Art of Preparedness

Often I have been approached by friends, family and my special friend, “Joe the Casual Photographer,” on the subjects of orbs.

I will start by saying this: I am a firm and lifetime believer in angels, aliens, fairies, Jesus, the Buddha, the Illuminati, conspiracy theories, the healing and protective qualities of crystals, chakras, miraculous healings and many other natural and super natural phenomenon. I even believe in Dinosaurs! We live in a wondrous and truly magical universe.

However, as a soul dedicated to the pursuit of the camera obscura and all light/shadow pursuits, I believe that “orbs” are merely airborne particles refracting on-camera light sources. In other words, point-and-click cameras, especially those in which the flash and lens are less than an inch apart, have a propensity to generate direct flash back. Here are born our little “orb” friends.

We have all seen that alarming and evil looking little bungle called “red-eye.” This is caused by OFC (on camera flash). The light leaving the camera hits the back of the eyeball and bounces directly back at the camera lens. Professional photographers and their gear will not generate red-eye, nor will they generate “orbs”, because the angle between flash and lens is great enough to cancel the effect. In billiards, if one shoots a cue ball directly at a rail, the ball will bounce directly back into the stick. Same concept.

I know that “orbs” always tend to show up in photographs where lots of people gather in happiness and joy. It is tempting to believe that in these times little joyous spirit bubbles join us; and perhaps they do. But I doubt that what we have seen labeled as “orbs” are truly spirits. In photos sent to me there is often glitter attached to costume, to wigs, to face paint. There is also always either old carpet in small rooms or large dusty fields where numerous people are dancing furiously. In these images the “orbs” that are further away lose the fuzzy, translucent, orby quality and become mere points of light. This occurs because light becomes more specular (focused) the larger the distance between source and subject.

I have simply spent considerable time contemplating this phenomena as I am one who truly wishes to believe that these weird little objects are really spirits. Again, I do believe in the supernatural, and I don’t doubt for a second that there are often more then the observable guests enjoying good times with us humans. Nor do I want to rain on any one’s parade. I simply don’t believe that dust particles are particularly supernatural.

One more quick point: The human eye has a “latitude” of about 32 “stops”. Within these “stops” the best of us can see what we call the visible spectrum: violet to red, the rainbow. A camera has a latitude of between 5 and 7 stops, a fraction of what the human eye can see. Most ghostbusters and clairvoyants hold that visible spirits reside either in the ultra-violet or infra-red realms of the energetic continuum. So, unless a camera dedicated to viewing light outside of the visible spectrum is used, if you can’t see a spirit, your camera certainly wont.

While shooting a grass fire recently I was warned by a Commander to be careful. “No worries,” I told him, “I’m watching for hotspots, keeping out of your way. Thanks for the heads up though.” “Not that” he says, “it just burned up a huge stand of poison oak!”

Needles to say when I got home I stripped down and hit the shower!

TIP FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS: when encountering poison oak, be sure to shower in COLD water, not hot. Hot water opens your pores and allows the oil to soak into your blood stream, wherein the itchies will get’cha! Rinse several times, then soap several times, then hit the hot water if you must. Personally I love hot showers!
Another good idea is to wipe down your cameras with some baby wipes, making sure to be thorough, as smoke gets everywhere, carrying along the oil that makes you itch. It is also recommended to use a water/rubbing alcohol mixture to remove the oil. This does not deactivate the oil however, so be wary of where and how you dispose of the rag.

Of special note is the danger of smoke inhalation. If too much oil vapor enters your lungs you could encounter blistering and lesions in your lungs. This can be extremely dangerous. It is difficult for the oil to enter your lungs, as it doesn’t enter as vapor but must travel on droplets or dust and ash particles. However, if you encounter extreme difficulty i breathing even five to six days after covering the fire, you should probably see a doctor.