CCADphoto

This is the original picture taken by Angela Matteson at the Columbus College of Art and Design on February 27, 2011
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This is the same photograph after having the exposure increased through a photoshop program.
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To begin, let's talk shutter speed. The shutter speed of the camera used was .25 seconds. The slower the speed the more "drag" and "blur" occurs when motion is captured. This is especially true at the peripherals. I am including a number of example photos here to illustrate this point.

In the first attachment, the focus is on the couple. Note how the stationary lights in the background blur. The lamps are obviously some feet away and the slow shutter speed blurs the light being emitted.

In the second attachment, a boy or woman is moving a ball. Note the blur of movement. This is at the main focus of the picture. The aperture speed allows for this "double" exposure style to happen.

In the third attachment, the focus is on the player. Note to the left of the main person how the other player's leg becomes nearly transparent and widens abnormally. The slow shutter speed allows for this distortion.

I am including a picture of the event with 3 different anomalies indicated. The most apparent anomaly, the apparent light on my shirt and the anomaly behind my clasped hands.
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First, we can rule out double exposure. This was when film was not advanced in a camera and another picture was quickly taken ( if in accident ) or later taken ( as when there were various hoaxes ) on top of it. Modern cameras have multiple exposure settings. This picture was taken with a camera phone which rules out that possibility.

A theory is that since Ben is very fair complected, his arm reflected the light. He is standing with his under forearm exposed in a raised position thus allowing the fair skin to reflect the light and the balloon is Ben's palm, slightly bent back so the light is not reflecting as much. My head and torso being in the background ( albeit not far background ) is framed by his arm and hand. It is the position one may assume when waving at someone or something and capturing a person standing next to the individual. The difficulty with this explanation is that Ben would have to have been moving his hand wildly and rapidly not in a gentle back and forth, right and left movement to obtain the transparent appearance. Also, while the "under forearm" would have distortion due to movement and being at the left peripheral of the focus, the appearance becomes greatly exaggerated for some unknown reason. It also could have been brought down in a "windshield wiper" style of motion. The problem is that such motion would have to be exceedingly rapid.

To put this into perspective. Here is a picture of a flag twirler at 1/2 second shutter speed which is slower than the 1/4 used on the night of the event. The slower the shutter, the more motion drag.

Since Ben's arm was moving rapidly enough for his hand to appear transparent, he would have had to be moving his arm faster than the flag being twirled at 1/2 second and not only faster, but much faster.

I am here going to jump to anomaly #3 ( the formation behind my clasped hands ). Both my right and left shirt sleeves are apparent in the picture. Since this is slow shutter speed and at the peripheral of the main focus, the anomaly might be my own hand coming inward to be clasped. However, given the position and shutter speed, it would not appear so defined and more motion drag should be present. Once more, the movement is not in keeping with the shutter speed and blur that should accompany it. To reference this, look at the lady's face to my photo left with the long hair. She was in the act of moving her head and her features are blurred due to this while the lady to her photo left is crisp showing no movement.

Thus far,there has been no addressing the anomaly noted as #2. This would be the apparent "light" on my shirt. The problem here, if we look at my sleeves they are not light reflective. On face book, I uploaded an inversion of the photo and it clearly shows that area as being "lighter". This may be some form of energy, but we have not gotten beyond the main anomaly let alone to address this one. I am including this picture with this note.

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The photograph on the surface appears to be simply one of Ben's arm in motion. However, the anomalies are not consistent and in keeping with shutter speed and movement. This is posing one major difficulty. Once I have possession of the CD of that evening, I intend to view it to see what was exactly going on and if any anomaly presents itself.But, anomalies captured on film ( digital camera ) and video may not reflect the same. There have been investigatory instances where a video caught something while the camera did not and vice versa. There have been instances where a video tape with sound caught no anomaly while a recording device going at the same place and time records EVP.

The photo is quite unusual not in the fact that it displays an anomaly in the form of an apparent apparition or inexplicable shape ( although that still may be the case ) but that it is greatly distorted and not not in keeping with what we know as fact regarding movement and shutter speed. It has been suggested that energies unknown may have also been an influence in the photograh. It has not to date been fully explained.