Alisa Here is some pictures I took in the rain to prove photos like yours as nothing paranormal.

Hetrodoxly, thanks for your interesting comments. I've tried to lay out why I believe orbs are spirits throughout this topic (it's a long thread, granted).

Thanks for your comment, RelicHunter.

SpringhealedJack, I enjoyed your post and photos. Contrary to your belief, I think you've captured some shining examples of spirit orbs. As I've said before, I think spirits are everywhere and that we are constantly surrounded by them. Those caught on film are only a fraction of what is there. I also don't think it takes any special skill or stringent requirements for anyone to photograph the spirit world, though some seem to capture more than others. I have had some very good spirit images, as well as orbs appear during, and just before, or after rain.

hahaha yes exactly!

I second that.

[attachmentid=27303]I have just started ghost hunting with a few friends i just met at school. I went to the water-powered Blacklick/Wheatfield Iron Furnace that was built in 1846. We took a digital camera and took about 25 pictures. most of the pictures have orbs. and let me know what you think about the blue object in the first picture on the second page.

http://s7.photobucket.com/albums/y288/twilightlover626/

If the website does not work go onto photobucket.com and search twilightlover626

Well, a few questions, was it raining? Also, the picture you are referring to, is nothing paranormal at all. Spiritual orbs dont flock in the dozens, after 8yrs of studying and researching this is my belief. Im no expert so take it with a grain of salt. Spirit orbs have design in the center, like flowing energy. Dust and rain orbs lack design and appear to be flat. I havent reviewed all the images but here are a few things to consider when ghost hunting.

1. Tempature- if its cold hold your breath....your breath will give off false presentation of ecto.

2. Try not investigating in the rain, fog, humidity so on....You can get false reads.

3. Take pictures of dust from 4" away from the lens, drop dirt or something if you have to. Same with rain. These are for comparisons for later investigations. Also, if someone smokes or if its cold, do the fake ecto reads, blow smoke in front of the lens.

When you first start off always make your basic fake reads so you have something to fall back on and compare to. Otherwise every orb you capture, your left wondering.

Again im no expert, but I do hunt a lot and I base my knowledge off of this. The very first photo on this topic, I truely believe is a spirit, based off of the motion moving right.

However, if we go off of people who have been investigating for over a decade, they tend to argue against the orb in the left hand side of alisas pic. Its odd shaped and not a perfect shape. Most refer to that as a dust particle.

Fact of the matter is, nobody is for sure, no one can look at an orb and be like damn that is a spirit or that is infact a dust orb. Its based off of someones own theory, some will argue, some will bicker, and some will agree about certain things. Thats just how they were taught to read orbs. If you go to many different websites and look at pictures of false orbs, and then look at spiritual orbs, you can not really tell a difference in a lot of them, one you would think is a dust orb, turns out to be spiritual.

Then you go to a different website and bam, total opposite. Go off of what you think is right, do extensive research on the matter and go from there. Gotta start somewhere, and goodluck!

We've gone over a lot of this way back in the thread, but briefly, I don't think that "orb" pictures usually explain or predict anything paranormal. I think orbs are better explained with natural causes, and if they are an index of anything, it is probably the amount of foreign material in the air or on the lens.

I get orbs all the time when I have absolutely no indication that a location is haunted. So I might go to some purportedly haunted location and get orb pictures, and it wouldn't mean much to me, because I might get them anyway. I might even think a location is haunted, and I still would not really be able to say an orb picture meant anything at all.

So what are people seeing? Ohhhh, wait, halucinations. You pass it off as halucinations, even though you can't prove that everyone who has ever claimed to see a ghost has halucinated.


EDIT: I don't think orbs are spirits either. They're only seen after the video or picture is taken. Therefore it's probably a reflection of light, or a dust particle.

Wow it's been a while since I last posted here, but I have some more pics of "Orbs" for you to check out. I'll upload them tomorrow. They were shot in an OLD barn me and some friends are working to restore.

Yes, this is exactly why I can't think of orb pictures as evidence of spirit activity. I went through this, on this thread, over a number of posts, months ago with the original poster, and although she admitted she couldn't propose any way at all to tell authentic spirit orbs from dust, she still insisted on calling such pictures "evidence." Big frustrating circle.

