Why BHPI dismisses every "orb" found.

The one thing we try to do with our clients is educate them. Before we got invited to investigate the Historic Adams House in Deadwood, another group from Colorado investigated it and claimed that a dust particle that appeared to "fly" up from a bed was W.E. Adams himself. We were quick to let the client know that we did not believe this was the case. All it took was us hooking up our DVR and our client seeing that it was in fact dust for the client to understand our dismissal.

All of that being said, we are open minded. We do take every picture/video/evp presented seriously and if we cannot debunk or disprove it, we call it what it is, unexplained.

crystalcross wrote: I find it amazing how something so small as a tiny orb can divide the community so greatly. There seems to be a lot of passion on all sides of the orb discussion. Some very much believe that all orbs are based on paranormal causes, yet others believe that absolutely no orbs are paranormal in nature. Then you have every flavor in the middle where the two meet.

I personally tend to be one of the flavors in the middle. I think there is such a thing as a paranormal orb. But I also tend to believe that they are difficult to capture in a still photograph, and even more difficult to prove in a still photograph.

For ME, the deciding factor on whether an orb is of paranormal or explainable nature begins at the time of the event itself. Many tend to treat obs just as they would treat EVP's. Thinking that an orb is some manifestation of energy on the film which previously was not seen during the photographing process itself. Just like EVP's are sounds which are heard on the recording which were not previously heard in person.

Well, I personally do not buy that. That may have been a factor back in the days of real photographic film, when the chemicals were more sensitive to certain radiations than the eye. But in the day of modern digital photography, its basically WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) just a momentary snapshot of the whole experience. So if you didn't see it while it was happening, chances are its not going to be on the digital image. And if it is its likely caused by some optical effect which happened so fast that you simply saw a real-time version of it. As is the case of a dust, bug, dew, water or flash orb.

Does this mean there is no such thing as an orb? No, to me it does not mean that in the least. It simply means that if you didn't see a self-illuminating manifestation during the time of filming, you probably won't have caught one on a photograph. Also if you want to try to use photographic evidence as proof, you must use all possible due diligence to attempt to minimize photographic effects. Don't use a flash, if you use a flash do so from a side angle. If you're photographing in low light situations, use a tripod so that you don't get motion blur. And make sure that no known subjects or objects cross the path of the camera during the shutter time. Use a manual camera to ensure you have full control over all the aspects of the shot, and above all KNOW YOUR CAMERA! Know its quirks, know its weaknesses, and know its strengths.


That's my personal take on orbs.

Dude, you took all my good material. Well said. I think when you take pictures, you should do everything you can to do it in a way that would [for all intents and purposes] exclude the possibility of orbs [off camera flash as you mentioned above]. If, after having done that, you still get orbs, then it may be part of the 1% that we mention.

Most investigators are not going to go through the trouble because the photography side for most is the least important.

If you dont believe dont comment and if you do comment away. There are things i dont like about orbs but i will let people enjoy the fact that they catch them. I will always be 50/50 on this subject.

I find it amazing how something so small as a tiny orb can divide the community so greatly. There seems to be a lot of passion on all sides of the orb discussion. Some very much believe that all orbs are based on paranormal causes, yet others believe that absolutely no orbs are paranormal in nature. Then you have every flavor in the middle where the two meet.

I personally tend to be one of the flavors in the middle. I think there is such a thing as a paranormal orb. But I also tend to believe that they are difficult to capture in a still photograph, and even more difficult to prove in a still photograph.

For ME, the deciding factor on whether an orb is of paranormal or explainable nature begins at the time of the event itself. Many tend to treat obs just as they would treat EVP's. Thinking that an orb is some manifestation of energy on the film which previously was not seen during the photographing process itself. Just like EVP's are sounds which are heard on the recording which were not previously heard in person.

Well, I personally do not buy that. That may have been a factor back in the days of real photographic film, when the chemicals were more sensitive to certain radiations than the eye. But in the day of modern digital photography, its basically WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) just a momentary snapshot of the whole experience. So if you didn't see it while it was happening, chances are its not going to be on the digital image. And if it is its likely caused by some optical effect which happened so fast that you simply saw a real-time version of it. As is the case of a dust, bug, dew, water or flash orb.

