The Central Mass Paranormal Society is Back!
I apologize for being away for so long. The Central Massachusetts Paranormal Society has been out there since my last blog investigating homes all over Massachusetts for signs of paranormal activity.
But we've gone through some updating and changes that have improved our visibility and brought us more investigations. We've updated our website (It's .org instead of .com), designed a new logo, added a local number and brought in new members. It's been fun.
Now that we're set, I wanted to come back and begin sharing experiences with you again.
Today's question is: How much equipment is too much equipment?
Everytime you watch a show on the paranormal you see groups that have tons of sophisticated equipment. My first thought is how do they afford it? If they are on television, that explains it - they have the income. When you do investigations for free...no money coming in...how do you manage? Yet other groups seem to have the latest gadgets.
Admittedly CMPS has added a few including a ghost or spirit box (stay tuned for a blog on what I think of that), a 3-1 EMF detector and finally a set of cameras.
But when I first started all I had was a flash camera and a digital recorder as well as my own instincts. I got the longest and most thorough electronic voice recording of a ghost back then. It was actually a conversation between three ghosts! The picture we have on our website, which no one has been able to debunk (including a forensic police photograher), was taken with a simple digital camera.
So do we really need that much equipment? Sometimes I think not. Yes, we want to be to cover all the angles and catch whatever we can. On the other hand, if you were a ghost haunting a place, might you be put off with all this electronic equipment buzzing around.... unless of course you have a very vain ghost!
The other thought seems to be that if you're a ghost hanging around and want to make contact, the equipment will be enticing in the hopes you could actually communicate with the living in some way.
I've found I've actually had more happen when I go into an investigation with just the simplest equipment.
What do you think? With less do you get more?
Jim Rizoli
12:02 pm on Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Tell us some of the projects you've been involved in.
Jim@ccfiile.com
Paul Bishop
11:18 am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Well, if one believes that there are measurable physical effects of a ghost, then by all means if there's a way to capture that, do it! Enough recorded information would go a long way in investigating the true nature of whatever these experiences are... whether it's just our own imagination, or if we really do have spirits walking among us.
I'm an electronics hobbyist as well as a photographer, I build custom camera triggers at times to capture fleeting events sometimes.. I've recently been doing high-speed photography of pain droplets, and the drops are sensed and trigger the camera by using a very sensitive infrared (heat) sensor. Such a sensor is more than capable of being reconfigured to sense the heat changes attributed to spirits, and could trigger a camera (or other device) based upon rapid local temperature changes. The same can be done for "EMF", ultraviolet, sound, light, motion, as well as any other sensor.
Devices cost a lot because the sellers can get away with charging what they want for a device that cannot be had anyplace else. That changes when there's folks around (and I am hardly the only one!) that build this type of thing for a hobby!
I am admittedly a skeptic when it comes to most "ghost stories", but would be delighted to be proven wrong by hard evidence- and can provide the means..
Paul Bishop
11:18 am on Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Well, if one believes that there are measurable physical effects of a ghost, then by all means if there's a way to capture that, do it! Enough recorded information would go a long way in investigating the true nature of whatever these experiences are... whether it's just our own imagination, or if we really do have spirits walking among us.
I'm an electronics hobbyist as well as a photographer, I build custom camera triggers at times to capture fleeting events sometimes.. I've recently been doing high-speed photography of paint droplets, the drops are sensed and trigger the camera by using a very sensitive infrared (heat) sensor. Such a sensor is more than capable of being reconfigured to sense the heat changes attributed to spirits, and could trigger a camera (or other device) based upon rapid local temperature changes. The same can be done for "EMF", ultraviolet, sound, light, motion, as well as any other sensor.
Devices cost a lot because the sellers can get away with charging what they want for a device that cannot be had anyplace else. I personally use a microcontroller that costs around fifty dollars. You are paying for expertise.. That changes when there's folks around (and I am hardly the only one!) that build this type of thing for a hobby!
I am admittedly a skeptic when it comes to most "ghost stories", but would be delighted to be proven wrong by hard evidence- and can provide the means..