What's in my photos? Ghosts?

[Arinya]

Alright last night a friend and I decided to take some pictures in our living room. We didn't notice anything strange but weren't looking for it either. When we loaded the pictures on paint shop pro we noticed...well...you can see for yourself.

Later on we returned to where these spots were and took more photos and were unable to get anything on them. We searched the living room and couldn't find anything that could have caused these kinds of reflections.

It's definently not the camera screwing up because I've taken photos in many other rooms of the house and had no problems, only does this happen in the living room.

What do you think it is?

[wolf]

Sorry to say this, but clean the lens of your camera.

[Arinya]

Sorry to say this, but clean the lens of your camera.

I did that before I took these pics.
I wiped it off with a paper towel.
Was that not enough?

Oh, and no need to be sorry. :) I honestly don't expect it to be ghosts (I'm very much a skeptic), it was just weird.

[Arinya]

Oh, I also don't think it's because of a dirty lens because the first picture with the cage in it was taken in a seperate batch from the other 4 pictures. All other pictures taken within minutes of the cage picture being taken had no thing weird in them, before and after, and that was about 6 or so pictures.

[Annyka]

Are those pictures digital or film? It could be dirt on the film while processing, in which case I might consider getting your photo's developed elsewhere.

It does look like dirt on the lens or film though. Using a paper towel may leave remnants which may result in the above effects also.

With my father being a photographer, I've seen many photo's with those effects on them.

[Arinya]

Are those pictures digital or film? It could be dirt on the film while processing, in which case I might consider getting your photo's developed elsewhere.

It does look like dirt on the lens or film though. Using a paper towel may leave remnants which may result in the above effects also.

With my father being a photographer, I've seen many photo's with those effects on them.

Digital.
I've seen those effects on pictures too and I don't expect it to be much of anything. It was just odd, that it happened on those photos, only the ones taken in those areas, and no other places in the house.

[LadyTrinity]

I dont want to get you down but usually flying orbs are zooming around in all dimentions.. these spots look to be all on the same surface and not in different depths. Probably dirty lense. :ack:

[MoonKnight]

The "orbs" could be caused by floating dust particles.

[Arinya]

I dont want to get you down but usally flying orbs are zooming around in all dimentions.. these spots look to be all on the same surface and not in different depths. Probably dirty lense. :ack:

Ahh! You're right!
The more I look, I've noticed they're all on the right side of the pictures...
hmmmm
yep, i'm starting to think i've got a dirty lens that i must find some way to clean, ergh

[LadyTrinity]

Ahh! You're right!
The more I look, I've noticed they're all on the right side of the pictures...
hmmmm
yep, i'm starting to think i've got a dirty lens that i must find some way to clean, ergh

Hey, its just my opinion! I can't say for sure that you DONT have ghosts, because after what I've seen... I don't rule out much anymore :hahugh:

[Arinya]

Umm...
so I decided to clean my lense and take another picture...
this wasn't made to be posted infact i was just going to delete it afterwards...
the first picture is the first picture i took and i got that shadow so i took another...and another...and another
I moved nothing, i changed nothing and i tried to take it in the exact same spot. I took about 10 photos and all of them having no shadow in it, like the 2nd picture.

Now what is that about?

[wolf]

Never clean optics with a paper towel. Start with a soft brush (available at your friendly camera store). Most lens brushes have a little air poofy on 'em too, to gently blow dust specs off the optics. Only use a lens cleaning solution MADE FOR CAMERA OPTICS as a last resort. Do not buy something at Walmart to do this. Go to a dedicated Camera Store. Be as gentle as humanly possible, as it's very easy to scratch the lens.

(if you look at your specks they are in the same positions, but it is hard to tell because you are shooting at differing zoom levels. Also, your blotches tend to look the same picture to picture, another indicator that you had a dirty lens).

Photos you took afterwards where you didn't see the blobs probably means that the lighting or background coloration was such that they got hidden.

Rule out physical cause before considering mystical.

[wolf]

tried to take it in the exact same spot. I took about 10 photos and all of them having no shadow in it, like the 2nd picture.

Now what is that about?

You are so going to hate me ...

finger (or camera strap) in front of the flash.

[Arinya]

Never clean optics with a paper towel. Start with a soft brush (available at your friendly camera store). Most lens brushes have a little air poofy on 'em too, to gently blow dust specs off the optics. Only use a lens cleaning solution MADE FOR CAMERA OPTICS as a last resort. Do not buy something at Walmart to do this. Go to a dedicated Camera Store. Be as gentle as humanly possible, as it's very easy to scratch the lens.

(if you look at your specks they are in the same positions, but it is hard to tell because you are shooting at differing zoom levels. Also, your blotches tend to look the same picture to picture, another indicator that you had a dirty lens).

Photos you took afterwards where you didn't see the blobs probably means that the lighting or background coloration was such that they got hidden.

Rule out physical cause before considering mystical.


Thanks for the info on camera lens cleaning. I actually never shot at different zoom levels, we never changed that.

And I actually due tend to rule out physical cause before considering mystical...
do you have an explanation for the shadow pic though? I can't think of one for that

[Arinya]

You are so going to hate me ...

finger (or camera strap) in front of the flash.

I have no camera strap and trust me it was not my finger in the way. I even tried to take a photo with my finger in the way to duplicate it and got nothing even remotely similar. I never put my fingers anywhere in front of the camera or even touching the front of it.

[Arinya]

You are so going to hate me ...

finger (or camera strap) in front of the flash.

And why do you think I'd hate you?
I don't want a ghost in my house, hell no. I like phsycial explanations, just I want ones I can believe.

