can produce very impressive circular or orb-like forms on the picture receiver. These images are usually ordered in a line accross the picture. It is also noteoworthy that the shapes of the orb-like elements that appear match the shape of the aperture of the lens.'

I do feel that when you take a photo of an orb you have to take note of all the conditions in which it is taken, but what is important is what you feel the orb represents.

Edited November 10, 2009 by Snowkissed

[Methuselah]

I'm really not trying to be a stick-in-the-mud, SK; but isn't the above argument uncannily similar to that used in defence of the 'spoon benders' of the 1970s: just because Yuri Geller happens to be a stage-conjurer, it doesn't mean that others can't really bend spoons using genuine 'psychic' forces? And...Don't you ever wonder why spirits, psychics and mediums et al limit their 'abilities' to such trivia as spoon-bending, meaningless prattle and 'orbs'? Why didn't they prevent 9/11, for example???

Having said all that: I really do think that it's trully amazing that, given the same image, we can all see so many entirely different things!

[Gray-Wolf]

Though very open minded about 'otherworldly' things I find it hard to ascribe credibility to many of the plethora of explanations regarding 'orbs'.

I can accept that the mechanisms of a 'digital' camera can bring about many interesting effects (esp. in my untutored hands) but that we should stumble upon a 'household' way of displaying 'proof' of the otherworld?

If we do indeed live in a 'multi verse' ,and have gravity as a 'leached out' force from another dimension, then I'm quite happy to accept that maybe other 'leach-outs' are equally likely to occur (from the multiplicity of other dimensions/'nows').

I can even accept that they would not necessarily be as notable as gravity to us but that they should only become apparent with the advent of the digital camera??? I personally don't think so.

All of that said if our sentience does include a detachable 'soul/spirit' then maybe it would prove useful for some folk (died in the wool atheist etc.) to view it as another 'leach -out' from a dimension of purely soul/spirit?

I'll get me coat........

[cyclonic happiness]

When a scientist can tell you where your soul goes after death (and after all, we all have souls and I cannot remember never excisting so why should that ever change?), then I will believe that everything I can imagine, probably couldn't happen.

[Snowkissed]

Though very open minded about 'otherworldly' things I find it hard to ascribe credibility to many of the plethora of explanations regarding 'orbs'.

I can accept that the mechanisms of a 'digital' camera can bring about many interesting effects (esp. in my untutored hands) but that we should stumble upon a 'household' way of displaying 'proof' of the otherworld?

I knew when I opened this thread that many people would immeditately jump to the conclusions that I was trying to prove that 'orbs' are definately signs of the 'otherworld'. I would like to reliterate that I am undertaking my own orb project and I will probably never come to any real conclusions as to 'what' these 'orbs' are. However, as I mentioned before, even if orbs are raindrops, moisture droplets or whatever, (and in a majority of cases the flash light reflects on 'something' which is illuminated for a split second) I wanted people to be aware that they may be capturing something which can be admired for it's individual structure and colour.

[Methuselah]

Never get me wrong , SK...There are many, many beautiful things in this world: there are bright blue butterflies, damsels, moths and birds. There are so-many things that should make us wonder at the beauty of the Universe...

I might be a 'scientific' type, SK? But, why do I love my ex-fiancee's rabbit? Why does one marvel at the irridescence of a dragonfly's body, the beauty of a lacewing? I don't know. I just do!

I've spent hours staring down a microscope at the beauty of silicates, feldspars and granites. I've watched paramecia go 'nowhere fast', I've sat for hours watching a spider weave its web...

I'm not implying that 'orbs' are not beautiful; just that - perhaps - the natural world contains far more???

When a scientist can tell you where your soul goes after death (and after all, we all have souls and I cannot remember never excisting so why should that ever change?), then I will believe that everything I can imagine, probably couldn't happen.

I don't believe in souls...

Though very open minded about 'otherworldly' things I find it hard to ascribe credibility to many of the plethora of explanations regarding 'orbs'.

I can accept that the mechanisms of a 'digital' camera can bring about many interesting effects (esp. in my untutored hands) but that we should stumble upon a 'household' way of displaying 'proof' of the otherworld?

