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bjb · 16th April 2006, 09:32 PM

This site teaches you to distinguish between orbs caused by dust, raindrops, etc. and real spirit orbs created by actual spirits:

http://www.ghostweb.com/orb_theory.html

Well, at least that's what the site claims to do.

steve s · 16th April 2006, 09:55 PM

It just makes you wonder why the person can't take the next logical step. If you admit 'X' is caused by dust, then 'Z' which looks identical to 'X' should also be caused by dust. But no. It has to be a spirit orb.

Steve S.

bjb · 17th April 2006, 08:01 AM

Yeah, I found that page because I was showing my son some digital pictures I had just taken and there were 'spirit orbs' in some of them. I looked for a web page about spirit orbs and found that one. When we saw the pictures of 'real' spirit orbs, we both broke out laughing because one of them looks exactly the same as the 'natural' orb shown on the same page! Another one of the spirit orbs looks more like a streetlight to me. I also read through the text on that page and there were some real howlers in there. Anyway, that page was pretty funny so thought I'd post it here.

Azrael 5 · 17th April 2006, 10:51 AM

How do we distinguish between ghost,spirit and spirit orb??? Is an orb a "baby" ghost?
Someone must invent these ridiculous concepts and put it in a book somewhere and thus the myth is born.Same with white feathers being a sign of spirits.Says who? What source of scientific reference states this?

CptColumbo · 17th April 2006, 10:55 AM

I remember when I first watched one of the ghost hunter shows and a bright white dot went across the screen, and thought "man, it's really dusty there." Suddenly the people on the show were all excited because they had "Spirit Orbs." I looked closer trying to see what they were talking about, thinking I had missed something. Then they replayed the footage with circles around the white specks. I turned it off and went to bed.

Orb · 17th April 2006, 11:06 AM

The "spirit orb" phenomenon is what inspired my screen name. I was online hunting for "ghost" pictures and about 90% show "orbs". The rest seem to be camera straps, breath vapor, camera flares, double exposures, long exposures, etc... but mostly camera straps. (they all swear their cameras don't have straps, LOL ooo weee oooo!)
These are called "vortexes"

As far as where they get the different theories, its mostly mish mash from other ghost hunters. No one source is considered the expert on the subject.

Edited to remove link - the site was hacked.

Serenity · 17th April 2006, 11:36 AM

The paranormal group in my area focuses primarily on orbs and evp's. Ghost sightings are too few so it makes sense for people in the business to focus on orbs as potential spirit energy, since they're so common and practically anyone can record them under the right conditions.

Orb's and EVP's are the perfect phenomena to make ghost hunting more interesting to the masses. People need something to do while waiting for that spirit to manifest. Who has the patience to wait hours for something to happen? Go ahead and snap pictures and make recordings and suddenly that's all the spirit evidence one needs. You can create an entire industry around this phenomena.

gfunkusarelius · 17th April 2006, 11:39 AM

man i would have thought with the internet and photoshop the ghost picutres would be really cool...it was better in theold days where they at least did double exposures to get creepy faces in the bg of photos...

FramerDave · 17th April 2006, 12:11 PM

Someone in the 9/11 CT thread mentioned how annoying it was when CT dolts pick up on a word without even using it correctly and then beat it to death. In that context it was "squibs."

I wish I could wave my hand and deprive these doofuses (doofi?) of the word "anomaly." Orb fans and people like Hoagland label anything they can't immediately identify as an anomaly and in an instant give it the air of something mysterious and supernatural or hail it as evidence of a conspriracy. Dolts.

eta: On the thread about the video of the orbs in the church, someone posted a link to an explanation of why these dust particles appear to have internal structure. Anyone have it handy?

Bronze Dog · 17th April 2006, 12:19 PM

I was annoyed by that, too.

Squib: A very tiny explosive used in movie sets to simulate bullet holes being made in a surface.

Anomaly: Something irregular or unexpected. Orbs are hardly unexpected.

westphalia · 17th April 2006, 01:03 PM

I dislike the orb nonsense, too, but my all-time favorite are the camera-strap "demons." Coast to Coast puts one of those stupid photos up at least once or twice a week.

