Julie Ryder finds it hard to describe the lights that accompany her in hundreds of different photographs.

Diamonds, circles, and streaks of translucent color often hang in the background, suspended over her head like an aura.

She calls them orbs, and they've changed her life.

"The orbs are becoming more and more complex," Ryder said. "They are consciousnesses from other dimensions and are trying to make contact with us. The more complex forms are teaching us to communicate."

Ryder, who works as a registered nurse in Helena, said she first made contact with the orbs in February 2003 after watching the video, "Orbs: The Veil is Lifting," with some friends.

Since then, she said, she's learned to communicate with the strange spheres of light, and has come to know them well.

"We've done over 50 photo sessions and I've been present at all of them," Ryder said. "The orbs have been present at every single session."

To eliminate the possibility of a mechanical defect, Ryder said she and other believers have used 14 different cameras to photograph the beings of light.

The orbs appear when called, regardless of the time of day. They also come when summoned from mountaintops and movie theaters.

Ryder finds it hard to explain her theory to skeptics. But with over 10 dimensions to explore, and with human beings living in only three of them, she said there are many possibilities.

"My personal theory is that they're inter-dimensional beings," she said. "They interact with consciousness."

Four months after Ryder first made contact with the orbs, she had a vision. It was in June 2003, and she was at the Fairy and Human Relations Congress in Washington State.

There, along with believer Gary Hovda, the Blue Orb appeared.

The Blue Orb was unlike any other being of light Ryder or Hovda had seen. It had a membrane and filaments that crisscrossed within the sphere, she said.

"I think it was a visitation," Ryder said. "It had a human form in it. It was the largest orb yet--almost as large as a human being."

Ryder said she has searched the Web over, and while she has found hundreds of pictures of simple orbs, no one, as far as she can tell, has ever photographed such a complex form as the Blue Orb.

Whatever the Blue Orb might be, Ryder said, it isn't something that exists in this reality.

"I've heard a lot of bizarre theories out there," Ryder said of the Blue Orb. "It's not a solidly physical thing. I'm so astounded it appeared on film."

While in Washington that week in June, Ryder said that Hovda called upon the orbs of light.

"He raised his hands and started spinning, as if orchestrating music," Ryder said. "A large wave of orbs came at us. It was euphoric. It felt as if the energy was passing right through us."

If the orbs are communicating, Ryder said, it's difficult to say what might come next. That, she said, is up to the orbs.

"We're taking it to the public," Ryder said. "We're doing a public presentation on what we know so far. I think they're always among us when there's light and joy."

Reporter Martin Kidston can be reached at 447-4086, or at mkidston@helenair.com.