ORBS and Photo Oddities:  SELF CREATED

A study by: Scott Newbury C.P.I Investigator

  Do I believe that "orbs" are a sign of paranormal? The answer is "NO".  I know that is a pretty bold statement, not really.  Show me an "orb" that I can't recreate and maybe I'll consider the thought.  Close-minded I don't think so.  I've studied photography nearly thirty years.  I've seen many great shots wrecked by optics screwing up.  Light can play amazing tricks on the eye.      

  The term orb describes unexpected, typically circular artifacts in photographs. Sometimes the artifact is in motion, leaving a trail.

  The technical photographic term for the occurrence of orbs, especially pronounced in modern ultra-compact cameras, is backscatter, orb backscatter or near-camera reflection.  Reference: WIKI

The Classic "BLUE ORB"

These optical entities share the same qualitative attributes with the orbs in --circular shape with multiple concentric circles inside. This provides some evidence that the orbs with similar attributes are also optical products from small particles.

It's important to note that orbs weren't that common; in the days before digital cameras.  There were still lens flare and optical oddities.  I believe that these very common modern day orbs have a lot to do with IR digital technology. 

   
Notice the circle rings that are commonplace in the Photo Orb.

This suggests that orbs that have circular patterns are likely to be interference fringes caused by reflected infrared from the camera's flash unit.

The Digital Camera:

  Instead of film, a digital camera has a sensor that converts light into electrical charges.

The image sensor employed by most digital cameras is a charge coupled device (CCD). Some cameras use complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology instead. Both CCD and CMOS image sensors convert light into electrons.

A simplified way to think about these sensors is to think of a 2-D array of thousands or millions of tiny solar cells.

Once the sensor converts the light into electrons, it reads the value (accumulated charge) of each cell in the image. This is where the differences between the two main sensor types kick in:

A CCD transports the charge across the chip and reads it at one corner of the array. An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) then turns each pixel's value into a digital value by measuring the amount of charge at each photosite and converting that measurement to binary form.

CMOS devices use several transistors at each pixel to amplify and move the charge using more traditional wires. The CMOS signal is digital, so it needs no ADC.

Differences between the two types of sensors lead to a number of pros and cons:

CCD sensors create high-quality, low-noise images. CMOS sensors are generally more susceptible to noise.

Because each pixel on a CMOS sensor has several transistors located next to it, the light sensitivity of a CMOS chip is lower. Many of the photons hit the transistors instead of the photodiode.

CMOS sensors traditionally consume little power. CCDs, on the other hand, use a process that consumes lots of power. CCDs consume as much as 100 times more power than an equivalent CMOS sensor.

CCD sensors have been mass produced for a longer period of time, so they are more mature. They tend to have higher quality pixels, and more of them.

Ref: How stuff works.com

Are these Orb's, No! these are close-ups of Grass Pollen.

Ref: How stuff works.com

 
Be aware of IR sources, your human eye can't see these.

A few "ORBS" from recent investigations:
                     
FE Warren Library Orb      FE Warren Cop Bldg.   Whaley House  San Diego

  
Two Orbs from Holy Trinity Church Greeley

 
This was taken in my dark garage using flash. I smacked the rafter with a broom handle right before taking this photo. The great dust Orb.

       
Rain Orbs                                                     purple fringing

In optics, chromatic aberration is caused by a lens having a different refractive index for different wavelengths of light (the dispersion of the lens).

The term "purple fringing" is commonly used in photography, although not all purple fringing can be attributed to chromatic aberration. Similar colored fringing around highlights may also be caused by lens flare. Colored fringing around highlights or dark regions may be due to the receptors for different colors having differing dynamic range or sensitivity -- therefore preserving detail in one or two color channels, while "blowing out" or failing to register, in the other channel or channels.  Ref: Wiki

 
Wow! A great glowing red spirit Orb, right in my front yard.

 
Look at the great definition and character of this spirit Orb.

Nope not a "Spirit Orb" ...just the sun doing it's magic.

 
Another orb phenomenon is daylight color orbs: These are photos taken during the day and colored orbs appear.  I believe that most daylight orbs are lens flares.

 
Another sun made Orb.

Great Yellow Orb??

 
Just another great sun Orb

 
Snow orbs

Moth Orb

 
Another bug Orb

OTHER PHOTO ANOMALIES :

Is there a Vortex in my living room? Nope ... just a camera Strap.

Notice the white board on the left?

 
Orange glowing sprint? Nope ... my finger.

 
Strange wisp or vortex?  Nope ... just a piece of Hair.

 
Glass reflecting the ghost of a fellow investigator.

 
Flash goes crazy on reflective surfaces.  Notice how the gold frame with heavy direct flash makes the whole picture golden. I've tried these on red surfaces and it does the same.

Digital camera's can mess up.  This photo was taken on an investigation.  Is it just a digital camera messing up or what else? Don't know, haven't had it happen ever again.

Possible Digital Interference sources:  RF, Microwave, AC power wiring, audio cables, Electrical machinery, lighting systems, neon signs, lamp dimmers, motor speed controllers, auto ignition systems, Older theatrical lighting controllers are particularly prone to causing interference & other devices.

**Photos still left to do:

Breathe / Mist

Cigarette smoke

Snow at night

Night fog

From a heat source, radiate heat (like that off an old water heat radiator or hot pipes)

Bugs

Spider webs

Sleet / water mister

Light behind photographer (shadow people)  And IR lighting

Reflections w/ mirror, windows & picture glass

Color reflection & doorways

Possible Digital Interference sources:  RF, Microwave, AC power wiring, audio cables, Electrical machinery, lighting systems, neon signs, lamp dimmers, motor speed controllers, auto ignition systems, Older theatrical lighting controllers are particularly prone to causing interference & other devices