Morons.

Dragon · 17th April 2006, 01:20 PM

bjb - thanks, best belly laugh for a while.

Here's a thought - we've got "Fundies Say the Darndest Things" and now "Conspiracy Theorists Say the Darndest Things" - is there room for a "Paranormalists Say the Darndest Things" site?

KevinM · 17th April 2006, 02:23 PM

Please Ghoster Oester is the laughing stock of the paranormal. Even other investigators see him as a joke. Ask most serious investigators and they'll say if its an orb on film its probably one of a dozen natural explinations. Oester is also a false authority. His ministry is through ulc.org who will ordain litterally any one. His doctorate(a doctorate of divinity which is honorary to begin with) is mail order from the same people.

SPQR · 17th April 2006, 03:12 PM

From the sight mentioned in the OP:

Quote:

Common sense is very important in ghost research.

I don't have a funny comment, I just thought this quote was representative of the whole "ghost hunting" attitude.

sophia8 · 17th April 2006, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by FramerDave

Someone in the 9/11 CT thread mentioned how annoying it was when CT dolts pick up on a word without even using it correctly and then beat it to death. In that context it was "squibs."

I wish I could wave my hand and deprive these doofuses (doofi?) of the word "anomaly." Orb fans and people like Hoagland label anything they can't immediately identify as an anomaly and in an instant give it the air of something mysterious and supernatural or hail it as evidence of a conspriracy. Dolts.

Even more annoying is the way people see the term "UFO" and think it means "alien spacecraft". It simply means a Flying Object that hasn't yet been identified. An alien spacecraft, by definition, has been identified so cannot be a UFO.

Euromutt · 17th April 2006, 08:35 PM

"Orbs" are a prime example of circuar reasoning. It starts with "ghost hunters" surveying an area in which ghost activity is presumed to occur, but come up empty-handed except for some blobs on their photographs. There's no indication that these blobs are markers of paranormal activity except that they were spotted in an area where paranormal activity was already presumed to be occurring. Therefore, the "ghost hunters" reason, the blobs are evidence of paranormal activity, and in subsequent surveillances, the presence of those blobs is claimed to itself be the indicator of paranormal activity. Thus, "no ghosts but there is dust" becomes "there's dust, therefore there are ghosts."
Ridiculous.

drfrank · 18th April 2006, 02:18 AM

I personally think orbs came to prominence simply because you can reliably take photos of them without being forced to fake it.

It must be hard to be an honest ghost hunter when you know deep down that you've composited every image of a translucent little girl on your website. Orb photos allow them to keep a much clearer conscience.

As for ghostwebs, I just pray (figuratively speaking) for someone to hack that site and swap one of the `orb' photos and one of the dust photos just to check whether anyone would notice

Tirdun · 18th April 2006, 04:06 AM

I got into a bit of an argument with the inlaws who had some "unexplained pictures" they liked to pass around. I made a side comment to my wife about one of them at first, but it got picked up and I quickly got flak from several relatives who were convinced there were odd things afoot in the snapshots. I repeatedly tried to back out of the argument, saying I didn't really care what they believed (although in nicer terms) but it was really a wierd scene. I think most of them were happy to hear my side, and probably believed me... I just aggravated a few of them.

The people with the pictures are smokers. Heavy smokers, in fact. One has since quit, but in two pictures the "odd ghostly images" were clearly smoke, probably exhaled by someone just to the side of the cameraman, or by the cameraman himself. Close up shots of smoke + flash = ghostly shapes. That was widely accepted, but a few hardcore ghosties wanted me to look at the others, demanding I identify instantly what the source of several artifacts were.

One was the camera strap. Everyone was dubious until they looked carefully at the picture and could clearly see the difference between the nylon strap and plastic widget that modifies the length. I think if you could have seen "Kodak" stamped on it the ghosties would have still argued, though.

Another was probably also the strap, although it wasn't as clear. I didn't win too many people over on that one, but the one from above made them pretty skeptical that it was paranormal rather than just unexplained.