I knew when I opened this thread that many people would immeditately jump to the conclusions that I was trying to prove that 'orbs' are definately signs of the 'otherworld'. I would like to reliterate that I am undertaking my own orb project and I will probably never come to any real conclusions as to 'what' these 'orbs' are. However, as I mentioned before, even if orbs are raindrops, moisture droplets or whatever, (and in a majority of cases the flash light reflects on 'something' which is illuminated for a split second) I wanted people to be aware that they may be capturing something which can be admired for it's individual structure and colour.

Sorry SK, if I ever made you think that...I do love the beauty of things!

[noggin]

I have just been watching Live Aid on dvd and, interestingly, there were lots of "orbs" when the tv camera was getting too close to the lighting rigs. As far as I am concerned, they are a light issue. I am pretty sure that I have some on some photos of my own, taken on a non digital camera and I have never thought of them as anything other than a slight problem as a result of a light issue.

[Les E]

HI Snowkissed,

Ive managed to set up my gallery and download my orb images onto it.In the full size image the orb is just above and to the left of the dogs head.The images are not as clear as Id like due to resizing.If you still want the prints that should be clearer let me know.

Regards Les.

PS,

Incidently the image was taken on the 23rd January 2006,near the old gunpowder mill Roslin Glen.The camera was a 4mp CONCORD 4340z compact.Weather was dull but no flash.

Edited November 10, 2009 by Les E

[Snowkissed]

I have just been watching Live Aid on dvd and, interestingly, there were lots of "orbs" when the tv camera was getting too close to the lighting rigs. As far as I am concerned, they are a light issue. I am pretty sure that I have some on some photos of my own, taken on a non digital camera and I have never thought of them as anything other than a slight problem as a result of a light issue.

Hi Noggin,

There are many different 'sorts' of orbs. From my experience so far, (which isn't much compared to those who have studied this phenomina for ten years), you can tell the difference between the orbs which are a result of camera flare etc. The difference being is to do with the interior structure, size and colour of the orbs. Orbs found in raindrops are notably different to those found in dry weather. I will post some examples soon.

HI Les,

Thanks for working over time on this! I shall go and have a look!

Regards SK

[noggin]

There are many different 'sorts' of orbs.

Are you saying that you think that some are supernatural?

[Snowkissed]

Well, I would like to think that anything is possible. I only wish I could be as 'certain' about many things in life, as others seem to be. I do feel that if something interests you, it is important to investigate it as far as you can and entertain all avenues while doing so. There can be no harm in looking for answers, as long as one can find peace when there are no answers to be found!

[Gray-Wolf]

Sorry if I upset you Snowkissed ,I am sure that there are many naturally occurring phenomena that the 'instant freeze' of a camera lens make more obvious than they are to the human eye.

I'll happily accept 'earth lights' above fault ridden quartz strata and am fascinated with the cloud top lightning of sprites and gelphs(?)

I'm just a little perturbed by some of the explanations of 'orbs' that we can hear from the more outlandish of the 'new agers'

Sorry again if I yanked your chain ,it wasn't intentional.

Edited November 11, 2009 by Gray-Wolf

[Snowkissed]

Sorry if I upset you Snowkissed ,I am sure that there are many naturally occurring phenomena that the 'instant freeze' of a camera lens make more obvious than they are to the human eye.

I'll happily accept 'earth lights' above fault ridden quartz strata and am fascinated with the cloud top lightning of sprites and gelphs(?)

I'm just a little perturbed by some of the explanations of 'orbs' that we can hear from the more outlandish of the 'new agers'

Sorry again if I yanked your chain ,it wasn't intentional.

No problem Grey-wolf, everyone has the right to speak their truth! It was very kind of you to appologise though, thank you

[Methuselah]

Well, I would like to think that anything is possible. I only wish I could be as 'certain' about many things in life, as others seem to be. I do feel that if something interests you, it is important to investigate it as far as you can and entertain all avenues while doing so. There can be no harm in looking for answers, as long as one can find peace when there are no answers to be found!

Absolutely!