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Title: Orbs, ghost photos and new technology
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Blog Entry: Photography and the new age of paranormal investigation have more or less grown up together over the last 150 years. Without dwelling on the fake photos and misuse of the technology, this seems like a good time to review where we have been and where we are going. First, is a bit of commentary on the nature of ORBS; some swear by them, others swear at them, entire groups debate their meaning and others dismiss them out of hand.   While I can’t dismiss all ORBS, the great majority are explainable. The rationale for this is simple; ORBS did not exist for the most part in the first 125 years of photography.   This relatively new phenomenon came in with the birth of digital photography and in that fact you can find the nature of this phenomenon. Single lens reflex (SLR) cameras rarely capture ORBS and there is a reason. Most users of high end cameras will install a UV filter on the end of the lens as a precaution; if you drop the camera, you break the $25 filter, rather than the expensive lens. Therein lies the truth about ORBS.   With most inexpensive digital cameras, the lens is either plastic or unprotected glass. Furthermore the built in flash is in line with the lens, thus when the flash fires, it illuminates the distant objects, but also anything lingering in the air.   All of that then comes back into the lens and any dust reflects the brighter light of the camera. How do you eliminate the dust ORBS?   Simply put a UV filter between the object and lens. The UV filter acts the same way as a pair of UV sunglasses, filtering out flair and reflection. The problem of course is that many inexpensive digitals do not have the threading on the end of the lens to accept a filter, therein lies the rub, so to speak. But it is reasonable to say that if you are shooting with a good lens and the proper filter, 95% of your ORBS will disappear. But, you might say, I want to capture paranormal evidence with my camera; how do I do that? Well, recently one popular TV show, Ghost Hunters International, introduced what they called “New” technology in spirit photography.   While the camera being used is new, the technology is really very old, about 100 years.   The camera being used was a Fuji S-3 Pro UVIR model that incorporates both filtering for Ultraviolet and Infrared bands of the light spectrum.   The camera is specifically manufactured for the forensic and crime scene investigator to see what others do not.   In the GHI segment, the camera proved itself worthy of the hefty $2300 price tag, capturing an image of what most would call a ghost. No, I am not suggesting that you all run out and spend a few thousand dollars on a camera; that market is limited to the same people who own FLIR cameras to capture temperature radiance.   The point is that you can have the same results adding some basic filtering to your camera, but there are roadblocks.   Many digital cameras have internal filtering that help cut out excessive color shifts; this same filtering makes IR photography a problem. It does not make it impossible however. A camera like the Canon Digital Rebel, which lists for about $900 has this filtering, but you can still screw on a infrared filter and it will work perfectly, the only problem is that the exposure time is long (about 30 seconds) and therefore the shots have to be taken with the camera on a tripod, using a cable release. The solution, believe it or not is the use of an older digital, which lacks the power of the new ones, but that was manufactured prior to the installation of internal filtering that slows down the process.   A camera like the Olympus C-2020 is a good example. It is no longer on the market, but it can be found used and will accept the necessary IR and UV filtration without any appreciable loss in speed. This is the kind of camera showing up on TV segments about places like Gettysburg, where such photos are now becoming common.   The camera is currently available used for about $125 and a little bit more will get you the filters and holders, etc. “But what does this do for me?” you might ask.   With these cameras you are able to enlarge the visible spectrum captured by the camera, therefore seeing things that the naked eye can’t while eliminating the pesky dust that so many today attribute to floating spirits. Of course if you have a larger than normal budget, you can go out and order that FLIR camera, that can show you heat signatures, IR and sometimes UV automatically in real time video, but for the rest of us there are alternatives that will allow you to venture beyond what you can see.   © 2008   Rick Moran   ASUP, Inc.   All rights reserved. Distribute only with permission from ASUP, Inc. (www.asup-inc.org)