After the smoke and strap pics got passed around, I got a little backup. A couple people excitedly passed pictures back and forth, putting out suggestions as to what they might be. They wanted me to be a judge of their ideas, much to the annoyance of a couple ghosties. It got pretty spirited (sorry) but in a friendly "that's not a bug! yes it is!" sort of way.

Thumbs, dust orbs and a sleeve (or curtain) killed off a few more ghosts, and one seemed to be a double-exposure. There was a cool effect on one side of the picture that I pointed out looked like a picture of a house (window and porch laying over the people) and that got picked up since the shot was taken inside, and the layout of the window+porch matched the house the shot was taken in.

Anyway, the upshot was the different reactions. A couple people wavered on different shots, but more between "thumb" and "bug" than "ghost". It sparked some interest in testing the picture effects, too. A digital camera was used to test the dust orbs, and we got a fair ones. The only downside was that some of the picture-owners are now less friendly, having had their prize ghosts demoted to camera straps and badly timed smoke rings. The few who refused to back down continued to fortify their position all night, regardless of the obvious sources of the ghosts. Ah well.

ysabella · 22nd April 2006, 02:46 PM

And for advanced users, here's a handy Japanese how-to video on "How to take a picture with ghost."

It's really cute, actually!

Meffy · 22nd April 2006, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by KevinM

His doctorate(a doctorate of divinity which is honorary to begin with) is mail order from the same people.

It's true(tm). Thanks to 1) one of my professors in the late 1960s and 2) some friends with odd senses of humor and a few bucks to burn in the 1980s, I'm 1) a pastor and 2) a bishop in the same church. Pretty good considering I'm a non-observant Jew and the founder of Bentoism. Go figure.

<inquiring_mind> Does a brandy snifter qualify as a spirit orb? </inquiring_mind>

JimmyBuddy · 24th April 2006, 07:41 AM

Anybody ever hear of "ghost picture" scams done at the Gettysburg Battlefield park? My father took a picture on one of the night tours that shows a number of odd illuminated human-like figures. Do they clown around with the tourists? Thanks.

gfunkusarelius · 24th April 2006, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by JimmyBuddy

Anybody ever hear of "ghost picture" scams done at the Gettysburg Battlefield park? My father took a picture on one of the night tours that shows a number of odd illuminated human-like figures. Do they clown around with the tourists? Thanks.

any example pictures? i am sure people here could make some educated guesses on the methods that produced the results

Tirdun · 24th April 2006, 10:14 AM

Taking flash photography through a tinted bus window at night will produce interesting artifacts in your photos. It can also be quite annoying.

JimmyBuddy · 24th April 2006, 11:06 AM

I don't know what this is a picture of. I have contacted the people who manage the various tours of Gettysburg and they assure me that practical jokes aren't part of the routine at a national memorial battfield park. I will gladly provide originals for examination.

Thank you for your help,

John Carlucci

drjcarlucci@verizon.net

Jesus Baby Daddy · 24th April 2006, 11:30 AM

Ha JimmyBuddy. That same exact thing happend to my folks!!! They went on a ghost tour at dusk at Gettysburg, and yes they have a photo showing something in the background.. most likely a person dressed up in civil war garb. I lightened it up on a graphics program I work with, to the point it looks light out. To me i'm pretty sure its a person.
Now obviously to the woo's its a ghost. But now that I hear that has happend to another person under similar circumstances... I'm betting we have a little conspiracy going.... Ghost tours are a big industry in Gettysburg ya know... hmmmm. makes one think. I bet ya they hire some guy to walk around at night in the background to possibly spark some interest.

Starthinker · 24th April 2006, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by Meffy

It's true(tm). Thanks to 1) one of my professors in the late 1960s and 2) some friends with odd senses of humor and a few bucks to burn in the 1980s, I'm 1) a pastor and 2) a bishop in the same church. Pretty good considering I'm a non-observant Jew and the founder of Bentoism. Go figure.

