Cameras & Accessories for Photographing Treasure Auras

The Successful Treasure Hunter’s Secret Manual: Discovering Treasure Auras in the Digital Age - Printed Book - £17.47 GB Pounds plus postage. http://www.truetreasurebooks.net/amazon-shop 

Or E-Book (Kindle) - http://www.truetreasurebooks.net/amazon-shop 

Recommended camera: Canon EOS350D (Digital Rebel XT) camera. The camera usually comes with the Canon 18-55 kit lens, but you can buy the camera body only (or one with an alternative lens) and perhaps buy the kit lens separately. BUT be careful as there are newer lenses with a different specification that may not work as well as the original basic lens. Avoid lenses designated IS (image stabilisation) or STM If you buy a camera body only, or a different lens. 

Here is a link for the kit lens (it may be attached to a camera though):

You will also need battery, charger, and compact flash card. Often these will come with the camera but if not you will need to buy them separately. 

Here is a link to batteries and chargers:

And here is a link to Compact Flash cards:

Downloading Images from Canon EOS/Rebel/Kiss Cameras to Computer. Although many digital cameras can be plugged into your PC and will act as a removable drive, Canon does not. The Canon camera was originally supplied with a software disk. The EOS 350 disk was Canon DIGITAL EOS Solution Disk v 10.0 containing software compatible with Windows 98SE through XP and Mac OS X. The disk contains several programs but the downloading one is EOS Utility, which also controls the camera remotely. If ‘download all images’ is selected in Windows, the images are down loaded by default to a new folder in ‘My Pictures’ identified by the date of the images. If you have the disk it should install on your computer. If you have a newer operating system you will need to visit your local Canon website and download updater software. This is the Canon UK website: http://www.canon.co.uk/support/consumer_products/products/cameras/digital_slr/eos_350d.aspx From there you will need to select your camera model, select downloads, select software, select operating system (Windows Vista seems to be the newest), select language and click search. Look for EOS Utility Updater for Windows (or Mac) click on the link, accept the licence agreement, download and install. You will need a USB Data Sync Cable to transfer the images to your computer.

If you do not have the software disk, or do not want to install it, a quick fix is to use a card reader that accepts Compact Flash (CF) cards. I have one as part of my all-in-one scanner/printer. You remove the card from the camera and insert it in the reader, which basically acts as another drive and allows you to (at least) transfer the images to your computer. BUT you need to be very careful with these CF cards as they are symmetrical apart from the pin sockets. If you insert the card in your camera the wrong way round you will bend the pins in the camera and not be able to use the camera. That means either buying a new camera body or getting your camera repaired at a cost of £80/$120. I have seen plenty of cameras for sale with damaged pins -YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

You will also need an infrared filter holder and adapter ring (58mm for the lenses mentioned). Genuine new Cokin P007 filters are round and need to have the edges of the plastic frame trimmed slightly to fit the holder (easily done with household scissors or craft knife). There are some substitute square filters around which I haven’t tried.

Here is a link for the three slot square filter holder and 58mm adapter ring. I use the plastic ones.

That is all the kit you will need to get started. Some optional extras. You will need photoediting software to enhance and reduce the redness in the image to let the aura show through. Most , if not all, photo editors can be used successfully, however the one I use is Arcsoft PhotoStudio 5.5 (and no other version) It is a bit old now but I have it working OK on Windows 7 and earlier Windows Operating systems. Here’s a link:

You don’t need the Sigma 105mm EF DG Macro lens (as fitted to my camera in the picture above) to get started but if you want the option of shooting over longer distances and smaller targets here is a link: Avoid newer OS HSM lenses, fittings for cameras other than canon and other focal lengths.

Good luck finding those treasures.

Orbs of Light

I get asked many questions about circles (spheres) of light or orbs some of which I can answer and some I can’t. While orbs have been seen on traditional emulsion film photographs they are mainly a phenomenon of digital photography. A digital camera has an internal ‘hot mirror’ or blocking filter to stop infrared radiation reaching the sensor and blurring the conventional photograph, as infrared focuses differently to visible light. I believe that on some (weaker) lenses the infrared is reflected back off the hot mirror onto the back of the lens and is photographed as an orb. Depending on the intensity of the infrared radiation, the reflection can bounce back and forth a number of times forming several orbs. The photo above was taken of a large target with a Canon EOS350D with standard lens and 720nm filter.

 In comparison the same target was photographed above with the Sigma 105mm macro lens, which tends not to produce orbs, possibly because of the greater length of the lens.

 Both photographs were taken during the investigation of a suspected treasure site. Unfortunately the landowners will only allow excavation by archaeologists. To go ahead in this manner would result in the finds effectively being confiscated and no reward payable.

There are other reasons for the formation of orbs other than buried metal and several books have been written about orbs claiming them to be manifestations from the spirit world. Two I have are The Orb Project and Orbs Their Mission and Messages of Hope, both co-authored by Klaus Heinemann, who is a doctor of physics. And here is a link to a website: http://paranormalresearchforum.net/2011/04/26/orbs/ There are many photos of orbs in the books, a few of which I can explain without reference to the spirit world. Apart from buried metal, there are a number of common generators of infrared, which can result in orbs such as light sources (sky), metal structures, animals and people. When taking photographs of potential treasure targets we should always avoid including any of these in the camera frame.

Here is an example. I took these evening pictures of the cable car across the river Thames in London , England , built for the 2012 Olympics and called Emirates Airline. I was using the Canon camera with standard lens but no filter or flash. I didn’t realize at the time that I had the tops of some street lamps in the frame. Now Klaus Heinemann would probably claim the orbs in the pictures are spirits joining in the fun of the cable car ride but I am convinced they are caused mainly by those street lamps and possibly some of the other lights in the picture.