The following appeared on our Myspace on July 02, 2008

One of the most difficult tasks we will do as paranormal investigators is review potential photographic evidence. To properly review our photo's we need to be open-minded but at the same time have a skeptic's eye. This type of evidence is open to interpretation so we need to be very clear on how we define a positive photo. We have to be strict in our evaluation of photos so that if there is any doubt of what the photo contains, we must put it aside as an unusable photo.  Quite often these unusable photos are positive ones but for various reasons we cannot use it as evidence in a case. A main example of this is you have taken a photo and it has an apparition in it, but you took the photo directly at a mirror and the reflection of the flash now makes it possible for a variety light effects to have occurred.  This now makes the photo unusable, it stink's but we can't use it.

First let's talk about how to take a photo:

Make sure you note any potential items that could lead to a false positive photo. Street lights, mirrors and other reflective surfaces. In public buildings make sure you note the exit signs, these are on emergency power and will always be on. Make sure you clean your camera's lens regularly thru out the investigation. Without realizing it you could be touching the cameras lens.  Watch for dust or dirt being stirred up in the area you are photographing. 

Mist or Ectoplasm Mist photos are a great piece of evidence so let's try to eliminate all potential false positives by not smoking at the location and watching our breath in the winter months. There are ways to tell the difference, but try to eliminate the second guessing.

The photo of a vortex is also great evidence, but these could also be easily replicated. Once again we need to eliminate the outside sources that could lead to a false positive. If you have long hair, tie it ALL back. Remove your camera strap if possible. If not have it in securely in your hand or over your wrist.

Take as many photos as possible during an investigation especially when there is some type of external stimuli that has occurred, a positive reading on an EMF detector or a temperature drop. Don't forget to also take multiple photos when someone is having some kind of sensation, this may be a spirit trying to make contact.

What is an Orb?

We all know form our reading that orbs are balls of energy that is visible in the area of light between visible light and infrared light. Now this does not mean you have captured a spirit on a photo. We also know that it is a common belief in the field that an orb "could" represent the start of spirit manifestation, so we do look for them and we also issue them as evidence from an investigation. A true orb is perfectly round in shape and could be emitting a light. Sometimes we just see the outer edge of these orbs. Orbs are everywhere, take a photo right now in your living room and you may find one. Does this mean uncle Harry has stopped in for a visit, maybe or maybe not? We are trying to make that determination in what we are doing with our investigations.

Some people totally dismiss orbs due to the potential they are something else. I disagree and believe they need to be included as evidence; however we need to rule out the potential for something else. Arguments consist of these orbs only being a solid light emitting object, but if you are lucky enough to capture the forming of an orb you will see that it appears as a circle first then forms into the round object.

We do know that orbs are everywhere, but they have been documented in higher concentration in a known haunted location. The average amount of orb photos in most locations is around 4%. This is why we ask for the number of photos taken by you on an investigation report. When we do the final report we list the total number of photos taken versus the positive photos obtained and come along with our percentage. If we are above the 4% number then that is a good indication of something occurring there.

How do we tell an orb from dust?

Believe it or not this isn't that difficult, but it does depend on how you view your photos. First never make a determination of a positive photo by looking at it thru your camera. Always view your photos on your computer at the highest resolution you can. When you see what could be an orb slowly zoom into it and look closely at it. Look at the shape first, is it truly round in shape or are there any deviations in the circumference? Does it look slightly oval? If so then these are dust particles, which look very similar to orbs. They appear sometimes full and the bounce reflection of your flash gives it the appearance it has a light emanating from it.

 If you want to practice at looking at this, get out your camera and get a couch pillow or something similar and bang it with something. Immediately start taking photos, this is dust but when you first look it will appear to be a group of orbs. Look closely at them on your computer and you will start to see the deviations I'm talking about.

Why some photos are partially blurred out and we say they are good?

There many photos, clear and not so clear that say they are true apparition photos. Are they? Well that is also open to interpretation. I have been on site when apparition photos were taken and I have seen many photos that claim to be apparition photos. The ones that I have seen personally and have been witness to by people I respect, all have the same style of image in them, and that is they are focused throughout the shot but where the apparition is located it appears blurry and a bit out of focus. 10 years ago we would say it was a developing error, but we can't say that with today's digital technology.

Vortex

A vortex is believed to be a spot where spirits pass from one plane to another. This is an anomaly that we can photograph. The problem with this is that it does look like a camera strap or hair so we need to be sure where the camera strap is at the time of a photograph.

Light rods

Typically in our field when we photograph light rods they are actually orbs moving at a high speed. They will appear as streaks in your photo. Hair could also give you the same impression so put your hair back.

Ectoplasm Mist:

As stated earlier this is a great piece of evidence to obtain. The problem is the potential for outside influence. Watch your breath in cold temperatures, no smoking, lookout for candles, fire places, etc anything that may have recently been ignited.

Now how can you tell you have a good photo of ectoplasm mist? If it is your breath there may be a bluish or even brownish tint to it. It will also have some stringy looking vapor to it. If it is cigarette smoke it will have a bluish tint and be stringy as well.

True mist looks like a piece of cotton, a consistent solid cotton piece that is mostly white or grey in color. The start of the mist maybe somewhat stringy so you need to make sure you document what you were doing and where you were.