Anyway, I'd boldface, italicize, underline, and circle the above paragraph. We could just cut and paste it whenever necessary.

What would you believe if you saw one? ( A Ghost, orb, or vortex,)
Do they exsist, i dont know. Its possible, yet hard for us to understand.

The question is What makes us think they dont exsist?

Are we scared?

To be honest i have not seen one yet, mind you im only 22 and have only ever stayed at one alleged haunted location overnight.

the Ram Inn at wotton under edge, England.

I heard all sorts of things, saw strange lights, can i prove it? No, no i cant.

Seeing a ghost yourself is the only true way you will believe 100%

Most haunted on tv is lets say, interesting.

Anyway, nice talking . Maybrick

I totally agree with that statement.

I believe that "orb" pictures have to be questioned carefully before being able to label them as such but they do exist.

The orb fenomena is a clear-cut case of flash reflection off of dust, particles, insects,snow or moisture droplets in the air in front of the camera, i.e. they are naturalistic.
Orb photos have become so common that some ghost-hunting organizations are no longer accepting submissions of them.

Naturalistic orbs are most commonly gained using digital cameras and built-in flash. While photographers with archives of photos report having occasionally seen "orbs" in their photos gained with film cameras, the recent rise in reports of orb photos may be directly related to the common availability of digital cameras and associated rise in the number of pictures taken.

It should be noted also that the size of the camera is another consideration in the recent proliferation of orb photos. As film cameras, and then digital cameras, have steadily shrunk in size, reports of "orbs" increased accordingly. As cameras became smaller, the distance between the lens and the built-in flash also shrank, decreasing the angle of reflection back into the lens.

We know they exist, what a few people seem to struggle with is there origin.

Interestingly there was a discovery program on AXN here in Thailand (xtesters) just last night about "Orbs" They had no problems at all reproducing the effect using dust off a carpet and various other techniques.

The art of putting words into people's mouths when they have not said anything of the sort seems to be a particular speciality of yours.

EDIT: put the quote tags in

As far as how spirit energy or 'orbs' appear to the naked eye - this pic in my experience and opinion of course! is a great example of how spirit energy CAN sometimes look to both the eye as well as a camera...

Sorry if it disapoints

I chose the word "evidence" because amongst its various definitions, it means "basis for belief or disbelief". What I have presented is my basis for belief. But you are right that I can't propose any way to tell spirit from dust. In the same way that when a group of people pray for someone who is hopelessly ill, and they suddenly get better, no one can say where medicine ends and the miracle of prayer begins. Reading the thousands of experiences people have with spirits, miracles, strangeness, NDEs, reincarnation, etc., it's not even logical to assume that there is nothing supernatural and/or miraculous occuring with great frequency. The evidence really is overwhelming.

I can't say I didn't question photographic orbs as evidence of spirit from time to time, because I did. But from further investigation, and spirit messages given to me (whether you wish to believe they come from subconscious or from separate entities), I would continue to see meaning and purpose in orbs as spiritual phenomenon.

Orbs were a stepping stone for me in spiritual investigation. Having accepted them opened up so much more to me. I presented "my evidence" here in hopes of inspiring or touching any other person interested in communing with the spirit world. I have a firm belief that orbs are spirits and I do not need anyone to believe it to bolster my confidence, nor do I need to win an argument on whether or not orbs are spirits. I remain happy to share my findings and discuss anyone else's findings or anything spiritual.

I also want to add that I have met several people through this thread that share my beliefs and experiences. Most do not write or argue their points, nor do they post their findings. If lack of believers arguing for orbs as spirit has anyone doubting the veracity of orbs, know that when you finally believe, the urge to argue is greatly diminished. You just go about investigating and marveling in your findings. At least that has been my experience.

I think it's fair enough for you to say how you regard orb pictures, and I really shouldn't have said "frustrating." But what I am saying is that the way you have defined the terms, not even you really, truly think of orb picures as "evidence" of or a basis for belief in anything. Instead, what you describe is pictures of something you already believe in. Which is fine. It's like saying, here is a picture of my family, not as evidence that they exist. I already know my family exists and don't care to prove it, and this picture wouldn't prove it anyway, because maybe it is somebody else's family.

