Ever take a photograph with your iPhone (or any camera) and later realize there was a green orb in the middle of it, seemingly ruining it?
Apparently this phenomenon is haze or flare created by a strong source of light in the background. For example, if you’re taking a photo of the sunrise, sunset or just about anything with the sun or a bright light in your field of view, or even outside your field of view, you will likely end up with what some call, “the dreaded green spot.” For example, here’s a photograph I took of the sunrise on February 16, when I first began to notice the green orb:
Here’s one I took at sunrise on April 21, thinking I had moved the camera enough to avoid the green orb, but look closely, there it is:
This past Saturday, I spent a lot of time trying to avoid the green orb in order to capture a lovely sunrise moment, only to discover the pesky thing later. When I showed Adrienne, she said, pointing to the green orb, “Oh, look at that! That’s someone you love saying hello. Maybe it’s your mother greeting you the day before Mother’s Day.” I liked her interpretation of the orb and decided to google it for other “spiritual” interpretations. Here’s what I found:
- A green orb may carry a message about a person’s need for healing. This can be spiritual, emotional, mental or physical healing.
- Another possible message is that the spirit is there to deliver a healing to the individual.
- A third interpretation might be that the spirit orb is bestowing the person with the ability to heal.
- Some people believe that elemental spirits communicate in the form of green orbs their love for nature and encourage obtaining a oneness with nature.
In my research, I discovered that there are ways to remove the orb, either with photo effects, apps or repositioning your camera in such a way to avoid the flare. But I liked Adrienne’s take on this orb. Here is the photo of that lovely sunrise moment on Saturday when my mother greeted me. Thanks, mom, for affirming how beautiful a parent Mother Nature truly is.
I really have no idea what I’m doing when I take a photograph, but what I saw in the last photograph was some morning mist and the drops of dew, the rising sun and then the tree on the right. My eye kept veering to the left and now, looking at the photo, that is perhaps because the trees to the left of the tallest tree (on the right) get shorter and shorter, forming a right triangle of sorts. I have no idea what this is called (if it indeed has any formal photo term).
Anyhoo, that morning was the only time I saw the sun until yesterday afternoon. It’s been so rainy and cloudy. I’m grateful to have caught the moment.
I took a video of my daughter in my back yards trails doing some tricks on the trees and i have a orb in the video that MOVES. It looks just like this. Hard to believe it is not a spirit…. That was what lead me to this article. Google and & spiritual curiousness.
I love the pictures, including the sweet green orb. It seems to me that we don’t have to choose between a scientific explanation and a spiritual experience such as a greeting from your Mother. I saw the Northern Lights and knew that there was an explanation for the occurrence and yet I had a profound spiritual experience.
Thank you, Charlotte. I’m not sure the sweet green orb can compete with the Northern Lights (would love to see them one day), but seeing these farmland vistas is a spiritual experience for me as are the miles I walk to take them in. It’s my form of prayer.
It’s kind of weird that I think more about my mother now that she’s no longer in this sweet world. I had more regrets about my relationship with her when she was alive than I do now. I think she would have loved these photos. Maybe that’s why she keeps showing up.
I had only recently learned about the interpretation of the green orb.
My cousin shared a photo with me that she took on the anniversary of her mother’s passing. It had a green orb. When we talked, she pointed out the orb and explained. She continued by telling me she found comfort when seeing the orb in photos, because she misses her mother so much. I had no idea until then.
Sharon, I love the bottom photo. It’s beautiful.
Thanks to you, too, Adrienne. I’m also grateful for your expert feedback on my photos. I sensed that the last photo was pretty good, but you confirmed it.
You’ve always had an eye for a good photo. I’m just going by the seat of my pants (or the soles of my feet). And, as you know, I only have ONE GOOD EYE!
Ahhh, yes, the green orb shows up for me most often in trying to photograph a full moon over Cable Lake. Love thinking of it as a visit from parents, as my mom loved a full moon and my dad the lake. Sweet to think of them together in that orb moment. The mist photo is outstanding, but I like the dandelion/sunrise photo, too as it holds both beginnings and endings, illuminating the transitory nature of life.
Yes, Beth, that dandelion/sunrise photo does hold both beginnings and endings. I also noticed (after reading your comment) that the light blue/aqua center of the dandelion is kind of an orb itself.
I’ve only taken sunset shots while at the ocean. Maybe I ought to try a farmland walk just before twilight. Check out the sky, the setting sun, the moon . . . the orbs.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
I have also heard of orbs being seen with naked eye not just in photographs which might make them akin to the Northern Lights. By the way, you have good photographic instincts.
Adrienne also believes that I have good photographic instincts. I have no idea what that means. She loaned me a couple of photography books so maybe I’ll learn what it means. Mostly I just aim my iPhone at an image that looks like something I’ve never seen and most likely will never see again.
Love these photos, and I’m with Charlotte–why not accept both the scientific and the spiritual realities of those little green orbs? Have never seen them before–anywhere, in any photo! So thanks for introducing me to a new reality and to new possibilities in this glorious expanse of our world.
Thanks, Carol.
I’m sending a gajillion green orbs your way! xoxo
Hello,
I too take photo’s of the full moon on my phone, only in my green orbs there always are faces, most human in nature but, some are weird faces. Also if you bring in the picture close-up in a dark room you can make out other faces, sometimes animals such as deer, dog. Just pan in and look very close at the one’s peering through. It’s like the spirts are looking through the carpet of life at you. Strange.
Can you get a green orb at night with no bright lights?
Sunny and Sunset photos today showed 2 green orbs while kayaking. So neat and thanks for everyone’s comments on this. Very enlightening. Looking further into the phone and green orbs and the process to remove them on a photo (if you wanted to of course) is called ‘healing’ how ironic is that?