<inquiring_mind> Does a brandy snifter qualify as a spirit orb? </inquiring_mind>

Me, too! But I didn't spring for the honorary degree. I'm just a Pastor of the Church of Starthinker.

JimmyBuddy · 24th April 2006, 11:49 AM

J.B.D.;

Thanks for the reply. I have a solid education in science and am a cautious, rational person. We all occasionally come across things that seem bizarre or unexplainable at first glance. The reasonable thing to do is work through the likely possibilities, eliminating each in turn until you come up with either a definite, provable explanation or at least a probability that may or may not be subject to ultimate provability.

That's why I've come to this forum, to seek intelligent input from like-minded individuals. I'd like to submit this photo for your examination, then get your input. Once you see it you will realize it's not lens dust, raindrops, or a guy in a Civil War costume. I don't believe in ghosts, but I don't know what it is and simply want to find out.

JC

KevinM · 24th April 2006, 07:18 PM

One good secret I"ve found out from chasing spooks. Ciggarrette smoke usually turns up on film as blue in color. Its not always the case but if you see blue tinted smoke in a pic its a good bet you're dealing with cigarrettes not ghosts. There are more credible looking pictures of full figures the problem of course is unless you took the picture its pretty much hopeless to try proving whether its the result of a ghost or a few hours with photoshop. I think most ghost hunters are well meaning people(the idiot Oester seems well meaning) that are just unresolvably clueless of the real world phenomenon that can cause pictures. I remember one woman who showed me a picture of an almost perfect eliptical shape that was blue tinged and to large to be dust. It took me about a second to notice the open(no shade) light fixture on the ceilling in the pic that was causing the reflection(reflections like that tend to be blue and start getting indistinct towards the edges its a bit hard to describe if you haven't seen it before). Another fun one is the various geometric shapes that are caused by camera problems. Tragicly people have such a desperate need to believe many will never admit these natural phenomenon cause there pictures.

16th April 2006, 09:32 PM	#1
bjb Graduate Poster Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,079	For Ghost Hunters: Spirit Orbs This site teaches you to distinguish between orbs caused by dust, raindrops, etc. and real spirit orbs created by actual spirits: http://www.ghostweb.com/orb_theory.html Well, at least that's what the site claims to do.
bjb Graduate Poster Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,079

16th April 2006, 09:55 PM	#2
steve s Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,703	It just makes you wonder why the person can't take the next logical step. If you admit 'X' is caused by dust, then 'Z' which looks identical to 'X' should also be caused by dust. But no. It has to be a spirit orb. Steve S.
steve s Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,703

17th April 2006, 08:01 AM	#3
bjb Graduate Poster Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,079	Yeah, I found that page because I was showing my son some digital pictures I had just taken and there were 'spirit orbs' in some of them. I looked for a web page about spirit orbs and found that one. When we saw the pictures of 'real' spirit orbs, we both broke out laughing because one of them looks exactly the same as the 'natural' orb shown on the same page! Another one of the spirit orbs looks more like a streetlight to me. I also read through the text on that page and there were some real howlers in there. Anyway, that page was pretty funny so thought I'd post it here.
bjb Graduate Poster Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,079

17th April 2006, 10:51 AM	#4
Azrael 5 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Yorkshire,Uk Posts: 5,042	How do we distinguish between ghost,spirit and spirit orb??? Is an orb a "baby" ghost? Someone must invent these ridiculous concepts and put it in a book somewhere and thus the myth is born.Same with white feathers being a sign of spirits.Says who? What source of scientific reference states this?
	__________________ "I achieve these results through a mixture of magic,misdirection,suggestion and showmanship"-Derren Brown

17th April 2006, 10:55 AM	#5
CptColumbo Just One More Question Join Date: May 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 9,152	I remember when I first watched one of the ghost hunter shows and a bright white dot went across the screen, and thought "man, it's really dusty there." Suddenly the people on the show were all excited because they had "Spirit Orbs." I looked closer trying to see what they were talking about, thinking I had missed something. Then they replayed the footage with circles around the white specks. I turned it off and went to bed.
	__________________ I've been involved in a lot of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower, but you make more money as a leader.--Creed, "The Office" The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices to be only found in the minds of men. Prejudices and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own.--Rod Serling

