Spirit Orbs?

The subject of photographic orbs pertaining to ghosts and spirits is something that has not been discussed for a very long time, but has shown up increasingly in photos since the dawn of the digital camera.

For the record, the scientific definition of a photographic orb is a circular artifact that appears in flash photography, especially common with the use of modern digital cameras. The term orb is sometimes referred to as backscatter, orb backscatter or near camera reflection, according to Wikipedia.

The free encyclopedia also states that these artifacts occur when a flash is used in low-light instances. These anomalies can also occur where there is a bright source of light near the camera.

 Orbs typically occur due to a decreased angle of light reflection off the lens, which typically is a result of the relatively short distance between the lens and the flash. In this case, the decreased angle of light reflection directly illuminates particles facing the lens, increasing the camera’s ability in capturing the light that reflects off these particles.

According to Wikipedia, these particles could be any number of different types of anomalies, including dust, pollen, liquid particles, water droplets or even foreign matter within the lens. Orbs may also appear in underwater photography where the visible light is limited.

Apart from this scientific explanation of orbs, many people still believe they are seeing spirits of lost ones when they find the circular globes within their photos. While many of these orbs are defy normal reasoning, especially when some seem to contain faces within them, most (if not all) orbs can be easily explained as particulate matter.

Because of this easily explainable definition of orbs, most ghost hunting teams do not report them when they capture them in their investigations. They are almost always debunked as just matter within the view of the camera. These orbs, however, are not to be confused with other anomalies often captured, such as rods and so-called video-captured spirit orbs (which have motion and may not be otherwise easily explained as particulate matter).

Another reason people tend to believe the orbs they capture are of the spirit world is because they are often captured in cemetery photos. It is more likely than not if you go to a cemetery at night and use a modern digital camera, you are going to capture some type of orb in your images. And in some images, thousands of orbs can appear.

So why do so many orbs appear in cemetery photos? Well, if you think about it, if you are investigating at night, there is more of a chance the grass is cooling down from the day’s heat and dew may be forming on the grass. In some cases, the wind may help vapor particles rise into the air, causing tons of particles of water to be floating around. Also, many cemeteries are placed near wooded areas, where tree pollen and insects may be more common, allowing to be imaged much more readily than in a home or other area.

I have taken many photos and have found a few of these orbs in my images. We had investigated a cemetery about four years ago and of the 40 pictures I took, we found orbs in 31 of them (28 orbs in one photo alone).

At first, I wanted to believe that we had captured spirit orbs, but after doing my research, I can come to the conclusion that my orbs are not ghostly or spiritual in any way. Of course, I cannot say with 100% probability that every orb ever captured is not of the spirit world. There may be instances out there that possibly prove that they are spirit orbs. However, because they can be very easily debunked, they will be hard to prove true.