Posted by
Lazlo
I used to live about 2 miles from the northern-most groves. The south grove there was true old growth in that it had never been logged and there were 200 foot sugar and white pines in addition to the sequoias, and nothing is fenced off. It is a truly magical place, and I would recommend it to anyone who has the chance to go. Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
Regarding the orbs: I am not claiming that all orbs are image artifacts, but the appearance of the orbs in a photo with a person, and the absence in a photo taken shortly thereafter can be explained by the camera's image processing software. Digital cameras have software that adjusts the photo based upon what's in the frame. The addition or subtraction of another visual layer changes the focus and can make the orbs appear or disappear. Try it yourself, it's fun to play with.
ETA: There are of course several other factors that come into play, such as relative angle of the subject to the light source, spectrum of the flash, absence of flash, lens coatings, etc.
Remember the craze about rods and darters from about 10-15 years ago? All camera issues related to the lighting and speed of the image capture/frames per second.