Is this a camera artifact? If it is why can't I duplicate it? Need some help please.

Last night I weent outside at about 11.50. It was a very clear night, no cloud, no moon, about minus 5C. No rain no snow.

Just for fun and because I was celebrating finding my camera battery charger I fired off a few shots with flash.

I noticed the first photo had a blemish and then went back inside. Today I thought I'd check out the blemish and noticed that in fact there are 2 circular shapes a lighter one and then a fainter one slightly to the left. I thought it was probably a camera artifact caused by something strange happening with the lens.

To test that theory I went back out tonight and took identical shots in the same place with the same camera. However I couldn't reproduce the effect. So I thought I'd post them in the hope that someone will instantly recognise what it is and tell me.

Several days ago I posted a thread on a method of attracting EBE attention that involved flashing a light in a certain sequence. I had indeed done that before going back in for my camera. Now I'm sure there's a rational explanation and I'm equally sure that it looks like I faked something to hype my earlier thread or set up an elaborate hoax.

All I can say is this happened like I said it did.

This is the first photo at full size
Original picture with orb

2nd Photo orb has vanished
2nd picture blank night sky

Zoomed but not otherwise altered
Zoomed only

Zoomed and enhanced brightness/contrast
Brighter, more contrast

Sorry I couldn't embed but this is as easy as I know how to make it

No artifact, looks like a speck of dust near the lens and caught in the flash.
Just my opinion.

Edit, I will look at my photos, I have loads like this.

i don't mean this to sound like i am taking the pee but this is a dot of water or dirt on your camera lens or digital sensor, depending on your camera make, type or cost you may have a sensor cleaning function which has removed the spot and you have not got this now.

Example images here

Wee Mad

A random piece of dust, that floated infront of your camera when the first image was taken. It reflected alot of light back because it was close to the lense, and there is a void behind it (nothing else to reflect the light)

It is impossible to try and recreate the shot.

Although you can go to the same place with the same camera, you cannot be there at the same time.

It is in the past, gone.

Looks like slight lens flare to me and I do not believe in "orbs". Sorry, but one for the archives.

reply to post by Thoriumisbest


Looks like it could be light reflecting off the lens.
I think this is definitely an optical artifact or something very close to the lens such as dust or pollen illuminated by the flash.

If you look at the photo with the increased brightness you can see another dimmer object to the left which would suggest a lens flair to me like so...

reply to post by Thoriumisbest


Where are you?......are you in the UK by any chance?
There was a quite severe hoar frost in many places last night.......looks to me like you maybe caught an ice crystal in your flash.

Yeah pretty much what I thought but the image shows two identically sized "orbs" one much fainter. Guess it's 2 specks of dust. I isn't anything on the lens otherwise it would be in both shots wouldn't it? Only a few seconds apart. Anyways thanks for looking just curious really.

Yes I am in the UK and there was severe frost. Almost certainly an ice crystal.

It's dust or other debris floating in the air. It's circular and transparent because it is extremely out of focus. You lit it up with your flash. I am 100% certain you can reproduce the effect if you wait around for another piece of dust or debris to float in front of the camera.

That is a classic example of dust on the sensor. It happens all the time and is quite common. The dust could have fallen off the sensor after the first night.

I think the date stamp is correct.. but who knows.. but heres one I got.. I have more but don't feel like uploading.
o, you can't see date.?.. though it was raining.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/52089e9bd6d4.jpg[/atsimg]

You can duplicate this quite easily...

All you need is a small particulate such as flour (or something else very fine). Have a subject about 8-12 feet away as your target. As you snap the photo, sprinkle the flour prior in front of the lense from above the flash (note, do not sprinkle it directly on the lense or you'll have problems later). What happens is that your target should be in focus and the flour will look like the orbs. You can choose as your object anything that the camera can focus on, (I personally like something slightly illuminated and 'manually' focus on the subject/target).

The result with be quite similar to your photo (granted there will be more "Orbs" than a singular orb). But it will be a good representation of the Orb phenomena of when a particulate is too close to the lense.


Give it a try and post your results..
Johnny

There's a few similar looking orbs within this pic I took during a snowstorm last winter..



I counted three in this one.. the rest are snowflakes..

It's called Madala flower (from the heaven) according to Buddhist belief. Google it and you will see.
secondline.

It's obviously an invading species of intellectual extraterrestrial entities, having ill intentions for the human race, and set out to eradicate all forms of life inhabiting the planet earth. They're probably a bunch of cattle mutilating, trailer park raping, crop circle farming, alien "Gods". I'd be willing to bet it's a chariot of the gods; a pillar of fire; or fire from the sky. Either that, or a spec of dust in the field of view of the lens, amplified and illuminated by an external flash.

reply to post by Howtosurvive2012


I think I'll go with your second option "a speck of dust in the field of view of the lens, amplified and illuminated by an external flash."

Although your first option sounds the more interesting.

thanks for the laugh

Originally posted by Thoriumisbest
reply to post by Howtosurvive2012

 

I think I'll go with your second option "a speck of dust in the field of view of the lens, amplified and illuminated by an external flash."

Although your first option sounds the more interesting.

thanks for the laugh

Even a believer has to find humor in his own beliefs.

Try this experiment at home:

On a clear day, out on the grass, lay down and look up at the clouds/sky, close your eyes just so you can see your eyelashes, and then focus on the eyelashes, or reflections off the material in your clothes and other things. Its sort of like the "dust" or whatever it is, is acting like a kind of "mini-lens" - there also all other kinds of cool effects, for example, when I rub my eyes (I have allergies to dust), and then close my eyes and push against my eyeballs with my fists, I can see all these high-intensity patterns, the main one is a checkerboard pattern. There must be some kind of artificial aspect that causes this, I had a waking hallucination when I was getting out of bed - that is, seeing the real world through the subconscious, or "dreaming" mind. Basically, I saw all these little "cubes" floating around, most were coming out of my airconditioning duct. I also saw these little "squares" floating around, sort of like squares of static that come from a TV set. And most importantly, I saw all these specks in the air, and I looked at the specs that had settled on my eye, and they were these mini-stickers, like little round disks, with an image of the all-seeing eye printed on them. More freaky than that, a similar experience I had, was in the same state of mind, I wanted to know how I looked like, so I tried to turn my own eyeball back on to itself, It started as I was seeing these fractal patterns in my eye, I was awake in the real world, but I was on a kind of "threshold" perception. Anyway, when I turned my eyeball up as far as it went, I "saw" a pure white background, and, a tatoo of the all-seeing eye printed on it.

could possibly be a water molecule or ice crystal, if your lens was clear it could be caused by condensation on the inside the lens itself, like you said it was very cold out so these would be likely to form.