17th April 2006, 11:06 AM	#6
Orb Dust Mote Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: I was up above it, now I'm down in it Posts: 324	The "spirit orb" phenomenon is what inspired my screen name. I was online hunting for "ghost" pictures and about 90% show "orbs". The rest seem to be camera straps, breath vapor, camera flares, double exposures, long exposures, etc... but mostly camera straps. (they all swear their cameras don't have straps, LOL ooo weee oooo!) These are called "vortexes" As far as where they get the different theories, its mostly mish mash from other ghost hunters. No one source is considered the expert on the subject. Edited to remove link - the site was hacked.
	__________________ You can make things magical, but magic can not make things. Last edited by Orb; 17th April 2006 at 11:08 AM.

17th April 2006, 11:36 AM	#7
Serenity Serenity Now! Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: CT Central Lowlands Posts: 862	The paranormal group in my area focuses primarily on orbs and evp's. Ghost sightings are too few so it makes sense for people in the business to focus on orbs as potential spirit energy, since they're so common and practically anyone can record them under the right conditions. Orb's and EVP's are the perfect phenomena to make ghost hunting more interesting to the masses. People need something to do while waiting for that spirit to manifest. Who has the patience to wait hours for something to happen? Go ahead and snap pictures and make recordings and suddenly that's all the spirit evidence one needs. You can create an entire industry around this phenomena.

17th April 2006, 11:39 AM	#8
gfunkusarelius Critical Thinker Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 442	man i would have thought with the internet and photoshop the ghost picutres would be really cool...it was better in theold days where they at least did double exposures to get creepy faces in the bg of photos...

17th April 2006, 12:11 PM	#9
FramerDave Muse Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 727	Someone in the 9/11 CT thread mentioned how annoying it was when CT dolts pick up on a word without even using it correctly and then beat it to death. In that context it was "squibs." I wish I could wave my hand and deprive these doofuses (doofi?) of the word "anomaly." Orb fans and people like Hoagland label anything they can't immediately identify as an anomaly and in an instant give it the air of something mysterious and supernatural or hail it as evidence of a conspriracy. Dolts. eta: On the thread about the video of the orbs in the church, someone posted a link to an explanation of why these dust particles appear to have internal structure. Anyone have it handy?
FramerDave Muse Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 727	Last edited by FramerDave; 17th April 2006 at 01:32 PM.

17th April 2006, 12:19 PM	#10
Bronze Dog Copper Alloy Canid Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Homebrew D&D Campaign Setting Posts: 5,007	I was annoyed by that, too. Squib: A very tiny explosive used in movie sets to simulate bullet holes being made in a surface. Anomaly: Something irregular or unexpected. Orbs are hardly unexpected.
	__________________ Stop Sylvia Browne Warning: Beware of contaminated water supplies! Suspected source of contamination: Sarah-I A non-Rockstar Rambler and dissector of Doggerel

17th April 2006, 01:03 PM	#11
westphalia Critical Thinker Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: I am a third-rate intellect. Posts: 297	I dislike the orb nonsense, too, but my all-time favorite are the camera-strap "demons." Coast to Coast puts one of those stupid photos up at least once or twice a week. Morons.
	__________________ "If it moves, the liberal wants to tax it. If it keeps moving, the liberal wants to regulate it. And if it ever up and stops moving, the liberal wants to subsidize it." - Ronald Reagan

17th April 2006, 01:20 PM	#12
Dragon Graduate Poster Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,403	bjb - thanks, best belly laugh for a while. Here's a thought - we've got "Fundies Say the Darndest Things" and now "Conspiracy Theorists Say the Darndest Things" - is there room for a "Paranormalists Say the Darndest Things" site?
	__________________ "We must favour verifiable evidence over private feeling. Otherwise we leave ourselves vulnerable to those who would obscure the truth." Richard Dawkins - The Enemies of Reason