[wolf]

Lately I've been coming up with nonmystical explanations in a lot of the forums ... I am sorry I made an unwarranted assumption. I thought you desperately wanted ghosts ... ;)

(I still think there was something you didn't notice in front of your flash, actually, if you were using a film camera with a variable shutter speed that would have been my alternate explanation ... I've seen similar effects when the shutter is snagging on something and needs to be repaired)

[Arinya]

Lately I've been coming up with nonmystical explanations in a lot of the forums ... I am sorry I made an unwarranted assumption. I thought you desperately wanted ghosts ... ;)

(I still think there was something you didn't notice in front of your flash.)

Eeeep no way. I hate living in these old houses because I really really don't want ghosts, hehe. I want to go live in a nice new brand new house so I can avoid them. It's not that I'm afraid of ghosts, I just don't like the idea of something starring at me without telling me first hehe.

And I really am trying to think of something that would have been infront of it but I looked at my camera, saw the shadow, starting taking duplicates and got nothing so whatever was infront of it should have still been there. ergh now i'm going to be pondering this all night

and per request of someone else a close up of an "eye" from the other photos

[Psypress]

This is a fairly old message and it looks like most came to the conclusion that these anomolies were just dust, or some other physical obstruction, but I am pretty sure these are orbs.
Why not just dust on the lense? For one reason, dust in a photo tends to be quite circular, and you wouldn't get that swirley, translucent pattern like you see in the closeup. Second, none of the orbs appear in the exact same location throughout each photo. They are moving around. Also, the third photo almost shows that the orb is behind the head of the girl in the photo. This photo doesn't quite show that as proof, I've seen better examples of where an orb is half-hiding behind an obstruction, but I thought I'd point it out as something to look for when questioning whether an orb is dust or "something else."
This doesn't make me an expert, but I have done a few ghost investiations, specifically with anomolies ocurring in photographs, with the Northwest Paranormal Investigations so I am into this sort of thing. :o)
These are orbs, in my opinion. Nothing to be shocked about or spooked over, though. You can get photos of orbs just about anywhere when the energy is right (theatres, parties, danceclubs, family reunions), it doesn't necessarily prove that the location of the photograph is haunted per se. It's just a ball of energy. I can't say that it's really a dead person. I actually don't believe that all orbs are dead people floating around. There are other energies (and entities) that bounce around us, maybe the camera is catching a glimpse of them in the flash? I don't know.
A final thing to maybe determine if these aren't just dust particles floating in the air, when you take more photos, don't look through the viewer and don't watch that cool digital screen. Watch the area of the room as the flash as it goes off. Sometimes you can see dust particles light up in the flash. If your eye sees these and you see many "orbs" in the photo, then shrug and admit it's just dust.
Otherwise, don't let the presence of these energies disturb you until doors start opening and closing unexplainably. (Mwwah ha hah ha haaaaaa!)

[Arinya]

Heheh thanks for the feedback Psypress. :)
I'm not sure what they were, be it dust or orbs...I'm still determined that the living room is creepy. :o It was creepy long before I thougth we had ghosts, and it will be creepy long after. Hehehe.
But no doors opening and closing...yet...
Heheh

[Saggitario]

The Shadow could be a strand of hair caught in fron to the lense. It produces the same effect as a camera strap or finger.

As for the orb behind the girl's head, you have it labeled as "clock?". Was there a clock on the other side of the room. If so, that would make sense for it being behind her head.

Even if they are true orbs, that doesnt mean you have a ghost neccesarily. Orbs are just a sign that there is energy present. They can form around powerlines, crowds, and individuals with alot of energy. They can also form when there are ghosts present. The creepy feeling you get could also be a side effect of an EMF feild. They are known to cause that type of reaction. Again, that could be a ghost, or something completely different.

[melantha rose]

I'm the biggest skeptic when it comes to "orb" photos. I just don't believe that most of them are actually orbs, but occasionally, they really are. Now, I don't know about all your photos, but that one of the close up looks like it could really be one. Don't want to freak you out. It doesn't mean 'ghost', it means energy. But, it looks like the real thing. But, I'm not an expert, that's just my opinion. I have looked at a heck of a lot of ghost & orb photos in my life, though, so this is kind of an unprofessional educated opinion. :smile:

I'm gonna show these photos to my 10 yr old when he gets home. It's one of his favorite things to do, looking at ghost/orb photos, and he's usually pretty good at picking out the ones that are potentially real. Can't wait to see his reaction! I'll let ya know...

[DreamerGrrl]

They look like orbs to me...that means they could or couldn't be ghosts. Most likely its just either dust (as previously suggested) or it could be just light too. Have you had any issues with ghosts in your house at all? Most likely if it is energy, its probably positive energy if you haven't had any problems at all! Hope I helped!

[DracoJesi]

sence orbs are just balls of concentrated energy they may not be ghost, allthough thy do look like smudges from a camera lens but she did clean it right so take another batch of pics and see what happens

also, if youve preformed any rituals or invoked anything that could explain orbs

[DracoJesi]

I HATE to say this, but EVERYONE look at the first pictures. Those are added arrows! Click on pics and you'll get a bigger view. It's obviously added!

well yeah of course, she added them to point out the orbs LOL

LMFAO *is laughing quite hard* :)

[AstralMagick]

:floating:*hehe* :lol: That is extremely funny, lol!

[AstralMagick]

I don't know what to think of the pictures...it doesn't seem like orbs.

[DracoJesi]

yeah but not all orbs are the same i gues, i thought the are suppossed to produce there own light, did anyone check for this?, i cant tell, theres to much light in the room for me to check LOL

[AstralMagick]

Yes, there are different ones, but they don't seem to be right...

[DracoJesi]

ok, well like i said another set of pics might help

[Arinya]

I'll see what I can do about taking another set of pics.
I'll probably do that tomorrow night so check back then. :)