So the picture is not really the basis of your belief. Am I right about that?



Actually, controlled studies do reveal the efficacy of prayer, and therefore they constitute a basis for confidence in it.



Yes, except I wouldn't call it supernatural. To me, everything that happens in the world is natural, even if it's ghosts.



OK, so they can have meaning in light of your beliefs, but they do not seem to be the basis of or evidence for those beliefs. The way you've defined them, they really couldn't be.



Sharing your experience and hope is a generous thing. Thanks.

Not to be contrary just for the sake of being contrary, but I have to say that the photos are part of the basis of my belief, certainly they were the starting point, intial, and main evidence. The first photo I took showing a single orb in the middle of the frame when I asked purely out of curiosity and experimentation that an entity show up for my photo started the ball rolling.



Yes , though this was mainly an example to illustrate the inability to use currently accepted physical parameters to explain something that falls "outside" of them. If everything must relate and be measurable by that which you/"we" currently know or are familiar with, much cannot be explained or will be considered impossible. It can be quite uncomfortable to let go of feeling in control and having everything fit neatly into current knowledge (this has been my experience anyway), but to expand means taking that risk. It also means that you might look crazy, gullible, etc., to some.



So does this mean that there is only one category for you: natural? If so, can anything fit into it or are there parameters. And if something falls "outside" of the parameters, then what do you call it if not supernatural?



The photos are a very large part of my evidence since I rarely see orbs outside of photos at this point in my spiritual growth. If I am saying contrary somewhere, I don't mean to.



Thanks to you, too. Your responses and ideas have been very interesting and compelling. You are articulate, polite and I look forward to posts made by you.

You don't seem contrary. I think you're trying to help me understand what you mean because I wasn't getting it. You say that orb photos are part of the basis of your belief, and so it seems I was wrong when I speculated that you couldn't possibly mean that. Most of all, it sounds like the orb photos prompted you to look beyond the apparent facts of life here on the physical plane. Fair enough!



Very true. And taking that kind of chance virtually assures that you'll have to face being wrong at some point. In fact, that's kind of a starting point for me. I wanted to think the "normal" picture of the universe that I had was secure. But I couldn't make the theory fit the data, so to speak. So out went the theory, even though it was a comforting one, in a way.

Anyway, I probably am crazy, so I don't mind. Hey, the world is crazy for that matter.



In a sense. What it means is that I don't think of ghosts and so on as "supernatural" but as a normal part of nature. It is just a controversial part that isn't usually available to our senses. (I usually use the term "natural" to mean the opposite of "artificial.")

What you might call a "natural" explanation for a sighting, I might call a "trivial" or "mundane" explanation, because it relies on everyday things that are already known. What you might call "supernatural," I might call spritiual, noncorporeal, non-physical, unusual, hard-to-explain, weird, or even my next least-favorite term, paranormal-- or I might just be specific, as in "communication with the spirits of deceased persons."

If you're asking if I think spirit encounters can be studied by science, then yes, absolutely.

Thanks for explaining what you meant!

