That Day I Was In A Dark Room With A Ghost...

I've seen those photos of 'orbs' and I don't believe they are anything other than dust specks or water vapor briefly highlighted by a flash or natural light creating a tiny bit of bokeh. Maybe they are even the product of a dirty sensor. No one can convince me otherwise about orbs. I've never believed the stories of 'something odd' caught by a camera until I stood, alone, in a dark room in a slowly deteriorating elementary school. I had visited this place before, a couple of times. The condition of the building showed more decline than my last trip there. Once while standing in the auditorium with another photographer, we heard what sounded like footsteps. 

"Did you hear that," I asked her.

"Yes."

And we both headed to the other side of the building, nearer the front door.

I've taken lots of photographs in this structure. Nothing unusual until my last time there -- almost three years ago. I haven't been back.

Two images taken a little over a minute apart. The only change from the first to the second, or so I thought, was to move my tripod back a little to show more of the ceiling and part of a second window.

1:36:15pm

My shutter speed on both images is 25 seconds, f5.6, ISO 160, and my zoom lens was at its widest at 17mm. As I normally do for a very long exposure, I had the timer on to count down 10 seconds to shoot. I pushed the button and stood back to wait for the shutter to open and then close -- 35 seconds later.

Then, reevaluating the composition, I moved the tripod back a little to reshoot. Same settings the second time, just a little further back in the room. No one else was in the room with me. There were others in the building but they were down the hall in another very dark room working on other images. I did not review my photos in camera until I returned home that evening. 

When I looked at the second image something strange was there -- a streak of light. And this streak was not in a complete straight line. I have no explanation for this anomaly. I wonder what was in that dark room with me that afternoon....

1:37:28pm

Happy Halloween