Ohio Ghost Hunters Society - Lights, Camera, and Some Action

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Light, Cameras, and

Some Action

(and some explanations)

Light is a funny thing...the way it reacts, reflects, refracts, and bounces around from things you'd least expect it to.

When taking photos, one should not only be consciously aware of your environment, but also aware of things you'd probably overlook that might produce some really funky things in the image.

I've built a scale model of a camera aperture, using a large magnifying glass and some creative ingenuity. The purpose was to experiment with light reactions to, and maybe the cause of, some anomalous images. I've found that just the way light can bend around the curvature of the lens itself, can and will create some anomalous phenomena...as we've said before, "If you can re-create a certain phenomena, then it isn't one".

When light enters the camera directly, the image will be crisp, as seen below:

(it would actually be upside-down, but this is easier to understand)

But, if the light from the flash bounces around and off of another object close to the camera, say a wall for instance, it can cause the light to ricochet around hitting the lens at an odd angle. This will cause the light to become distorted, and as it bends around the curved surface of the lens, as in entering from the side, a strange shape and shadows will appear in the captured image.

Light hitting the lens from a sharp angle

Many would naturally assume that this unexplainable glob of light would be something paranormal, since it doesn't match any of the usual criteria...i.e., orb, streak, blur, mist, etc.

Some might explain it away as "energy" and leave it at that, or come up with some way off the wall hokey theory of afterlife-forms as they think it should be.

Shadows, or dark spots are becoming more and more commonplace. This can be caused by something as simple as your finger in the way of the flash, or between the flash and lens, or the type of camera you're using. Some camera models have their own little design flaws that most just won't think about. Cameras that have lens covers that open rather than flip away from the lens will become weak with wear, and not open properly or all the way. This will cause the shooter to squeal with glee thinking they've discovered a whole new anomaly because it happens to them so often (with the same camera).

Kodak Easy-Loaders have these lens covers, and the springs become weak from routine use. The improper opening will cause a shadow over the lens. The degree or length of the shadow depends on how the flash bounced around....like a flagpole on a sunny day, the length of the mysterious shadow depends on the angle the light came in through.

(actual scanned prints)

These strange shadows will always come up in the upper left corner of the frame. The lens cover opens horizontally, and the left half of the cover is directly between the flash and lens.

There is a curve cut into the cover, and its this curve in the left side that acts like a little awning that blocks some of the light.

When the camera is new, and the cover fully opens, it takes pretty good pictures. But after some regular use of opening and closing twenty times or more a night, it'll start to wear. Then you'll have this...just partial opening. So if you have this kind of camera, try to make sure the cover is all the way open and working properly. If this problem persists, another point-n-shoot is fairly cheap these days.

On a side note, these cameras also have a tendency to eat film. I've taken them apart several times to get the film cartridge out.

Kodak also had another brilliant idea...a film camera that would allow you to see the photo before you took your film in. It was called the Kodak Advantix Preview. The idea was, that you could pick-n-choose the frames you wanted printed. You could save the good ones, and a code in the filmstrip would tell the C-41 Developing machine which frames to print.

It was a good idea at first...on paper at least. The problem with these were, that the "preview" screen is a primitive digital image, and what you saw in the preview screen wasn't what you got back from the developer. When I first tried mine out, occasionally I would get some pretty weird things showing up in the preview screen, but the prints came back with nothing noteworthy in them. It was sort of a perfect blend of digi v. film in one camera.

They're a decent camera for general use...birthdays, vacations, etc. and take good pictures, but for ghost hunting, they're a flop. I started saving all the pictures, and came to the conclusion that it would just be cheaper to use and less of a hassle to use a regular APS camera.

Side note: When using an APS camera, put a piece of tape over the SMALLEST image selection. If you accidentally bump the switch, you might end up paying an arm and a leg for whole roll of bumper-sticker sized photos you didn't want.

Light can bounce around from different objects and come back to the lens, appearing as a "vortex", or camera strap. This accidental whoops may be the reason for some of the "vortex" shots with the claims of having no camera strap.

My buddy's wife was taking pictures of their "new addition" ( a new kitten), and a streak of light showed up in the image. He doesn't have a strap on his camera, so this baffled him for a minute. He retraced the photo shoot, and figured the light bounced off of a mirror on the wall then reflected back on a window just behind her. This made some light come in from the side (just like the aperture model).

You'll also see "Light Streaks", "Orbs in Motion", or "Super-Charged Orbs in Motion" (my personal favorite). These have a few explanations behind them.

One is simple, Camera Shake. This happens when its dark and/or the exposure is wrong. When the camera moves a little (from pushing the shutter button), any reflective source will move along with the camera. This is most often seen in photos from "investigating a cemetery" and the source is probably your car's bumper reflectors or signs in the distance. Again, this is something you'll either have forgotten about, or it just didn't register at the time.

Another cause is Shutter/Film Speed. Most of us use inexpensive point-n-shoot cameras. This is fine, except the majority of the cameras are only rated for a maximum of 400 ISO (film speed). When you use a higher speed film, such as 800 ISO in these cameras, you'll also have the occasional mistake. This is because the film is recording the image faster than the shutter can close, and a tiny amount of accidental movement too soon will cause blurred images or dragging light sources around in the frame.

Accidents DO happen. Shots like these are one-in-a-thousand, that's why they're rare and are believed to be "paranormal".

When taking pictures, remember these rules:

~ Find the explanation first

~ If you can re-create a certain phenomena, then it isn't one

~ Don't let your enthusiasm distort your perception

~ There are NO GUARANTEES something will show up in an image

My scientific hero is the Nobel Prize winning Physicist, Richard Feynman. He once said:

"The idea that (technology) takes away mystery or awe or wonder in nature is wrong. It's quite the opposite. It's much more wonderful to know what something's really like than to sit there and just simply, in ignorance, say, "Oooh, isn't it wonderful?"

He passed away in 1988, and if he hadn't been busy working on Astro-Physics, the Atomic Bomb, and playing his Bongos he would've made a terrific Ghost Hunter.

His last words were:

"I'd hate to have to die twice...its so boring."

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the written consent of Dr.Ken