Thin Veil Investigators
Discreetly Encountering Your Ghosts
Digital cameras are notorious for producing orbs artificially from airborne particles at the time of the flash. Please note however,
that regular film cameras can also produce these artificial orbs, but it is more rare and the orbs are always fewer in numbers.

There is a raging argument among scientists, professional photographers, paranormal investigators, and others; they all debate
on how genuine it is when orbs appear in ghost photography. Understand that many of these groups have performed individual
studies or experiments of some kind, using multiple types of cameras, and in different environments, to create their conclusions.
The arguments break down into three categories:

 1. All orbs photographed are “False” anomalies produced by light reflection.
 2. As with argument 1, but only 98% of orbs captured are “False”, the rest are genuine.
 3. As with argument 1, but only 80% of orbs captured are “False”, the rest are genuine.

As you can see, most accept that there are camera-produced “False” orbs that must be discounted. In the cases of argument two
and three, they believe that some orbs are genuine.

But what these groups consider genuine differs, due to the extreme variety of types, colors, shapes, textures, sizes, etc. of orbs
captured in photos. Since orbs are the most common type of photo anomaly, the debate will continue until there is some kind of
breakthrough, proving or disproving completely what orbs are (or aren’t). Until that time, you will simply have to decide for yourself
if any spirit orb captured on film is genuine.


Theories of Genuine Orbs

Some believe a percentage of orbs caught in photo to be genuine spirits, though there is disagreement on what constitutes
genuine. Here are some of their reasons:

 •  A genuine orb has substance or structure within the sphere.
 •  A genuine orb’s structure must be a lace-like pattern or design.
 •  A genuine orb’s structure must be concentric.
 •  A genuine orb must be opaque, and only be a pure color (white, red, green, etc.).
 •  A genuine orb is transparent or translucent; if it is opaque then it is not genuine.
 •  A genuine orb has “nubs” inside the orb structure.
 •  A genuine orb has a face in it, writing, or initials.


Hints to help you Spot an Anomaly (any of them) in a Photo

 •  When you take multiple shots in succession, “positive” anomalies move, shift, and otherwise change. Debris doesn’t move,
shiny spots on headstones don’t move. However, if you breathe deeply between shots, you may shift just enough to make a
natural reflection seem to move.

 •  Save all of your pictures until you’re used to spotting faint orbs, traces of ectoplasm, and other subtle anomalies. When you
first start examining you photos, it is easy to overlook anomalies and dismiss a picture as “nothing”. When you are much better at
spotting anomalies, go back over your old pictures again.

 •  Many times, anomalies are so faint or hidden, that the use of a graphics program is necessary. Lightening, rendering in B/W,
or other filters can aid you in finding anomalies.


How Does Your Camera See “False” Anomalies?

Every camera creates “false” anomalies, but some are specifically from camera design.

Putting it simply, the lens in any camera is not perfect, and the construction of the light sensor that detects light may also have
vagaries. These construction designs may produce specific inconsistencies and distortions in an image when taking photos
while there are small particulates in the air, which reflect light back into the camera.

When taking photos with digital cameras, which have light sensors that are far more sensitive than older film cameras,
manufacturers expected these anomalies to occur. Since many manufacturers assumed that dust would be the major cause, they
tend to call these distortions of an image “dust” anomalies.

When a camera translates an image into a photo, programming (which is different in each camera) displays these “dust”
anomalies in specific ways. In a photo, some digital cameras will show “dust” as diamond shaped anomalies; others as a
hexagonal shape, some even as a bell shape. “Dust” anomalies can also be caused by other small particles in the air, like pollen,
rain, fog, smoke, etc.

Contact your camera’s manufacturer to find how your brand/model of camera displays “dust” anomalies.

Also, since each area of our world produces different “dust” anomalies when photographed (different dust types, pollen types,
insect types…), prior to any investigation it is necessary to establish a base line for these “dust anomalies” whenever you enter a
new or distinct environment. The farther you are from “home” the greater the chances are that you will run into new things causing
the “false” anomalies; they might appear the same way in your camera (hex, diamond, etc.) but you need to know what is causing
them. This is very important in ghost photography.

Learn how your own camera treats dust or pollen in a specific locale before taking pictures and examining them for ghostly
anomalies.


Establish a baseline comparison for Dust (a basic photo “False” Anomaly)

This can be used indoors or out, with any type of camera.

First, make sure your lens is clean. Second, deliberately kick up dust: shuffle your feet on the ground; smack a piece of furniture
or the carpet. Wait until the visible dust has settled; there will still be many small particles in the air, too small for the naked eye to
see. Take a few dozen shots through the air where the dust was. Use the same direction and angle when taking these shots.
Light reflections from the dust will cause anomalies like “orbs” to show up in your pictures.

There may be many orbs, or there may only be few. Compare all of the pictures, and any orbs captured, and look for similarities.
The orbs that are too similar to each other are usually “false” orbs and are the anomalies that you need to avoid.

Try to single out any orbs that appear a lot different than the others; there may be a few. You can be sure that 80% that the “look-
alike” orbs in these pictures are dust. This figure may seem too high, but you have to remember that cameras, digital especially,
are extremely sensitive to light reflections; after all, that is how a camera “sees” an image.


Ghosts are everywhere, and they can be photographed, but they tend not to be captured as clusters of orbs
found in many digital photographs.
The Great Orb Controversy
Except where stated as other, all Photo, Audio, Video and other content of this web page Copywrite © 2009  Thin Veil Investigators. All Rights Reserved.
Excerpted from the book "A Ghost Hunter's Guide for Investigations of the Paranormal" by Sandie La Nae and her Ghostwriter.
Copywrite © 2010 Sandie La Nae. All Rights Reserved.
Please Do Not copy, duplicate, or re-print without permission of author.