17th April 2006, 02:23 PM	#13
KevinM Student Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 45	Appeal Please Ghoster Oester is the laughing stock of the paranormal. Even other investigators see him as a joke. Ask most serious investigators and they'll say if its an orb on film its probably one of a dozen natural explinations. Oester is also a false authority. His ministry is through ulc.org who will ordain litterally any one. His doctorate(a doctorate of divinity which is honorary to begin with) is mail order from the same people.
KevinM Student Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 45

17th April 2006, 03:12 PM	#14
SPQR Darwin's Dachshund Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 455	From the sight mentioned in the OP: Quote: Common sense is very important in ghost research. I don't have a funny comment, I just thought this quote was representative of the whole "ghost hunting" attitude.
	__________________ "Vetus illud Catonis admodum scitum est, qui mirari se aiebat quod non rideret haruspex haruspicem cum vidisset." (Old Cato always wondered how two fortune-tellers could look at each other without laughing)- Cicero My blog:Jeremy the Skeptic

17th April 2006, 03:20 PM	#15
sophia8 Master Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In the dark, dark forest.... Posts: 2,289	Originally Posted by FramerDave Someone in the 9/11 CT thread mentioned how annoying it was when CT dolts pick up on a word without even using it correctly and then beat it to death. In that context it was "squibs." I wish I could wave my hand and deprive these doofuses (doofi?) of the word "anomaly." Orb fans and people like Hoagland label anything they can't immediately identify as an anomaly and in an instant give it the air of something mysterious and supernatural or hail it as evidence of a conspriracy. Dolts. Even more annoying is the way people see the term "UFO" and think it means "alien spacecraft". It simply means a Flying Object that hasn't yet been identified. An alien spacecraft, by definition, has been identified so cannot be a UFO.

17th April 2006, 08:35 PM	#16
Euromutt Graduate Poster Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Auburn, WA, USA Posts: 1,094	"Orbs" are a prime example of circuar reasoning. It starts with "ghost hunters" surveying an area in which ghost activity is presumed to occur, but come up empty-handed except for some blobs on their photographs. There's no indication that these blobs are markers of paranormal activity except that they were spotted in an area where paranormal activity was already presumed to be occurring. Therefore, the "ghost hunters" reason, the blobs are evidence of paranormal activity, and in subsequent surveillances, the presence of those blobs is claimed to itself be the indicator of paranormal activity. Thus, "no ghosts but there is dust" becomes "there's dust, therefore there are ghosts." Ridiculous.
	__________________ "Sergeant Colon had had a broad education. He’d been to the School of My Dad Always Said, the College of It Stands to Reason, and was now a post-graduate student at the University of What Some Bloke In the Pub Told Me." - Terry Pratchett, Jingo by birth, by choice

18th April 2006, 02:18 AM	#17
drfrank Critical Thinker Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Reading, UK Posts: 446	I personally think orbs came to prominence simply because you can reliably take photos of them without being forced to fake it. It must be hard to be an honest ghost hunter when you know deep down that you've composited every image of a translucent little girl on your website. Orb photos allow them to keep a much clearer conscience. As for ghostwebs, I just pray (figuratively speaking) for someone to hack that site and swap one of the `orb' photos and one of the dust photos just to check whether anyone would notice
	__________________ There is no statement, no matter how monumentally stupid, that someone, somewhere, won't accept as Holy Truth On homeopathy: "I 100% agree with you [that a smaller and smaller physiological effect will be observed in increasing dilution until 24X is reached, at which point there is absolutely no effect.]" Dr A. Sheikh.

