Re: Mysterious "orbs" on photos - ghosts or bunkum

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Paul Lee) wrote in 
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]:

> One valid argument pro-"orbs" that also confounds me: a lot of
> pictures show just one orb, usually very bright and in the centre of
> the picture. People contend that that can't be a single particle of
> dust. Why just one orb?
> 
> I don't believe in orbs, but it is an interesting question...

        Not too difficult, really. A few days ago I was attempting to get 
some useful pics of soap bubbles in the air (which is a largely hit-or-miss 
enterprise). Despite producing a good cluster of bubbles before I hit the 
shutter release, some pics had very few bubbles, one had only one, some had 
none at all. That's what digital is for: cranking out lots of shots ;-)

        And if you're trying for it, you can do it without much difficulty. 
Release your dust or water droplets (mist) and pause a moment while it 
almost clears the air - the stragglers will be the only ones caught on 
film. And creative cropping can produce a nice centered orb if that's what 
you really need. This is, of course, accounting for the people intending to 
produce the effect - those that get it accidentally, especially those that 
believe they caught something extraordinary, can simply be victims of 
random chance, or the coincidental placement of something in the frame dark 
enough to show the orb-producer. The frame might have several of them, but 
you can't see them because the exposure from the lighter background 
elements overwhelmed them.

        The amount of pixelation in the image can give some indication of 
whether the orb has been cropped or enlarged, since digital images always 
have set resolutions. If you're very serious about investigating them, find  
out what camera has been used, what res setting, and so on, and compare the 
image you're given (at high magnification). You can often tell if it's been 
messed with.

        And then there's the trick of altering levels (Photoshop, at least) 
to see what range the image has within it. I've found a cut-n-paste job 
because the original image had lighter 'blacks' than the pasted in bogey, 
which showed when I blew the levels out into extremely high contrast. It 
can also show near-invisible wires or background objects. Fun! And it 
really annoys the believers. But at the same time, it shows that a simple 
hoax can often be revealed with a modicum of effort.

        And if you want to see a detailed 'sour grapes' website, though 
unrelated to orbs, check out 
http://brumac.8k.com/LawtonTriangle/Lawtontriangle.html. The gentleman that 
produces the site is a respected evaluator of UFO photos - respected, at 
least, by the believers. The whole story is evident in there, and goes to 
show that paying close attention to the results and explanations is 
important, no matter what side you're on.


        - Al.

-- 
To reply, insert dash in address to match domain below
Online photo gallery at www.wading-in.net