I came across this forum while surfing trying to find answers to what has been happening in my home. I'll try to keep this short and to the point since I've had numerous incidents in the last 8 days. A week ago, I would have been among the skeptics regarding orbs. Heck, a week ago I never had heard of orbs. However, after having a flower within an arrangement appear as if it was being pushed down and snapping a photo out of curiosity to see what would appear, I saw what look like orbs around the flower arrangement. I felt a presence in the room with me to my left after that and snapped a photo in that direction, only to see numerous whitish orbs and one orange colored one. Since that evening, my cat has been acting very strange. He has chased something I couldn't see. While in my bedroom, my cat came running in as if he was chasing something and ran under my bed. I had been snapping photos constantly since seeing what are apprently called orbs on the previous day, so my camera was in the room with me. I grabbed my camera and snapped a photo of my bed where the cat ran under. There was a single orb right by my bedskirt where the cat ran under. While reading this forum, I know there have been people that say they can see them, but no details on a cat seeing them and chasing them. This past week, every time my cat meows strangly I've snapped photos and every time at least one orb appears in the photo. There are some that have my cat staring away from the camera directly at an orb. I have a stack of floor pillows that my cat likes to sleep on. He began to meow strange again and jumped off of them. I snapped a photo of the pillows and there was another single orb right in the middle of the pillow, as if it was on it. I've sent my photos to Loyd Auerbach and I'm awaiting his reply. I've also sent some to a well-known ghost hunter and received feedback and advice from her. Since my cat is directing me to these orbs, I find that evidence enough that at least mine aren't connected with some dust in the air or a camera malfunction. Most of my photos have absolutely no orbs. My cat has been acting freaky this past week and when he has meowed funny and stared at something in the air intensely, an orb is always present in the photos. I've had many different things happen around my home since the flower incident. Nothing too major, but too much to go into here without writing a book....lol. I have a pic of my cat sitting on top of my couch and looking in the direction of an orb that appears light in the background. I also have another pic of my cat standing in a doorway when staring up at an orb. When I took that photo, the cat looked slightly in my direction since I caught it's attention by bringing out the camera. Before the photo, the cat had been staring for a while directly where the orb appeared in the doorway.

I've enjoyed reading all your posts and can appreciate all points of views on orbs. Like I said, I would have been among the skeptics had I not experienced what I have been this past week. A couple of pics I've mentioned have been attached. [attachmentid=27945][attachmentid=27946][attachmentid=27947]

I ran out of space to post more pics on my above post. Here is a pic of the flowers after one appeared to be touched. I can't get the pic of the one containing numerous orbs near my kitchen to attach here. I'll be glad to send it to someone directly if you're interested. That makes me more leiry of that photo since it's the only one I took when I actually felt a strong presence in the room in that direction. I've taken that picture over and over again from the same angle and different angles....and no numerous orbs have appeared.[attachmentid=27948]

Need to get some lessons in computer use - fast!! Anyhow! - mmmm, I'm not so sure this is not just your average moggie behaviour here. Have watched my friends cats stare at the wall for ages before pouncing upon some imaginary prey - usually a shadow or reflection or where a spider was sitting moments earlier. I'd be interested in the associated 'happenings' which you mention have taken place over the past week or so; if this is something you are comfortable talking about; and also the feedback you have received from the people mentioned in your post. Have to get to work soon, but will get back to you asap - interesting topic - maybe i'll watch my friends cats from a different perspective from now on !! My German Shepherd Dog once barked furiously and began lunging forward on his lead - there was nothing but thin air there - for a while I thought I was about to be mugged by some ghost!! Turned out some kid in a near by block of flats was pointing one of those laser thingies at me!! one last thing - can you see these 'orbs' yourself?

Hi.

A years ago, at my father's birthday, I found, for the first time ever, an orbs in 2 of my photos.

Since then I took thousands of photos of my family, inside and outside the house, and I didn't find any orbs at all !!

I know many people think orbs are only dust but I believe that orbs can be other things. For me it was the presence of my died parents at my father's birthday.

In regards to the first photos all of the orbs can be reproduced by simply blowing dust or other small particles into the air. As for the cowboy you outlined I don't see it perhaps the next time you will actually take a picture of something cool other then outlining what you think is a farmer. The farmer pics especially are highly questionable givin that you really can't make anything out. Of course after you outlined it people noticed and said "I can't beleive I didn't see it" which is an example of how the mind sees what it wants to.

On two occasions, I have seen what I thought was a shadow moving through the room. This was out of the corner of my vision, so I can't say what it was if anything. I haven't been able to clearly see an orb myself. There have been a couple of times that I thought I saw some sort of movement of something really light colored. After taking a picture, there were orbs where I thought I saw the movement.

I think cat owners will agree that they sometimes run around and play or stare and pounce at things that aren't there. Cats, like people, have their own unique personalities. I've had cats as pets growing up and also owned them as an adult. I'm confident that I know my cat well enough to know when he's acting totally out of the ordinary. He's actually scared when these orbs are around. He has growled at them and that's something he never does. When he's laying on the floor pillows, growls and swats at something and jumps off; and I immediately take a picture and there's an orb right in the middle of the pillow, that's more of a coincidence to me. I've attached that picture showing the orb after he jumped off. He's strictly an indoor cat, so he's typically very low key and laid back most of the time. He has tried to get into the shower with me while meowing as if he was scared to death. He hates the water and has never tried to do that.

