Hey gang - a couple of questions on orbs. First of all, as I posted last night on a different forum, I actually got some orb shots last night (first time ever) with my digi cam. On 3 shots, all in the same corner of the basement, an orb appeared (in different places like it was moving - in the last shot it's cut in half at the top of the photo like it was coming right at me) My problem is, they look so 2-dimensional, and I've always imagined that a ball of energy like that would look 3-d in nature. But, at the same time, the fact the thing is in one part of the room and in different places in that area makes me think its not just a smudge or dust-speck on the lens. I guess I feel I should be more excited about getting something finally....hehehe...especially as myself and my fiancee both asked if anyone would want to show themselves when we took these.

Also - I got one shot upstairs (I went around the whole house taking photos just to see if I got any more possible dust specks) and one a single shot in the living room I have two very small but very bright blue circles, right next to each other, near the ceiling. Not sure what these are either - do colors mean anything in relation to orb phenomena?

Thanks in advance guys!

UM

Hi UM,

I'd like to see the pics, if possible. =) You an either email them to me and I'll post them for you, or you can go to either webshots.com or villagephotos.com and open a free account and upload them there, then make a post in the Ghost Photos forum.

Some orbs appear better on film than others. It's thought that their energy level has something to do with it. If they are quite faint, I usually discount them - could be dust. But the ones that are bright and seem to have a nucleus I pay more attention to - particularly if they are in motion.

I'm not sure that the color actually has anything to do with the nature of an orb. It's been said that it's an aura, but I don't think there's any way to know, really. I feel that it is more than likely the ambient lighting in a room at the time the photo is taken that can cause colored effects on the orbs. Although, I've also seen them with the naked eye and they had an amber glow. I think others have seen them like this, as well as some with a blueish tint.

Kell

I'd like to see the pics too. Sometimes dust or moisture droplets can look like orbs in pictures. You can do as Kell suggested, or if your ISP gives you web space, you can upload them there too and link to them.

Is there any paranormal activity in the place you took the pictures at? Any interesting history of the place?

kell,
i have so pics of orbs. some are better than others. i have one in gettysburg. but it's not one or two orbs, it's tons and there was nothing that i can think of to cause them. but some of them are more faint than others and i also was calling for anyone who was there to allow us to photograph them....is it nothing, or do you think maybe i actually have something

Yes, your own webspace works well, too! Thanks, Kevin. =)

Phantom Chaser, when orbs show up in droves like that, you more than likely have caught moisture, dust, pollen, etc. We'd still be happy to have a look at your pics though!

Kell

OK kids, here they are, I set up at village photos

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubgallery.asp?id_=433392[/URL]

I put up the three "orb" shots (it actually seems to fade in intensity in each shot I just noticed too) and the photos were cropped but not altered in any way. I also put up the 2 tiny blue gloweys that I think someone smarter than me will probably explain away. I did take a second photo of the same exact area as a sugar-pill and there were no blue lights in it.

As for the history of the house, right now we are staying at my fiancee's parents' place waiting to get into our new place, and they built this one. And everyone who lives here has seen stuff. When she was younger my baby saw a full-blown apparition on the spiral staircase that connects the basement to the main house, of a woman in a dress. She was also "poked" upstairs by several pairs of hands at the same time whilst alone one night. Her mom and dad refuse to talk about their experiences, sadly. Since Ive been here, I spend a lot of time alone here (in the basement, where my coputer/office is temporarily set up) and Ive often heard what sounds like someone coming home and walking around upstairs, but theres never anything there. And the dogs hear it too 'cause they stare up the stairs like they're waiting for their mommy to come down.

Anyway, all responses are very welcome, and thanks again to everyone for being so helpful!

UM

I found this just now on a quick web-search and thought it might be a talking point..it was on some message-board about orbs....

"Anyway, I ran into two fascinating books in my dissertation research. Dr.
Michael Newton's JOURNEY OF SOULS and DESTINY OF SOULS are accounts
of his hypnotic regression sessions when his patients recounted their
experiences IN BETWEEN lives. Over and over again, they said they were
energetic balls of colored lights! Their colors represent their spiritual
development.
I have found similar descriptions in many different places, so I am
intrigued.
What really grabbed me was white (and different shades of white, such as
reddish-white and light gray) is the most undeveloped and frequent color;
yellow and gold are the next step up; and light blue is about as advanced as
typical souls from Earth get. Then come dark blue and purple, but they are
extremely rare. They are the "old ones". They hardly ever describe any
other colors. And that's just ONE interesting tidbit related to orbs in
those two books!"

Those are good pics, and on the first three the orb looks real. Especially the first pic where it looks like it's moving. Since there is one orb (instead of many, which could mean dust) and there's been paranormal activity in the area, that leads me to believe that it's a real orb.

I've never seen anything like those blue dots in the last photo. I'm not quite sure what to make of those. They could be paranormal in nature (maybe an orb/orbs about to "do" something?), or they could be dust or a camera hiccup.

Kell mentioned that real orbs appear to have a "nucleus." I've also read that "orbs" caused by dust can appear to have a nucleus as well, where true orb photos don't necessarily show one. Maybe it depends on the energy level of the orb.

What kind of camera did you use? I'm thinking of getting a digital camera, maybe as a Christmas gift, to go along with my digital camcorder which doubles as a camera.

