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Orbs is the popular name given to (typically) circular anomalies appearing in photographs. In photography and video, orbs appear to be balls, diamonds, or smears of light with an apparent size in the image ranging from a golfball to a basketball. Orbs sometimes appear to be in motion, leaving a trail behind them.
There are two main schools of thought regarding the cause of orbs in photo images. The first school sees it as a fairly clear-cut case of flash reflection off of dust, particles, insects, or moisture droplets in the air in front of the camera, i.e. they are naturalistic. The opposing school maintains that orbs are paranormal in nature, i.e. non-naturalistic.
While some people claim that orbs are more likely to appear in certain locales, or are attracted to human actitivities (especially those involving children), the images on the internet fora devoted to orbs are taken in graveyards, backyards, attics, and kitchens, as well as bars, convention centers, and city streets -- in short, anywhere people may be taking photos.
As orb photos may demonstrably be gained anywhere, the position of "ghost hunters" who claim orb photos are more common in allegedly haunted areas is significantly weakened. That orb photos can be gained anywhere has, however, been adopted into the position of those who maintain that orbs are probes/devices being used by an alien culture to monitor human activities.
Orb photos have become so common that some ghost-hunting organizations are no longer accepting submissions of them, or specifying that only "exceptional" examples be presented.
Naturalistic Orbs
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.
There are a number of naturalistic causes for orbs in photography and videography.
- Solid orbs - Dry particulate matter such as dust, pollen, insects, etc.
- Liquid orbs - Droplets of liquid, usually water, e.g. rain.
- Foreign material on the camera lens
- Foreign material within the camera lens
- Foreign material within the camera body
Solid Orbs
Examples of solid orbs.
How a solid orb is created.
A solid orb, or dust orb, is created because a reflective solid airborne particle, such as a dust particle, is situated near the camera lens and outside the Depth of field, in other words out of focus. The pinpoint of light reflected from the dust particle that would be seen if it were at the Hyperfocal distance (the distance from the film or CCD to the object being photographed wherby the object is in focus as accurately as possible) grows into a Circle of confusion with increasing distance from it.
Liquid Orbs
Examples of liquid orbs.
How a liquid orb is created.
A liquid orb is created because a drop of liquid, most often a rain drop, is situated near the camera lens and outside the Depth of field, in other words out of focus. The pinpoint of light reflected from the drop of liquid that would be seen if it were at the Hyperfocal distance (the distance from the film or CCD to the object being photographed whereby the object is in focus as accurately as possible) grows into a Circle of confusion with increasing distance from it. The appearance of the Circle of confusion is modified by aberrations such as Chromatic aberration or Coma.
Non-naturalistic Orbs
Spirit Orbs are sometimes claimed to exist more densely around certain haunted regions, or to be the spirits of departed loved ones. These types of orbs are sometimes claimed to have faces, sometimes with discernable expressions and sometimes of recognizable persons. Some feel the size of an orb indicates how great of an impact a life force had in its life time.
Another view of spirit orbs holds that they are non-human spirits, with blue and red orbs symbolizing angels and the devil respectively. (Another interpretation of colors in orbs is sex differentiation - blue for male spirits, and red for female.)
Spirit orbs are also felt by some to be curious, friendly protectors, particularly of children. Belief in these "orb friends" is reminiscent of the belief in fairies in the early part of the twentieth century.
The paranormal belief in orbs is not so straightforward as those who believe that they are simply photographic artifacts. While an oft-encountered quote is "orbs are considered by some people to be the simplest and most common form of a disembodied spirit", this concept is not supported by all within the paranormal faction. There are those who maintain that the orbs are caused by:
- Ghosts/spirits
- Angels/guardian spirits
- Aliens
- "The Little People" - elves, pixies, fairies
- Interdimensional beings
- Humans from the future
- hitherto unnoticed life forms
Even those "true believers" who steadfastly maintain that orbs are of paranormal origin are often forced to concede that dust may be the cause of most orb photos. A subset of these believers say that they can tell the difference between "dust orbs" and "real" (spirit) orbs, sometimes from a close examination of the image, other times because of how they felt or were acting at the moment the photo was taken. Some true believers say that the orbs respond to spoken requests to appear, move, or appear as different colors.
External links
- ASSAP ASSAP's website has several pages showing how various different 'types' of orb (coloured, oddly-shaped, bright, transparent, etc.) can readily be reproduced (includes diagrams and photos).
"Orb (paranormal)"