WHAT IS KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPHY?

Kirlian photography was officially invented in the former Soviet Union in 1939 by Semyon Davidovitch Kirlian. Just as there are disputes over the uses of Kirlian photographs, there are disputes regarding it's invention. Some speculate that the process may have been discovered 17 years earlier in Brazil by Father Landel De Moura. Regardless of it's history, the fact remains that imagery obtained through the Kirlian process reveals auras around the objects photographed which have fascinated scholars, scientists, laymen and charlatans for years.

HOW IS A KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN?

A number of processes are indebted to the process developed by Semyon Davidovitch Kirlian, but few are authentic reproductions of the process designed in 1939. Among these are "Polaroid aura photography" and direct to film fingertip aura phoyography. All of these processes use high voltage, low current electricity to create an electrical "corona" around the object to be photographed. The process used here is unlike the two previously mentioned processes in that the Kirlian image is recorded directly to photographic paper, without the use of film.

WHAT ARE KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPHY'S VARIABLE PARAMETERS?

There are a number of variables that need to be considered by the Kirlian photographer when interpretting or planning her pictures. The voltage and frequency of the electricity used to create the corona are perhaps the most important and directly controllable elements. As with traditional photography, exposure times and media sensitivity must also be taken into consideration.

WHAT DO KIRLIAN PHOTOGRAPHS REVEAL?

The controversy surrounding Kirlian photography lies almost entirely in the interpretation of the image that results. The lack of one recognized standard for taking the photographs adds to the difficulty that arises when trying to interpret the frequently unexpected results. There are documented cases of plant life that will show a "ghost image" of parts that have been cut from leaves or branches. Similar revelatory phenomena have reportedly been observed with earthworms and humans. Likewise, different types of objects seem to provide vastly different colored auras in photographs. Prior to their contact with film or photographic media, these coronas are typically bluish-green in color. The vast differences in color produced by different objects has resulted in speculation that the careful study of color patterns may provide keys to understanding the hidden energies of our bodies. Some have even ventured to suggest that diseases can be diagnosed and treated based on the images captured in Kirlian photographs.

go to the Norwood Funk Museum's Kirlian Exhibition page