Photograph

[srisatch]

We had some unusual photos from last night

Can anyone explain??

www.orientbabbler.blogspot.com

[camerata]

It's called "flare." You get it (most often) when using a camera with zoom lens pointing into the sun or using a flash so that light reflects off tiny bits of debris floating in the air, such as in a smokey area near a bonfire. Nothing to do with spirits or Buddhism.

[srisatch]

It's called "flare." You get it (most often) when using a camera with zoom lens pointing into the sun or using a flash so that light reflects off tiny bits of debris floating in the air, such as in a smokey area near a bonfire. Nothing to do with spirits or Buddhism.

Well no-one in Sukothai will believe that!! Why are the 'elements' round? And why do they have the same pattern as the amulets?

[chownah]

Were you zoomed in when taking these pictures and was a flash used or was it a times exposure? What kind of camera and what were the settings. I saw two pictures at your link with these artifacts and the site said there were lots more....are there more visible at the site or if not there can you reproduce four or five more here?

Chownah

[chownah]

Here is a website that explains orbs:

http://www.assap.org/newsite/htmlfiles/Orb%20FAQ.html

[srisatch]

Here is a website that explains orbs:

http://www.assap.org/newsite/htmlfiles/Orb%20FAQ.html

Thanks for the website Chownah. There is one photo in the gallery that has some slight texture. The photos were taken with a Sony DSC T5, with flash but without zoom. I,ll put some more photos on the web later today If I can. Looks like the amulet image is somehow reflected/refracted into the joss smoke. Same phenomenon reported in other parts of Sukothai!

[chownah]

I don't see anything like an amulet image in the orbs. Maybe this thread belongs in the photography section since it doesn't seem to be about Buddhism.

[camerata]

Here's the same phenomenon at a Shinto fire festival. I guess this proves it is supernatural, eh?

[srisatch]

Well now the topic is here it would be good to hear some comments from photographers!

I find it odd that in the forum for 'Buddhism' people would take such scoffing attitudes to something which has only interested Thai people here because of the unusual representation of the Jatukan Ramathep amulets from Nakon Si in the 'Orbs'. Inevitably the definition in the web pictures is not so good. The amulets are clearly visible in the 10x8 prints and elsewhere there are photographs of the same phenomenon with images in black 'Orbs'.

And Mister Thooper Mod Camerata your sneering is uncalled for and typical of this site (If the Sooper Dooper so called moderators post like you is it any wonder that people are writing threads about the sorry state of the Forum)-no-one has suggested there is anything 'supernatural'. However Photography is hardly the place for this-Anyone got anything more to add? Cos its a hot topic in Sukothai if nowhere else!!

[camerata]

no-one has suggested there is anything 'supernatural'.

Sorry if you thought I was sneering, srisatch, but since you posted your request for an explanation in the Buddhist forum and the blog you referred to asks:

"Would any one like to try and explain these photographs??

Just took a picture on Makha Buccha day

Where have these spirits come from??"

... I thought you were inferring a connection between the grey orbs and spirits of some kind.

This kind of artifact is very common in nighttime photography and has ruined a lot of my own photographs. Sometimes they are spherical and sometimes pentangle-shaped, and you can't easily get rid of them with Photoshop. Better to use a fixed lens for shots like this.

[percy2]

It certainly doesn't appear to be flare.

Knowing that it was flash photography it was almost certainly back scatter.

Backscatter in photography

The term backscatter in photography refers to light from a flash or strobe reflecting back from particles in the lens' field of view causing specks of light to appear in the photo. Causes can result from snowflakes, rain or mist, and airborn dust. Backscatter is particularly a problem in underwater photography, where particulate matter can be very dense and include plankton which would otherwise be near transparent.

Backscatter can be reduced by offsetting the direction of the photo strobe as far from the angle of the lens as possible. This is normally done by placing the light source high and to one side by placing the strobe on an extendable strobe arm. By having the light come from the side, the reflected light is primarily in the direction of the strobe instead of the camera lens. This is similar to comparing a full moon to a half moon. The full moon is when the moon is lit from almost behind the earth, creating reflection off the whole surface facing the earth. A half moon is when the moon is being lit from one side, making the reflection half the size and the light intensity much less. In photography, the side lighting makes the backscatter less pronounced.

Backscatter can often also be removed digitally after the photo is taken with photo editing software using digital filters or cloning of areas of the photo near the backscatter spots.

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

[camerata]

After reading the Wikipedia article, backscatter does seem a more likely explanation for orbs in nighttime photos, but it's strange that I've always got much better results at night with a fixed-lens camera. Perhaps it was something to do with the flash on that particular camera.

[percy2]

After reading the Wikipedia article, backscatter does seem a more likely explanation for orbs in nighttime photos, but it's strange that I've always got much better results at night with a fixed-lens camera. Perhaps it was something to do with the flash on that particular camera.

The problem is particulate in the air, i'm guessing there was a bonfire close by with lots of ash in the air.

Edit. As in the Shinto photo.

Cheers

Edited March 8, 2007 by percy2

[kratindaeng]

Pee Grasue nae norn!

KD

[camerata]

That was definitely the case with the photos I took of the fire festival. There were people carrying huge torches of burning wood everywhere, as well as several bonfires. I expect burning joss sticks would have a similar effect.

[Bellatrix]

When I went to Phanom Rung, there was a dark circle around the sun, which was outlined by a really bright rainbow, which you can kind of see in the photographs. (The photos were pretty bad because looking at the sun hurt my eyes like mad, so I just did the ole' point and click). The Thais there that day were saying it was happening because Phanom Rung is a sacred place, but I've since found out it's called a Sun Halo (google it if you're interested). It looked pretty cool.

[astral]

Here is a similar shot at sunset.

[Kan Win]

Very similar to my photos taken last May.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=68668

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[camerata]

Here are three more. This one of Guan Yin:

One from Songkhla:

One from Wat Arun:

[Nazz]

i love the first flare thingy photo camerata posted before lol

Edited March 22, 2007 by Nazz