# What caused this?



## jestep (Mar 6, 2022)

My dad took this photo last week in Utah. It is not photoshopped, nor altered in any way, I'm trying to figure out what the heck this is. My assumption was some sort of lens flair but not going to lie, it's pretty creepy and I've never seen anything like it. It was just from his Samsung phone camera, I have a picture from 1 minute earlier and it wasn't in that one. I have worked in graphic design and IT for about 20 years now and do amateur photography and I can't explain it.


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## Strodav (Mar 6, 2022)

I worked in the graphic arts industry, mostly in pre-press for over 20 years and this is a new one on me.  You can see flare in other places on the front side of the cliff in shadow, but nothing that should have resulted in this.   My suspicion is that since cell phone camera photos are heavily processed in the phone when converting what the sensor sees to a jpg image that this is caused by their algorithms.  The hardness of the top of the artifact indicates something purposeful and it does look like light coming through a lens.  Design flaw?  Either that or you have proof of alien life or life after death.


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## NS: Nikon Shooter (Mar 6, 2022)

-

Strange thing indeed for a lens flare… never seen such a symmetrical,
aesthetic, and delicately fine detailed ghostly figure before… but it is
beautiful in my book!


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## compur (Mar 6, 2022)

wink, wink, nudge, nudge ...


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## jestep (Mar 6, 2022)

Yeah, it's got me stumped, and I promise this is not edited. My thought was maybe part of the multi lens system in the new samsung phones, pretty sure they have an optical multi lense setup like iphones? i don't know enough about the optics in them but that's about all I have. But the angle of flare makes zero sense to me, it's definitely symmetrical though. You can see the flare around the sun, which is to be expected, I can't even come up with a remotely logical idea of how a vertical one that looks like some sort of tractor beam would happen. 

I just thought maybe someone has seen something like this and I just haven't seen it before.


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## jestep (Mar 6, 2022)

Strodav said:


> I worked in the graphic arts industry, mostly in pre-press for over 20 years and this is a new one on me.  You can see flare in other places on the front side of the cliff in shadow, but nothing that should have resulted in this.   My suspicion is that since cell phone camera photos are heavily processed in the phone when converting what the sensor sees to a jpg image that this is caused by their algorithms.  The hardness of the top of the artifact indicates something purposeful and it does look like light coming through a lens.  Design flaw?  Either that or you have proof of alien life or life after death.



Actually, I'm going to see if he has some filtering setting on. I didn't even think of the phone doing it post-picture.  The picture before this one was normal, but they were farther away so wasn't exactly the same angle.


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## vintagesnaps (Mar 6, 2022)

At first glance I thought it was water... which maybe it was?? Doesn't it look above it like there are streaks on the rock formation? Maybe the phone edited it to look more precise/even, or something?


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## 480sparky (Mar 6, 2022)

It's lens flare that probably got bounced around between the elements of the lens.


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## vintagesnaps (Mar 6, 2022)

Don't think I've ever seen lens flare like that, but then I've never taken photos out in that part of the country. And I know there isn't exactly a lot of water but I was thinking pockets of water here and there (if that's what you'd call it!)


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## 480sparky (Mar 6, 2022)

I'm trying to wrap my head around 'pockets of water'.


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## TJMcG (Mar 6, 2022)

jestep said:


> My dad took this photo last week in Utah. It is not photoshopped, nor altered in any way, I'm trying to figure out what the heck this is. My assumption was some sort of lens flair but not going to lie, it's pretty creepy and I've never seen anything like it. It was just from his Samsung phone camera, I have a picture from 1 minute earlier and it wasn't in that one. I have worked in graphic design and IT for about 20 years now and do amateur photography and I can't explain it.
> 
> View attachment 254317


You are witnessing an inter-dimensional temporal vortex forming. Don't get too close...


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## vintagesnaps (Mar 6, 2022)

Mr. Google says there are some water sources in deserts (groundwater, etc.) - so that's what I meant, sources...

And how did inter terrestial Trekky sounding whatever get into this conversation?!?! lol


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## weepete (Mar 7, 2022)

Turned out to be a very cool shot, with an unusual artifact. It's almost certainy some kind of lens flare, as others pointed out  possibly aggrivated with some of Samsungs processing.


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## Jeff15 (Mar 7, 2022)

This all sounds very spooky.....


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## 480sparky (Mar 7, 2022)

vintagesnaps said:


> Mr. Google says there are some water sources in deserts (groundwater, etc.) - so that's what I meant, sources...
> 
> And how did inter terrestial Trekky sounding whatever get into this conversation?!?! lol



I think you're addressing the dark streaks on the rocks while the rest of us are addressing the purple artifact.


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## Rickbb (Mar 7, 2022)

I'm guessing something on the lens creating a weird flare. Small drop of water that got on just for that shot and wiped off when putting the phone back in his pocket.


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## webestang64 (Mar 7, 2022)

Google "phone camera lens flare" and you will see the same flare on a few of the Google images.


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## jestep (Mar 7, 2022)

Here's the one from 1 minute earlier, it was texted so low quality, slightly different angle because they were farther away. I was actually surprised the shadow moved that far as well, reminds me of trying to take nighttime photos of the moon and even a few seconds of exposure blurs it. Anyway, still assuming it's some sort of absurdly rare optical flare effect, just thought someone might have seen something like it before. May have to print and frame a copy for them just for laughs.


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## 480sparky (Mar 7, 2022)

I'm going to agree with the _Transient Foreign Matter on the Lens_ theory.


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## webestang64 (Mar 7, 2022)

Interesting.....     Dust inside camera lens, lens flare/ghost


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## Warhorse (Mar 7, 2022)

I'm not saying it was aliens...but


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## petrochemist (Mar 7, 2022)

jestep said:


> I promise this is not edited.


If it's a phone picture it is edited. Quite why the phones software edited the flare to look like an alien appearing I can't say...
It does look nice anyway!


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## 480sparky (Mar 7, 2022)

Technically, EVERY digital photo is edited. You can't see it until it is.  Jez sayin'.


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## mrca (Mar 10, 2022)

TJMcG said:


> You are witnessing an inter-dimensional temporal vortex forming. Don't get too close...


Na no, na no.  As robin williams used to say.


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## DaveAllen (Mar 15, 2022)

It's a lens flare for sure, but I've gotta agree with everyone else that I've never seen one that looks like this before, neat!


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## RacePhoto (Mar 15, 2022)

Maybe I'm missing it totally but it looks like an internal lens reflection. I don't know about phone lenses, at all!


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## gherzig (Mar 15, 2022)

jestep said:


> My dad took this photo last week in Utah. It is not photoshopped, nor altered in any way, I'm trying to figure out what the heck this is. My assumption was some sort of lens flair but not going to lie, it's pretty creepy and I've never seen anything like it. It was just from his Samsung phone camera, I have a picture from 1 minute earlier and it wasn't in that one. I have worked in graphic design and IT for about 20 years now and do amateur photography and I can't explain it.
> 
> View attachment 254317


I notice a patch of snow directly below the flare. Could there have been some droplets in the air from melting/evaporating snow?


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