I know by posting here to share my story, I opened myself up to the skeptics. However, I understand since I used to be one 10 days ago.
[attachmentid=27955]

Tbh if your cat just jumped of the pillow there should be dust floating around.

P.S. I'm not a believer, nor a skeptic. I refuse to fall in any category. I've actually seen orbs with the naked eye, but i refuse to jump to conclusion of anything. It could be dust on my eyelens. The main question is... Who knows ? ... Not me... Not you...

I must be a better housekeeper than I thought if only one piece of dust showed up 10 feet away right in the middle of the pillow where my cat swatted at something. What about the photos I have of the cat totally still staring at an orb? The pictures I have of the cat are proof enough to me that the orbs are something other than dust or camera malfunction. Proof of what it is???? I don't know. You're right, I don't think anyone knows for sure. It's pure speculation as to what orbs actually are.

if you were to light up a room with a light as powerful as the flash of a camera constantly, you would be able to see dust absolutely everywhere, most of them are very small, not even visable without aid.
out of these tiny particles, every now and then there will be a larger piece floating by, and these somtimes are visable.

(i know i sound like some weird dust collector or somthing, but its just what i have come to have observed)

these are shots i posted before to show how dust can, and is lit up by flash photography and as a result, shown as out of focus dots of light which look larger than they actually are due to its close proximity to the lens.

how it looks : http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/dea...it/DSC_0476.jpg

resulting photo: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/dea...it/P1010001.jpg

another example: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/dea...ustffffafda.jpg

this is how it would look correctly (almost) focused: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/dea...t/dustagain.jpg

here's and individual bit of dust i could see floating about and 'chased' taking photos, this one is zoomed in which is the reason for the size: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v450/dea...it/dustzoom.jpg


and finally a short video to show how dusty a room really can be no matter how much of a obsessive conpulsive cleaner you are.
i used a laser to light up a column of about 5mm of air in my living room, which in a way will simulate the powerful burst of flash caused when taking photos. unlike some of the other photos where i purposefully shook up dusty pillows etc to get the photos, i have not done that here and this is naturally occuring.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v450/dea...nt=MVI_0415.flv

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v450/dea...nt=MVI_0414.flv

i guess this is why we have nasal hair and mucous eh?

edit-- my god im sorry if you get that bast*rd zap the mosquito ad on the video links

Newbie2Orbs, interesting perspective on orbs and good photos (I like the little orb on the cushion). Thanks for sharing.

Here are a couple of thought-provoking orbs:

Hi newbie2orbs! Firstly welcome to the forum - I'm new here as well and I hope like myself you find this to be an interesting arena for debate and insight. The computer lessons I refered to - they are required for myself!! I keep pressing the wrong buttons and finish up posting things twice - often without anything attached!! Sorry for any confusion there. Thank you for the e-mail; I fully respect your point of view there.
I am sceptical you are quite right; I retain an open mind however, hence the potential value to me of a forum as this - to open experiences up to scrutiny in order to view other perspectives - and of course to challenge my own scepticism!
Your topic is a fascinating one and has got me doing some research into the phenomenon; the links people often provide can be really helpful here. Keep posting and don't be bothered by us sceptics - I'm with Huxley on this one - "I am too much of a sceptic to deny the possibility of anything".
(here's hoping this post will arrive without any mishaps!).(pps. haven't worked out yet how to reply to the person individually - this is my first computer - really do need the 'computing for dummies' manual!!).

Mike1

To reply, just hit the button reply under the persons post you want to reply to. The screen will come up with the body of the persons post in quote codes. You then point your mouse to underneath the persons message and type your own message. When you hit add reply, it will come out like this with your message under the other persons message. Hope this makes sense


P.S it took me a while to work out how to reply properly as well lol

No offense, but I believe that orbs are nothing more than dust, moisture, bugs, lens flare and such.

The ones with faces only appear to be faces because the mind tends to make order out of chaos.

I believe this as well.

