X. Most Common Film Captures

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ECTOPLASMS. Here is another controversial photo anomaly that we believe comes next in line in common captures. It appears, most often, as a fog-like mist that may cover all, or only a portion, of your photo.

The first thing we did was take different shots of things that could possibly create a fog-like mist in our photos such as steam, cigarette smoke, campfire smoke, breath, fog, etc. We did this so we would have something to compare any photos we had where it appeared there was an ectoplasm.

Many sites on the internet offer examples of the above mentioned culprits of ectoplasm mistakes. Our site does not. The reason for this is that we believe it is necessary for you to do this with the camera that you will be using for your investigations. All cameras are different and will depict fog, for example, differently. Our digital camera shows fog as large connected bubbles somewhat grayish if taken at night with a flash. Another camera shows the same fog, taken under the same conditions, as just a haze. It’s the difference in the camera. Knowing our camera in this way has saved us a great deal of time. It really does you no good to see a photo of fog from someone else’s camera and try to determine if that’s what you’ve captured in your photo.

As with Orbs, it is important that you look at the “whole” picture. Is the ectoplasm just a small mist coming out of the ground in front of a specific gravestone while there is no other mist in the photo? Does the mist seem to specifically engulf something while the rest of the photo is clear? Does the mist seem to be coming out or going into something specific? If you are inside, where does the mist seem to generate from?

Look at the characteristics as well. Is there a shape within the ectoplasm? Does the ectoplasm itself form some kind of shape as a whole? Is it a column? Does it have color? Does it randomly dart out in a number of directions, but seem to have a central core?

If you’ve taken sets of three photos as we’ve suggested, does the ectoplasm move to a different location in each photo, does it change shape from photo to photo, does the color change, does it disappear?

Just as with Orbs, there are no definitive answers to tell you if an ectoplasm is a spirit, an alien being or something else. However, you can make some interesting discoveries if you take the time to examine any photos with possible ectoplasms closely.

SHADOWS. This is another common photo anomaly, but it is different in the fact that you have nothing you can use to test your camera against it. Shadows are everywhere and there are too many variables in what creates a shadow to have any kind of testing success.

Our main suggestion here is to be certain to take your photos in sets of three. This allows you to determine, if you notice an odd shadow in your photos, if the shadow is the same shape and size and in exactly the same location in each photo. If it’s exactly the same in all three photos, then more than likely, you’ve caught a shadow of something “of this world.” If the shape, size and location change from photo to photo, or if it’s gone in one of the photos and can be seen in another, it bears further scrutiny.

It is not unusual for The Night Watchman and me to go back to a location if we are questioning what we are seeing. This has saved us some embarrassment on more than one occasion when what we’ve captured isn’t an amazing spirit face, but a small orange flag or not a little person but a branch of a shrub. Being extra careful in this way is important when presenting evidence to others. Go with your gut on this too. If you cannot go back to the location, let your gut decide if it’s something that you want to share or if it should go in the “maybe it’s something” folder.