Julian Pioneer Cemetery Investigation - October 21, 2007
P.I.S.D had planned a pleasant trip to Julian, a relatively small community
located in the mountains of San Diego County, noted for it's gift shops and
apple pies and ciders. Of course our main goal was to photograph the old
Julian Pioneer Cemetery, which had to be done during the daylight hours as
it was closed after sunset; thus, we set off on a pleasant, yet very windy,
day.
As we drove through the town of Ramona, I noted that the time was 10:30 A.M.
and my thoughts were that we really needed to get there soon in order to
have sufficient time as some of us needed to return home at various times to
fulfill obligations.
Upon arriving and stepping out of the car, we all were amazed at how
incredibly windy it had become...we did have Santa Ana wind
conditions...typical for that time of year, however, it was extremely
cold...more unusual than not. The wind blew hard enough to whip us around
which is unusual for San Diego.
We began to walk through the cemetery photographing markers of interest,
many quite old and/or handmade of wood or stone. Interestingly, myself and
another member, at different times - quite physically separate from one
another and unbeknownst to each other, could not photograph the same marker
using (of course) different cameras. When this happens to me, I check/change
my battery. I did just this and after making certain that my battery was
new. I then attempted another photograph and my camera would still not
'cooperate'. At this point, I asked permission to photograph indicating that
I meant to harm or disrespect, tried again and the camera snapped! A bit
later I noticed my colleague having the same difficulty and suggested he ask
permission - he did so and his camera worked! We have no explanation and,
perhaps, it was a physical malfunction, however, it certainly did cause us
to stop and take notice.
After we were done taking our photographs and grew wearing of the cold
winds, we decided to have some of the 'famous' apple pie before returning.
It was during our wonderful feast that the owner of the shop announced to
all of the patrons that a large fire was in the vicinity, moving quickly and
roads were beginning to close - ours was one of them. We left quickly
knowing that our only alternate route was still open. When we returned to
our respective homes (and glad to be there) television sets were turned on.
The fire was spreading rapidly throughout San Diego County...it was the
Witch Creek fire later to become the horrible firestorm that swept San
Diego.
As it turned, when I looked at watch and noted it was 10:30 A.M. in Ramona,
we were only 2 hours ahead of the fires!
The fires affected a number of our members and a number of us either had to
evacuate or did so by choice - fortunately, none lost our homes.
When we finally were able to return to our normal lives, photos of the
Julian Pioneer Cemetery were examined: I had an extremely odd collection of
photos (displayed below). I have attempted to discover why these have come
out as they have by showing and discussing them with those well versed in
photography. I have no special settings on this particular camera nor was it
very or unusually bright that day. In between the order of these photos,
some came out perfectly normal. I have no explanation for their appearance.
I should also mention that my teammate mentioned above discovered that his
camera was "broken" after returning from our trip. It had not been used
afterward. He had then taken to a camera repair shop only to be told that
what had happened or why was an unknown but that it was beyond repair.
Our outing turned out to be quite an adventure! Enjoy the photographs - I
have not put up all that have this unusual appearance but those that have
more contrast. Comments are welcome. Enjoy!
Thank you,
Paula Kahan
Founder ~ Team Lead
P.I.S.D
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Note: I attempted to add the very unusual pictures that were taken at the Julian Pioneer Cemetery. While I was placing them on the page, I was able to make out the photos even though they were - very unusual. As long as I was using my editor program (Microsoft Front Page) I was able to see the strange images; however, when I looked at the page with the Internet Express browser, the pictures were nothing more than large white blocks. I thought if I increased the contrast it would, perhaps, at least make them visible. I tried that and watched over Paula's shoulder as the page loaded. At first we could see the images but as we watched the images faded and no longer were recognizable. At this point Paula and I decided that if we had to alter the photos in order for them to show up, that would compromise the potential of paranormal evidence. I removed them.
Lyle Stults |
