Spirit Orb Photographed in the Redwoods?

(Crossposted from The Ordinary Mystic)

Don't you hate it when a speck of dust ruins a photograph?

But what if that blemish on your picture wasn't caused by dust, or pollen, or water? What if your camera captured something that modern science cannot explain?

"Orbs" as they have been named, are probably the most common form of photographed paranormal phenomenon. Many feel that they are actually spirits of the deceased or some manifestation of conscious energy. Skeptics dismiss it as all the result of dust, pollen, water droplets, or some other known occurrence.

So what are they really?

Dust, water droplets, lens flares and other odd reflections can certainly create blemishes on a phtograph.

While there are pictures that seem clearly to be nothing more than the result of particles of dust stirred up, and others that are some sort of lens flare or flash reflection, I have also seen pictures that don't easily fall into any of those categories. Even so, there will always be those who prefer to attribute it to flaws in the photography, while others will see evidence of paranormal phenomenon.

I can't rule out either explanation for what I photographed last weekend.

An Orb's Surprise Appearance

I took the boys up to Big Basin, California for a short hike. The weather was beautiful; the redwood trees were magnificent. Every so often we would investigate some area outside of the main path, and one spot in particular caught our attention. Behind one huge redwood tree was a small clearing that was very isolated from the rest of the area, being surrounded by dense trees and brush.

Well shaded, the side of the tree away from the path had a raised section formed by old roots. It seemed to form the focal point for the clearing.

This is a picture of that part of the tree.

I actually took that picture for reference, to compare it with this previous picture I took of my son standing on the platform.



After snapping the picture, I checked it on the LCD viewer and right away, near my son's left shoulder, I noticed something that looked just like other pictures I had seen of so called "spirit orbs".

Now this was on a beautiful day - no wind, no rain. We weren't kicking around the dirt. Not that that constitutes proof that it wasn't cause by one stray dust particle, but I took several pictures that day and nothing like this appeared in any of them. None except for this one.

The fact that it was at this particular location that the orb appeared gives further cause for wonder. Why do I say that?

Notice the object at the far left of the picture.

When we first saw the back of the tree, we noticed that someone had left a small pedestal with some flowers in it carefully positioned on the natural platform. Here is a close-up of it.



It was actually kinda creepy in a way. There was no writing, or note, or card, and it reminded me of those roadside memorials you sometimes see. It definitely looked like a tribute to something. Was it a memorial? And for what, or whom? Was it an altar? Was it part of some ritual?

Dust, or Paranormal Occurrence?


I'm trying to keep an open mind to the possibility that it is nothing more than light from my flash reflected off of a particle, made possible by the closeness of the flash to the shutter (common with digital cameras).

But is it just a coincidence that of all the pictures I took that day, I happened to take one of a dust particle that looked just like other pictures of purported spirit orbs, and it happened to be in the same location that someone used as some kind of memorial?

Could it really be just that?.

In any case, it was a magical experience, and part of me can't rule out the possibility that this is more than just a camera playing tricks.