ORB THEORIES

The term orb is the popular name given to typically circular anomalies appearing in photographs. In photography and video, orbs appear to be balls, diamonds, or smears of light with an apparent size in the image ranging from a golfball to a basketball depending on the distance of the dust particle to the lens. Orbs sometimes appear to be in motion, leaving a trail behind them.

There are two main trains of thought regarding the cause of orbs in photographs. The first school sees it as a fairly clear-cut case of flash or ambient light reflection off of dust, particles, insects, or moisture droplets in the air in front of the camera distorted by the digital cameras CCD senor being unable to focus, i.e. they are naturalistic. The opposing school maintains that orbs are paranormal in nature and spirits, i.e. non-naturalistic and ghost like.

Orb photos have become so common that some 'ghost hunting organizations' are no longer accepting submissions of them, or specifying that only "exceptional" examples be presented, yet although scientifically debunked as a modern inception with no pre-recorded example prior to the availability of CCD sensor (digital camera) technology and its inferior ability to focus 'supernatural orbs' make up the predominant presence of 'ghost photos' on the internet. Whether this is due to the fact orbs and light artifacts are easier to generate accidentally and provide a more apt result for the photographer seeking to find controversy, or whether this is for lack of other scientifically credible 'evidence' of the paranormal is left open to debate.

Naturalistic orbs

Naturalistic orbs are most commonly gained using digital cameras and built-in flash. While photographers with archives of photos report having occasionally seen "orbs" in their photos gained with film cameras no evidence has been presented that this is not a modern light artifact error arising in CCD sensors, and the recent rise in reports of orb photos may be directly related to the common availability of digital cameras and associated rise in the number of pictures taken.

The size of the camera is another consideration in the recent proliferation of orb photos. As film cameras, and then digital cameras, have steadily shrunk in size, reports of "orbs" increased accordingly. As cameras became smaller, the distance between the lens and the built-in flash also shrank, decreasing the angle of reflection back into the lens causing less focus on small light artifacts and thus an orblike appearance.

There are a number of naturalistic causes for orbs in photography and videography.

Solid orbs - Dry particulate matter such as dust, pollen, insects, etc.

Liquid orbs - Droplets of liquid, usually water, e.g. rain.

Foreign material on the camera lens, within the camera lens, or within the camera itself.

Another result of naturalistic orbs will result in "colored" orbs. colors will range from white and semi-transparent, to greens, reds, blues, and golds. These are results of reflections from moving or stationary objects in the viewspace in the camera. One example is water. Think of it as a rainbow. when light passes through the water droplet, it creates a small rainbow effect. Dust creates the "halo" effect where it's solid on the outside "ring", but transparent as you look towards the center. This refraction off dust particles can also result in the elleged "orb" smiling at you.

There are also orbs showing up without any "environmental" explanation i.e. no visible dust, no rain, no moisture, no snowing, no light reflections, etc. However, dust particles are present in our environments at all times undetectable to the naked eye.

Solid orbs

Examples of solid orbs.

Dust orb

Dust orbs

Thick charcoal dust

Charcoal dust floating in the air

How a solid orb is created

A solid orb, or dust orb, is created because a reflective solid airborne particle, such as a dust particle, is situated near the camera lens and outside the depth of field, in other words out of focus. The pinpoint of light reflected from the dust particle that would be seen if it were at the hyperfocal distance, the distance from the film or charge-coupled device (CCD) to the object being photographed wherby the object is in focus as accurately as possible, grows into a circle of confusion with increasing distance from it (i.e. the more out of focus the particle is, the bigger and more blurred the pinpoint of reflected light becomes).

Liquid orbs

Examples of liquid orbs.

Rain orbs, with the camera zoomed out

Rain orbs, with the camera zoomed in

Rain orbs with coma (tails) and chromatic aberration visible

Close up of an orb, clearly showing chromatic aberration and the cat's eye effect

How a liquid orb is created

A liquid orb is created because a drop of liquid, most often a rain drop, is situated near the camera lens and outside the depth of field, in other words out of focus. The pinpoint of light reflected from the drop of liquid that would be seen if it were at the hyperfocal distance, the distance from the film or CCD to the object being photographed whereby the object is in focus as accurately as possible, grows into a circle of confusion with increasing distance from it. The appearance of the circle of confusion is modified by aberrations such as chromatic aberration or coma.

Orbs are usually seen through the lens of a camera.

They are also often caused by water or water spots remaining on the negatives during photo processing. Often simply cleaning the negative and reprinting the film will eliminate the orbs.

Non-naturalistic orbs

Sometimes termed 'spirit orbs', light artifacts are sometimes claimed to exist more densely around certain haunted regions, or claimed to be the spirits of departed loved ones. Orbs of an allegedly paranormal non-naturalistic origin have only come into knowledge over the past decade or so, due to the advent of the CCD and CMOS sensors used by digital cameras which were the first instance where dust and liquids became as visible due to the instantaneous capture method of the photosensitive diodes used, reinforcing skeptics' claims that they are merely a product of the lens. As with cloud watching, suppositions of orbs true nature are limited to the creativity of the individual, although no evidence linking orbs with the paranormal has ever been presented.