18th April 2006, 04:06 AM	#18
Tirdun Muse Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Near DC, in an underground NWO bunker Posts: 637	I got into a bit of an argument with the inlaws who had some "unexplained pictures" they liked to pass around. I made a side comment to my wife about one of them at first, but it got picked up and I quickly got flak from several relatives who were convinced there were odd things afoot in the snapshots. I repeatedly tried to back out of the argument, saying I didn't really care what they believed (although in nicer terms) but it was really a wierd scene. I think most of them were happy to hear my side, and probably believed me... I just aggravated a few of them. The people with the pictures are smokers. Heavy smokers, in fact. One has since quit, but in two pictures the "odd ghostly images" were clearly smoke, probably exhaled by someone just to the side of the cameraman, or by the cameraman himself. Close up shots of smoke + flash = ghostly shapes. That was widely accepted, but a few hardcore ghosties wanted me to look at the others, demanding I identify instantly what the source of several artifacts were. One was the camera strap. Everyone was dubious until they looked carefully at the picture and could clearly see the difference between the nylon strap and plastic widget that modifies the length. I think if you could have seen "Kodak" stamped on it the ghosties would have still argued, though. Another was probably also the strap, although it wasn't as clear. I didn't win too many people over on that one, but the one from above made them pretty skeptical that it was paranormal rather than just unexplained. After the smoke and strap pics got passed around, I got a little backup. A couple people excitedly passed pictures back and forth, putting out suggestions as to what they might be. They wanted me to be a judge of their ideas, much to the annoyance of a couple ghosties. It got pretty spirited (sorry) but in a friendly "that's not a bug! yes it is!" sort of way. Thumbs, dust orbs and a sleeve (or curtain) killed off a few more ghosts, and one seemed to be a double-exposure. There was a cool effect on one side of the picture that I pointed out looked like a picture of a house (window and porch laying over the people) and that got picked up since the shot was taken inside, and the layout of the window+porch matched the house the shot was taken in. Anyway, the upshot was the different reactions. A couple people wavered on different shots, but more between "thumb" and "bug" than "ghost". It sparked some interest in testing the picture effects, too. A digital camera was used to test the dust orbs, and we got a fair ones. The only downside was that some of the picture-owners are now less friendly, having had their prize ghosts demoted to camera straps and badly timed smoke rings. The few who refused to back down continued to fortify their position all night, regardless of the obvious sources of the ghosts. Ah well.
	__________________ The rain has a such a lovely sound to those who're six feet underground The leaves will bury every year and no one knows I'm gone -Tom Waits May You Never Thirst, Slàinte! Last edited by Tirdun; 18th April 2006 at 04:09 AM.

22nd April 2006, 02:46 PM	#19
ysabella Muse Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 705	And for advanced users, here's a handy Japanese how-to video on "How to take a picture with ghost." It's really cute, actually!
	__________________ "The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism." - Sir William Osler

22nd April 2006, 05:56 PM	#20
Meffy Anthropomorphic Skunk Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Unincorporated Territory of Croatan Posts: 4,232	Originally Posted by KevinM His doctorate(a doctorate of divinity which is honorary to begin with) is mail order from the same people. It's true(tm). Thanks to 1) one of my professors in the late 1960s and 2) some friends with odd senses of humor and a few bucks to burn in the 1980s, I'm 1) a pastor and 2) a bishop in the same church. Pretty good considering I'm a non-observant Jew and the founder of Bentoism. Go figure. <inquiring_mind> Does a brandy snifter qualify as a spirit orb? </inquiring_mind>

24th April 2006, 07:41 AM	#21
JimmyBuddy Student Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 33	Anybody ever hear of "ghost picture" scams done at the Gettysburg Battlefield park? My father took a picture on one of the night tours that shows a number of odd illuminated human-like figures. Do they clown around with the tourists? Thanks.
JimmyBuddy Student Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 33

24th April 2006, 10:09 AM	#22
gfunkusarelius Critical Thinker Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 442	Originally Posted by JimmyBuddy Anybody ever hear of "ghost picture" scams done at the Gettysburg Battlefield park? My father took a picture on one of the night tours that shows a number of odd illuminated human-like figures. Do they clown around with the tourists? Thanks. any example pictures? i am sure people here could make some educated guesses on the methods that produced the results

24th April 2006, 10:14 AM	#23
Tirdun Muse Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Near DC, in an underground NWO bunker Posts: 637	Taking flash photography through a tinted bus window at night will produce interesting artifacts in your photos. It can also be quite annoying.
	__________________ The rain has a such a lovely sound to those who're six feet underground The leaves will bury every year and no one knows I'm gone -Tom Waits May You Never Thirst, Slàinte!

