As we all know, the typical flash camera is a paranormal investigator’s best friend. One use in particular makes this small, boxy contraption extraordinarily valuable. What that is, just might surprise you.

Try this. Next time you are in a nice, dark room, and the closet door is hanging open just a crack and you feel those old eyes watching you as you undress, grab your camera and take a few pictures to put up on the internet. No, Just kidding, of course. But next time you are in a supposedly haunted location doing your research, lower your camera to chest level and snap off a few pictures. It may seem unnatural to not hunt for a particular view through the eye-piece, but if you are in a dark area, it makes little sense to look for something you cannot see to begin with.

As is widely recognized, both film and digital cameras are capable of capturing orb activity. All that the average ghost hunter need do is lower the camera to see exactly what he or she least expects. By doing this when taking pictures, we expose our eyes to the instant reflection of the light as it bounces off particles and other reflective surfaces, without the nosey interference of the camera in our faces. Thankfully, whatever it is that these paranormal phenomena are made of reacts just the same as any other physical thing when exposed to instantaneous, bright light. We can see them, if for just an instant. Occasionally, we can follow them in real time by using our camera flashes to track them, assuming that they are slower floaters. As a bonus, what we see is also recorded on film. How much more fun is it to say that you actually saw it, and not feel the need to second-guess or question the pictures later? For instance, if something the size of a basketball is illuminated right in front of your face by the camera’s flash, then flies away in the breadth of a second, and maybe even through a wall, you will most likely be pretty sure what you were seeing was anything but glowing dust or bugs.

How this is possible, tends to fall more in the realm of speculation than hard science, as little research is actually put into this area of ocular study. We know the mechanics of the eyes, but as with the study of the brain, we really know terribly little. Insert iceberg metaphor here. The theory follows, however, that our eyes open to their widest aperture in dark locations where light is minimal, but when a camera’s flash is released, our irises have no time to react. Normally, in bright light, our irises contract to a pinpoint sized dot. If we were looking into the bright light at the time the picture was taken, we would be left with after-images burned into our retinas by the overexposure. Conversely, being on the other side of the camera allows our eyes the over-exposure without the immediate blindness, and so they are more prepared for the hyper-sensitivity needed to visually capture the sight of orbs. After all, if the camera can record it, so too should we be able to see them as the objects are made visible.