Does this mean there is no such thing as an orb? No, to me it does not mean that in the least. It simply means that if you didn't see a self-illuminating manifestation during the time of filming, you probably won't have caught one on a photograph. Also if you want to try to use photographic evidence as proof, you must use all possible due diligence to attempt to minimize photographic effects. Don't use a flash, if you use a flash do so from a side angle. If you're photographing in low light situations, use a tripod so that you don't get motion blur. And make sure that no known subjects or objects cross the path of the camera during the shutter time. Use a manual camera to ensure you have full control over all the aspects of the shot, and above all KNOW YOUR CAMERA! Know its quirks, know its weaknesses, and know its strengths.


That's my personal take on orbs.

ok i agreed with you but i also disagree. I think it has to due with what the orb looks like. so lets break this down a bit....

What are Spirits?
A spirit is a form of energy generally invisible to the human eye. These spirits have an identity or name. They contain a program, intent and information. If seen by the human eye spirits most commonly appear as balls of energy. Sometimes these lights will pulse like a heartbeat. I'm more inclined to think that spirits of the dead trapped on the earth bound plain are the ones that more frequently pulse like a heartbeat.These balls of light contain information in a spiritual format. The information within the spirit ball or orb is its identity and its name is its purpose and visa-versa.Not all spirits appear as balls of light, some appear in other forms. Some exist or transform as elongated shapes that appear to have wings and move very quickly. Some orbs can link themselves to other orbs and move in unison with the lead orb. Many orbs can join directly with other spirits. Some spirits appear as a cloud or mist and some appear in shapes like flames. These spirit balls exist in a wide range of spiritual frequencies just as the light spectrum does. These balls of energy can be combined with mortal living creatures to produce various effects. Spirits are normally invisible to the human eye but some animals like birds, cats, and dogs can sometimes see the energy or spirit balls. Certain species of birds are the most sensitive to the spirits and on occasion may even chase after a tiny spirit ball as they would a bug. Occasionally some people can see spirit balls out of the corners of their eyes. Psychic's can see certain energy balls in certain spiritual frequencies but usually not all of them. When God the Creator created Adam and Eve He placed a spirit within the body of Adam to begin the process of conditioning Adam's spirit to the world around him. When God took a rib from Adam and made Eve from it the human spirit had all ready been conditioned within Adam for many years.

So my theory on orbs is if it is see-through it is probably dust. If it is more oval and in color and/or in motion I BELIEVE to be energy/spirit. If you are getting orbs/energy balls and also getting some other type of evidence to back it up then I BELIEVE you have made contact.

Absolutely Agreed.

I agree with you 100%

I posted about my experience with orbs surrounding my daughter in every photo, no matter what camera and if she wasn't in the picture there weren't any orbs. I just conclude she's like 'Pigpen' from the "Charlie Brown" cartoons.. constant cloud of dust around that girl.

Alright gang, I've wanted to post something like this for quite some time. This is a reflection of myself and Black Hills Paranormal Investigations. This is about the same information we give our clients who inquire about orbs.

First off, 99% of all orbs can be explained incredibly easily. The most common offender is dust. Dust is everywhere. Unless you live in a hyperbaric chamber, there's dust. It's not an indictment on a locations' cleanliness, it's a fact of life. Another main offender is insects. This has been proven time and time again. The truth is, when we take photos in the dark, our shutter speed is reduced greatly. This opens the door to all sorts of crazy shapes to show up. Hair is a less common issue, but it does happen, there's a great example that just popped up on the forum of that.

The last issue is simply this: true "Orbs" are not paranormal. Orbs have been recreated in science and are proven to just be collections of energy. There has been absolutely no evidence of orbs being anything related to paranormal or even that they're not real-world phenomenon.

There it is. I could really get into more on this, and could get more in depth, but I really don't want to. Like I said, this is the same explanation we give to our clients and how we go about our business. If it can be recreated/explained by something normal, then it is NOT PARA-normal.