I just added a couple more, the direct link to all the photos is now:

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?selected=542925[/URL]

The newest 2 were taken a couple of nights later, through the open door you see in the original 3 into the unfinished parts of the basement. One appears to be red in color. The other one, just so no-one is all hmmmm, is taken against a wall covered with hanging pieces of a plastic Christmas Tree, it's not crazy indoor kudzu (sp?) or anything, even though we are in SC. I did get another one also that has several orb-like things in it, but I'm assuming that is dust as they are dull and somewhat plentiful, in fact 2 are overlapping, maybe I'll put it up as a comparison anyway...

Thanks again Kevin, I appreciate your thoughts!

UM

Yes definitely post the pic with the dust orbs, they'll make for a good comparison between presumably real orbs and orbs created by dust.

As for the last two pictures, they're interesting. The first one is dark and it's hard to make out the orb. Dark ones could be dust as well, maybe a red-colored fleck of dust floating in front of the lens? The second pic (with the Christmas stuff) looks more like a real orb. It's interesting how one side is illuminated more than the other, maybe the way the flash hit it?

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this.... my work is never done!

#1: The orb appears to be in motion - and is obviously not a bug, so that very well could be genuine.

#2 - Looks good! Sometimes you'll get them on the edge of the pic like that. Not unusual. Maybe they're trying to stay out of the shot.

#4, the blue dots. To me, that looks like pixelization - or something camera/compression related. Definitely don't think those are true orbs.

#5 is quite dark/artifacted from compression and the orb so faint, more than likely, this is dust.

#6 with the pine bow - Even though the pic isn't a great quality, it does appear to be a fairly good orb. See that bluish tint to it? Many genuine orbs seem to have that, but as in all cases, ambient lighting can make a difference in how they appear on camera, color-wise.

#7 - the basement? Looks pretty good, but hard to say for sure. It looks under construction, is it? That can stir up dust, and as you already know - dust can be mistaken for orbs. But at the same time, ghosts seem to love the basement!

I'm not sure who came up with the theory that genuine orbs do not have a nucleus, but I've seen true orbs that seem have them, so??? Maybe I'm misunderstanding something in there... Why couldn't they? How do we know for sure? Kevin, do you recall where you found that information? Maybe we can read up on it.

UM - here's a site you might find interesting. They're studying orbs from a quantum physics stand point.
http://orbstudy.com/[/URL]

Kell

[ October 18, 2003, 04:26 AM: Message edited by: KellKell ]

Kell, this page[/URL] on Ghoststudy.com shows some dust pics with nuclei. Of course they don't look at all like real orbs, with or without nuclei. And of course, dust rarely shows up as a single orb, but as a whole flock of them.

You just have to examine each picture on a case by case basis to determine if it's dust or not.

Oh yes, of course. Now I remember where that came from. Uh, well, yes, it's painfully obvious those pics are not real orbs - so I guess there is a point to be made about real orbs not having a nuclei. But, I'd think a little more testing/experimentation/comparison to the real orbs might be in order. (Nuclei-wise)

I guess what I'm getting at when I talk about an orb's innards are the guts, not necessarily a "nucleus". It's hard to explain, but Kevin, maybe you know what I'm talking about? There is 'substance' on the inside of a real one - along with an outer wall, whereas, the dust orbs are very flat and 2D in appearance.

I'm definitely in agreement about the diamond-shaped orbs - that is caused by the camera. One brand that I know does that seemingly all the time is the Sony Mavica.

Kell

[ October 18, 2003, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: KellKell ]

I think we got the idea that the orbs should not have a nucleus from GhostStudy. I posted this under another thread about orbs:


posted September 21, 2003 05:32 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was checking out the September ghost pictures on GhostStudy (they're listed under SpiritKeep's "Visit our friends" feature). And they listed the rules they follow before posting pictures of orbs. Although I believe there are exceptions to a couple of these, here they are:

1. Should have the appearance of motion.
2. Round but not necessarily perfectly round.
3. Should not have a nucleus or cell wall.
4. If you are constantly getting orbs in your pics, it is dust.
5. If there are several orbs in the pic, it is considered dust.
6. If the orbs are diamond shaped, it is a defective camera.
7. If the orbs are especially faded, they cannot be considered.

Ahh... yes, I remember you posted that for us. Thanks! =)

Well, I agree with the majority of it, but for me (keyword being me ), I still have to question the veracity of GhostStudy.com's orb 'guideline' #3. Goes like this -- if a genuine orb cannot have a nucleus, cell wall nor faint/flat image, what can it have? (as far as "parts" go)

For instance, that great moving orb[/URL] shot that I captured here in the house; it has a cell wall... and this is a true orb - I saw it move with my own eyes as I snapped the pic.

Just something to ponder when following the aforementioned guidelines. So, like you Connie, I think there are excpetions. Oh, I should also say that GhostStudy.INFO is the one listed in our friends dropdown menu. Don't want to confuse anyone. =)

Kell

My apologies to Mr. Carter of GhostStudy.INFO! That's what you get for being a SpiritKeep purist. I need to get out more so I can tell the difference between GhostStudy.com and GhostStudy.INFO

I think there could be exceptions to rules 4 and 5 as well. If you know the area is haunted and they are cooperative, why wouldn't you always have orbs in your pictures? Also, what about areas like Gettysburg? We know when there is a battle, you are going to have several spirits in one area. Why wouldn't a picture produce several orbs?

Also, I think dust would be hard to capture unless you're stomping around a hayloft. I shamelessly admit I have a dusty house , but I've never had an orb in one of my pictures taken in my house.

Connie! I guess we need to let you out more.

Those are good points about rules 4 & 5 as well. I suppose overall, they are a good set of basic guidelines to keep in mind, but nothing is written in stone; there will always be exceptions to the 'rule', as it were.

Kell