View single post by Gizmo
 Posted: Dec 30th, 2012 02:53 PM
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Gizmo



Joined: Dec 29th, 2012
Location: Ohio USA
Posts: 38
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You asked this question, and it deserves an honest response.

The orbs in these photographs are not paranormal.  They are caused by something called "backscatter."  This is what happens when you use a flash in a dark area.  The flash bounces off small particles in the air.  They can be dust, droplets of moisture, bugs, snow, etc.  They won't necessarily be visible to the eye, but are reflective with the flash.

What happens is that the lens is unable to focus on particles too close to it. it translates this into blobs called "circles of confusion."  This is a known photographic effect.

Here is a small link to explain this further:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backscatter 

"The term backscatter in photography refers to light from a flash or strobe reflecting back from particles in the lens's field of view causing specks of light to appear in the photo. This gives rise to what are sometimes referred to as orb artifacts. Photographic backscatter can result from snowflakes, rain or mist, or airborne dust. Due to the size limitations of the modern compact and ultra-compact cameras, especially digital cameras, the distance between the lens and the built-in flash has decreased, thereby decreasing the angle of light reflection to the lens and increasing the likelihood of light reflection off normally sub-visible particles. Hence, the orb artifact is commonplace with small digital or film camera photography"

  Here is another one describing orbs as they apply to photography.  You can find some good examples here as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb_%28photographic%29

Cheers.



Last edited on Dec 30th, 2012 02:53 PM by Gizmo