Spirit Photography (Post Your Ghost!)

[Mark Sawyer]

One of the stranger traditions in photography is "spirit photography", dating back (at least) to William Mumler's work in the 1860's. It was taken very seriously in its day; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a big believer in it, as was Alfred Russell Wallace, co-discoverer of the theory of evolution. Mary Todd Lincoln had her portrait taken with the "spirit" of her deceased husband Abraham behind her.

These days it's more an amusement. My students and I made quite a few pinhole spirit photographs when I was teaching high school photography, and it's still a fun thing to do with friends who drop by for wet plate portraits. Here are a couple from yesterday, keeping the 150+ year old tradition alive...

[jon.oman]

This is a self-portrait I did a while ago, using an 4x5 pinhole camera.

[Tim Meisburger]

here is mine, of a ghost in Paris...

[ScottPhotoCo]

Does this count?

[Robert Brazile]

Ha! Counts for me.

Here's mine:


CSC-017, Ghost by Robert Brazile, on Flickr

Robert

[bgh]

What a great idea for a thread! I finally got around to giving one of these a try a month or two ago during a return visit to the 1906 South Presbyterian Church in Syracuse together with my architect friend and colleague. His "spirit" is there on the balcony, though I didn't have the timing quite right and he's a bit, well, pale. It was fun to try anyway!

Bruce


4x5, Shen Hao. Acros 100, Fujinon 150mm, Epson V750 flatbed scan

[austin granger]

Ghost, Abandoned Farmhouse, Sauvie Island by Austin Granger, on Flickr

[austin granger]

Self with Guitar, Alvord Desert, Oregon by Austin Granger, on Flickr

[John Olsen]

This is from 1996 in Albuquerque. A note blew against my fence so I staged a ghost photo to suit. It provided lots of entertainment for my neighbors who were having a front yard BBQ at the time. This is scanned from the print. (The house was built in 1883 so a little ghostliness was in order.)

[rorye]

From Battery Godfrey