24th April 2006, 11:06 AM	#24
JimmyBuddy Student Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 33	I don't know what this is a picture of. I have contacted the people who manage the various tours of Gettysburg and they assure me that practical jokes aren't part of the routine at a national memorial battfield park. I will gladly provide originals for examination. Thank you for your help, John Carlucci drjcarlucci@verizon.net
JimmyBuddy Student Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 33

24th April 2006, 11:30 AM	#25
Jesus Baby Daddy Scholar Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: The lily white burbs of Detroit Posts: 94	Ha JimmyBuddy. That same exact thing happend to my folks!!! They went on a ghost tour at dusk at Gettysburg, and yes they have a photo showing something in the background.. most likely a person dressed up in civil war garb. I lightened it up on a graphics program I work with, to the point it looks light out. To me i'm pretty sure its a person. Now obviously to the woo's its a ghost. But now that I hear that has happend to another person under similar circumstances... I'm betting we have a little conspiracy going.... Ghost tours are a big industry in Gettysburg ya know... hmmmm. makes one think. I bet ya they hire some guy to walk around at night in the background to possibly spark some interest.
	__________________ "What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

24th April 2006, 11:39 AM	#26
Starthinker Philosopher Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 5,014	Originally Posted by Meffy It's true(tm). Thanks to 1) one of my professors in the late 1960s and 2) some friends with odd senses of humor and a few bucks to burn in the 1980s, I'm 1) a pastor and 2) a bishop in the same church. Pretty good considering I'm a non-observant Jew and the founder of Bentoism. Go figure. <inquiring_mind> Does a brandy snifter qualify as a spirit orb? </inquiring_mind> Me, too! But I didn't spring for the honorary degree. I'm just a Pastor of the Church of Starthinker.
	__________________ \|¦¦\|¦ \|¦\|\|\|\|¦\|\|\|¦\|\|¦¦\|¦\|\|\|\|\|\|\|¦\|¦¦¦¦\|¦¦¦¦\|\|¦\|¦\|¦¦\|¦ \|¦¦\|¦ He who doubts victory has already lost the battle. Below the navel there is neither religion nor truth.

24th April 2006, 11:49 AM	#27
JimmyBuddy Student Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 33	J.B.D.; Thanks for the reply. I have a solid education in science and am a cautious, rational person. We all occasionally come across things that seem bizarre or unexplainable at first glance. The reasonable thing to do is work through the likely possibilities, eliminating each in turn until you come up with either a definite, provable explanation or at least a probability that may or may not be subject to ultimate provability. That's why I've come to this forum, to seek intelligent input from like-minded individuals. I'd like to submit this photo for your examination, then get your input. Once you see it you will realize it's not lens dust, raindrops, or a guy in a Civil War costume. I don't believe in ghosts, but I don't know what it is and simply want to find out. JC
JimmyBuddy Student Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 33

24th April 2006, 07:18 PM	#28
KevinM Student Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 45	Useful Tip One good secret I"ve found out from chasing spooks. Ciggarrette smoke usually turns up on film as blue in color. Its not always the case but if you see blue tinted smoke in a pic its a good bet you're dealing with cigarrettes not ghosts. There are more credible looking pictures of full figures the problem of course is unless you took the picture its pretty much hopeless to try proving whether its the result of a ghost or a few hours with photoshop. I think most ghost hunters are well meaning people(the idiot Oester seems well meaning) that are just unresolvably clueless of the real world phenomenon that can cause pictures. I remember one woman who showed me a picture of an almost perfect eliptical shape that was blue tinged and to large to be dust. It took me about a second to notice the open(no shade) light fixture on the ceilling in the pic that was causing the reflection(reflections like that tend to be blue and start getting indistinct towards the edges its a bit hard to describe if you haven't seen it before). Another fun one is the various geometric shapes that are caused by camera problems. Tragicly people have such a desperate need to believe many will never admit these natural phenomenon cause there pictures.
KevinM Student Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 45