Pre-St AuGhostine Get-Together ?

Was wondering if any Tampa Ghostwatchers would like to meet at my home on Sunday afternoon Sept 9th for a casual get-together (bring a covered dish) get to know each other a little better and discuss our upcoming trip, all things ghostly & possibly put together some of our photos to display at the seminar (to represent our group in a special way). It would also be awesome if we could put together Bios about ourselves to explain what motivated us (personal experiences) to join the Ghostwatchers.
I live NE of Tampa in a large subdivision off Bruce B Downs & County Line Road . oops I'm falling asleep as T speak. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 9A


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St. Aughostine Questions

Bill, do you want us to wear our team shirts? Please fill us in as to what other fun things we will be doing and what sites we will be checking out. I for one would like to know if we can investigate the lighthouse. Also, is the entire weekend casual dress (jeans), semi-casual, etc. I also noticed that the Holiday Inn has a hot tub, pool and exercise room in case we might have a few minutes of down time to relax and discuss our day (although the weekend looks very packed with fun activities). Would the hotel be willing to let us in after hours if we are well behaved?

Tampa Ghost Watchers: Meeting - Sunday, Aug. 12 - 8 PM

Tampa Ghost Watchers: Meeting - Sunday, Aug. 12 - 8 PM

So who's going to St Aughostine? I am!!!!

Meeting - Sunday, Aug. 12 - 8 PM

Open meeting for anyone to attend at the offices of the Tampa Marketing Company at 1906 N. Armenia Ave. #207, Tampa, FL.

Please take down the phone number: 813-770-3902 in case the front door is locked.

We are in an original cigar factory building, quite large, and built in 1904.

Ghost Gathering in Clewiston

It was a long drive from Tampa, but worth it as I attended the Ghost Gathering organized by the Southwest Florida Paranormal Investigators. About 10 different Florida area investigative teams participated with 30-40 participants. The Clewiston Inn built in 1926 was the location and offered up a very interesting location. I had a few moments discussion with one of the Inn owners, and he was most pleased to have the group visit. The hotel had even provided almost unlimited access to all areas of the hotel for the Gathering.

While I was only able to attend on day of the 3 day event, it was full of interesting discussion and presentations. Having previously met Doug Kelley from Spiriteam, he stayed true to his message of belief being the main factor in paranormal investigations. Brandy Stark of St. Petersburg SPIRITS spoke on Ghosts and Art and Culture, I spoke on Dealing with the Press. Many more seminars and discussion groups were held, but time forced me back to Tampa. Watch for Morgan from SWFPI to plan more events, and even to come our way sometime soon.

Several more from Al's House

I found four photos containing orbs. The photos taken immediately before and immediately after did not contain any.

Thanks to Al, Bill & Fellow Ghostwatchers

It was a fascinating evening and Al, you were a great host (thank you for giving us the opportunity to investigate at our own pace and for providing not only snacks & refreshments but also for filling us in on some of the past history of your home.)
I have a few photos to share. Hope we have not stirred things up too much (say hello to Patrick for us !)

Al's House

These are the best that I found. I do have about 6 clips on audio. 2 I'm not sure about. 4 of the others I know what they are, but could be easily said to be something else if I hadn't of been there. If some one else want the full audio 70megs, 2 files 30min and 40mins to see what they hear, I can bring copies to the next meeting. Read the comments for my email address. If any members want the 6 clips just email me, I should be able to get them to you, in some form or another.

I had a great time! Thank you Al, Bill, and the rest who's names I can't remember. :)

August 2, Investigation

Special thanks to Al for allowing us all into his home for some pics.

I have a couple pics of interest that I took that I am offering to the blog. You will be able to find additional pics from the event on our main site at http://www.tampaghostwatchers.com/ later today.

Hey, Let's All Be Nice Here !

Questions being raised about photo etc, still all comes down to belief and experienced.

If I wasn't there to see/feel what occured, how do I know ?

If I didn't shoot the pic and know what happened to it after, how do I know ?

Photos Beyond Reproach ?

There are photos that I would be happy to post on this blog and share with group members. But I have to admit that if my photos were criticized in a harsh way, I would be less than thrilled to share in the future.
My camera of choice is digital and I am trying to get in the habit of taking more than 1 photo in the same spot when I think I might have captured an anomalie. This way, if for example an orb shows up in 1 photo, it could be seen traveling in the next one.
I would enjoy seeing more group members share their own photos on this blog, and I hope people aren't being held back by fears of anyone implying their photos might be doctored with, through Photoshop or any other photo manipulation programs.
Personally, I don't know how to edit photos, other than to brighten/enhance them in the photo program I have-when the photos come out too dark to see what is in the background.
This is a free country and we are free to speak our mind, but is it too much to ask that if and when we criticize each others' photos-we treat each other with respect ?
I welcome constructive criticism and I do not claim to be a professional photographer. In fact, it would be wonderful if we had a professional photographer in our group who could objectively critique, debunk & offer alternate explanations to anything unusual we might capture on an investigation.
But to expect all our photos to be "beyond reproach" is a bit much, in my opinion.
We are learning as we go along and our most fascinating and impressive data, including photos, can be viewed as "circumstantial evidence" at best.
I do have a question for any Tampa Ghostwatcher who might have the answer.
Is it possible or even probable to have double-exposures with digital camera photos when the photo is taken at "automatic setting" ? If so...obviously this could account for some anomalies being explained.
Well, I hope to hear some replies.....and to see some more cool photos by members of our group. (come on jsuarez.....let's see what you've got !) We are here to share and to learn and we all have something good to contribute with each other.
In friendship and respect,
CB