On sci-fi there is a show called ghost hunters, now if what they have captured on video and such is infact genuine then some of what they have captured over the last few years is way more impressive then orbs and most of the stuff posted here. Even they don't beleive in orbs because they realize orbs are bulls***.

They have some really nice footage, for those who havenb't seen the show or know who TAPS are then you should check em out.

I have seen footage of glowing balls of light that look absolutely nothing like the usual dust and moisture orbs. More like St. Elmo's fire or ball lightning, but occurring indoors, reportedly on a relatively frequent basis and in ordinary weather. I don't know what that stuff is.

But 99.999999+% of orb pics that I've seen are indistinguishable from the ones you get by accident, from dust and other stuff.

No offense taken Thozz. Since my orbs were accompanied by strange cat behavior and objects being moved in my home, I don't think they're BS. If you ever experience what I have for the last week and a half, perhaps you'll change your mind.

I took some advice I was given and last night, I had my entire home blessed with holy water and a special prayer was said. My cat was also blessed with the water. All night, I stayed up taking pictures (about 150) and have taken more today. Guess what, absolutely no orbs have appeared. My cat is acting normal again. This clinches it for me.

If anyone else has paranormal experiences accompanied by orbs, I would suggest going the route I did.

I'm glad my search regarding orbs brought me to this site. I've seen posts about Patterson Rd. here in Houston, TX and I live within 5 miles of it. I had no idea the history it had. I know there have been a lot of wrecks in that area, but never tied it to the paranormal. I'll check back every now and then since I find this site to be very interesting reading. In the future, I might post about my experiences at the Myrtles Plantation (Louisiana) in 1994. That place scared the crap out of me and I won't ever go back. I don't have time to go into that now since I have things to do around my home now besides take pictures.....lol.

Y'all take care.

BTW Thozzman, I remembered seeing another thread with a post of yours regarding orbs. This is what you said there yesterday:

"As far as sightings goes I have them fairly regularly.
I have gotten to the point where I can visually see orbs moving about my house.
Just last night before going to bed I saw an orb about the size of a quarter move in front of me, take a left, and swoosh in the bedroom.

My wife's able to see them as well, and witnessed a frisbee sized orb standing stationary in front of the door to the storage room which I happened to be in at the time.
I have a photo my wife took when trying to photograph some of her favorite house plants that seems to show an elderly woman superimposed on the wall in front of the oven in the kitchen."

Has your opinion on orbs changed in the last 24 hours or is it that you only believe in orbs that can be seen with the naked eye and not the ones captured on camera? Try taking a picture of the ones you see next time.

you gotta admit, its quite funny

he got you

I'm a she

I took some piccies last night and made sure I wiped the lens clean etc beforehand. I'd just been putting flowers on my friends grave so when I down load them I'll put them up. Some piccies have orbs others don't.

One piccy I took at home has my dog looking like a demon dog.

Could have fooled me.....


Now I'm certainly no ones fool myself but either you are a guy pretending to be a lady or you are a lesbian....

Speaking of which that reminds me of a book I seen in the library once when i was getting some kids books for my neice called 'My Two Mommies'. For those who haven't seen this kids book pick it up and read it it is hilarious. Well hilarious to straight people anyway.... Maybe not so much for gay people. Not that there is anything wrong with that I see it all the time up here in Canada.

she/he/it was quoting Thozzman....c'mon READ the post's before answering, It cant be so hard!

Thanks for the support Lux. I appreciate you keeping up with the threads. You followed it just fine.....but apparently Ganja didn't. I didn't think you could quote someone from another thread, so I had to do a cut and paste.

Ganja, I can't believe you've turned this into a personal attack. How sad it must have been for you riding the short bus to school. At least I indicate my gender in my profile. I noticed that you don't.....are YOU confused with your sexual identity???? JK

BTW, I'm far from a lesbian....want a pic?....lol.

actually orbs arent caused by dust On the lens.
they are caused when dust is illuminated by the flash inches in front of the lens. it is a fault of modern digital camera designs where the flash is in such close proximity to the lens that it causes this. (they make them smaller and smaller)

i feel like i repeat myself every time i post here but noone seems to listen after the photos/videos i post

Well I listen. I always look forward to you coming in and analyzing the photos.