The Case Against Spirit PhotographsPatrick, C. Vincent
History
The Case Against Spirit Photographs
Patrick, C. Vincent
Parapsychology; Spirit photography; Spiritualism
4. A simpler method of obtaining the same result is to have a pinhole
in the bellows of the camera; a brightly illuminated object at the
side and rather in front of the camera will then throw an image on the
plate. A considerable exposure will be needed to give a fair extra; but
this will present no difficulties, as the pinhole will be open all the
time the plate is in position, and not merely during the few seconds
that the lens is uncapped for the photograph of the sitter.
5. An extra may be painted on the inner surface of the dark-slide
shutter, in some radio-active chemical. The shutter usually only clears
the surface of the sensitised emulsion by a fraction of a millimetre,
and a fairly distinct extra will be produced if the plate is kept in
the slide for a sufficient length of time--depending, of course, upon
the amount of radio-active substance used.
(_c_).--Dark-room methods.
1. In the days of the wet-plate process, when plates were cleaned and
used a second time with fresh emulsion, it would sometimes happen that
the original photograph would re-develop on top of the second, very
careful chemical cleaning of the plate being necessary to prevent
this. Mumler’s first spirit photograph was probably produced in this
way, and the knowledge was turned to good account by several of the
earlier spirit photographers. Some of the unexpected results obtained
by amateurs may be attributable to this cause, because a certain
number of used plates are returned to plate manufacturers, who clean
off the emulsion and use the glass again. The cleansing may sometimes
be imperfect, and in these cases the original image may appear on
development.
2. Faces may be sketched in chemicals on small pieces of card, or even
on the medium’s fingers. On opportunity arising in the dark-room,
the medium holds or steadies the plate for an instant, bringing the
chemical pictures into contact with the plate. Or he may so manoeuvre
it that the plate is laid face down on a prepared surface of the
dark-room work-bench, probably while it is being marked[7]; upon
development of the plate extras will duly appear. The most refined
version of this method consists in the preparation of small rubber
stamps in which the chemicals are smeared. These can easily be palmed
and dabbed for a moment on the plate in a manner which appears quite
unsuspicious. A number of active chemicals will produce this effect,
but the medium must be careful to know whether the substance he is
using will accelerate or retard development in the affected part; for
cases have occurred in which a positive extra has been produced on the
negative plate, giving a negative spirit on the finished print!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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