I once thought I caught a phenomenon commonly called an “Orb” in a photograph I took in 2010 at the West Kennett Long Barrow in Wiltshire. I had been inside doing some meditation. When I finished I went around each chamber taking pictures for the blog. Later, when I looked at the chamber in the photograph in which I had had the profoundest connection I found a ball of transparent light on the picture. I remember quite distinctly having an “urge” to take two pictures one after the other. Now, there was no reason for doing this because I only took one picture of the other parts of the barrow, but when it came to this particular chamber I took tow, quickly in succession. One had a transparent globe of light on it and the other didn’t.
Skeptics Corner
I then did some research on orb lights. Professional photographers had done a good job of totally dismissing the phenomenon, and had cites the following contributing factors to why the phenomenon occurred:-
- Digital camera technology
- Flash photography
- Specks of dust or rain in the atmosphere
In fact, this article went a long way to making me think that it was all just a product of a combination of cheap technology and airborne particles:
“This comprehensive survey strongly supports the hypothesis that orbs are simply the result of dust and other airborne material drifting close to the camera and reflecting the flash illumination back toward the image sensor and provides long overdue definitive evidence that their origin lies firmly within the mundane and explainable, not the paranormal or supernatural.
A 3 megapixel CCD actually captures less than 10% of the total image information available within a scene when compared with a 35mm camera negative. The software has to ‘fill in’ these gaps in the image by making comparisons with the information from neighbouring pixels, thus a single pin point of light in a scene may be ignored completely or seen and then ‘expanded’ by the software as it compares and interpolates each pixel with it’s neighbours – the single point source of light becoming a gradually larger and fainter circle of light – giving the characteristic circular Orb anomaly.”
(source: Para.Science)
Well, my camera is a 10 megapixel camera, but let’s not be too picky about this. I couldn’t rule any of those factors out of the West Kennett situation – I had used a digital camera with a flash, and it was surely quite dusty in there.
Weeks later I took some more photographs using a flash where I knew there was lots of dust and got the same transparent glowing globes on my picture. Later I took some pictures in the rain and got the same. Transparent orbs which had an ethereal appearance. Well, mystery solved then, it was merely a trick of the light and the technology. I put orbs away to the back of my mind and though no more about them.
Formby Point
Then recently, I copied some pictures off my camera from a special day that M and I had spent at Formby Point on the Wirral, Merseyside. It had been special for one particular moment. I had an urge to go down a particular path despite it not looking particularly promising, and despite the weather being cold. I had that urge. So much so, i connected to the forest and expanded my aura into it in order to “feel” what was going on. Something was calling…
As we were walking through a mixed forest of pine trees and birch trees near to the shoreline I saw a peculiar bent-over tree that reminded me of my favourite tree in Delamere Forest and also Alderley Edge which were also bent over.
I stopped next to the tree. M realised that I wasn’t following her and stopped too. Why had I stopped? I filled the time in by taking some pictures while I thought about an answer to that question. After the first photo I felt odd. I didn’t want to take any more pictures, but I made myself zoom in on the way that a birch tree had grown into the bent over pine tree, but all the time I was doing this something was nagging at me, saying “This is irrelevant!”. Very odd feeling, so I stopped taking pictures.
Even though M was waiting for me I said I needed a moment. I tuned into the pine tree, placing my hand a foot above the point where the birch tree joined it, and the crook of its “arm” as it reached for the sky. A frisson of energy made me shiver and I used the connection to send loving thoughts to the tree, and to the forest in general, wishing it a long life and thanking it for being so unusual and delightful to look at.
Then we carried on our walk. The sky was grey, dull and cloud-covered, threatening rain. Minutes later I had collected shells from the shore and washed them in the sea, asking for the sea to bless the shells. For some reason I would need them later, and I put them into my pocket. We walked back. The rain stayed away until we got back to the car. We had been very lucky.
Today, I copied the pictures from that visit to my PC and looked at them. Here is the one of the bent-over tree:
What can I say? Low light, no rain, no dust, and too many coincidences.
Gwas. Believing again.
All you’re actually seeing is the product of a lens with a big numerical aperture, a flash very close to the axis of the lens, and an imaging system that captures bright objects well. The bit of knowledge you’re missing here is this: this phenomenon is NOT just confined to digital cameras.
You also get this sort of phenomenon with microscopes, albeit in negative. Microscope lenses have very, very narrow depth of field and huge apertures (you can exceed the normal limits of optics with water-immersion or oil immersion lenses) which means that if you have a point source of light, or a sharp black point that is out of focus, it will look like a circular anomaly with sharply defined edges.
Finally, the phenomenon is extremely well-known with night vision equipment, especially the Russian Gen-1 tat that currently floods the low-end market. High quality night vision kit is all about amplifying existing light, because in a military situation shining an infrared light about generally invites a high-velocity response. Non-military use can get by with lower amplification and an IR source, generally placed on the same device.
So, big lens with maximal aperture, very good light amplification and a very bright light right next to it… sounding familiar yet?
Float a bit of dust into the field of view of the lens, and when it floats into the path of the IR beam, it’ll show up really, really well. This used to be the mainstay of idiotic shows like “Most Haunted”, before they got tired of waiting for something to happen, and instead employed the bargain basement end of the special effects profession.
Orbs, I fear, are merely lensing artifacts. If they upset you, take a tip from the cave and urbex photographers and stop using the flash on the camera; take a tripod, use long exposures and a separate flashgun, or even learn to light-paint with a big torch.
I take your very well-argued point. I will see whether I get one to appear in a significant position without the use of a flash. Would that constitute an interesting phenomenon, or is that equally easily dismissable too? Just looking for the ground rules here…
Gwas.
i have had the same thoughts and read the same things about orbs.
i have a group of photo taken of me by my oh in the woods here in the forest within seconds/minutes and one has an orb directly over my back and one to the right of me~they do not appear in any other of the photos.
i also have one i took of my dog-not knowing a few days later he would be gone-and there is a huge orb right above his head.
i believe they are something other than dust, light, rubbish cameras.
Interesting–I’ve taken lots of photos over the years and never had any orbs that I can recall. On the other hand, other people I know seem to get them quite frequently. Why the difference? I’ve always written off orbs myself–but secretly wished they were real. So a few months ago, I get my first orb! Yes, it was inside, dusty and I used the flash. But it was only 1 orb in 1 photo, which seemed odd. And the place it was taken did have special significance to me. But with all the photos I took, you’d think there would be more orbs if all “conditions” were right. I don’t know if I’m a believer just yet, but I’m open!
The whole phenomenon is mad and maddening, isn’t it? There’s no consistency, but on this occasion the “signs” were there – I felt that something had made me stop at the tree. Just like in West Kennet – I felt that something has made me go and take two photos. My attention was being drawn.
Also, some people seem quite prone to them. There are pictures on the web of people meditating and orbs floating around them. I’m still not convinced by all the pictures I see, but that last one that I experienced was the most real yet.