Why do I see these little 'bubbles' on some pictures which use flash?

[mmaria]

two things you'll have to do:
1. make sure that your wood shop is the cleanest space you're ever ever seen
2. ghostbusters

1. isn't possible
2. let me know what happened

 

[Patrice]

I'm a woodworker as well and build furniture too. The 'bubbles' as you call them are dust particles in the air being illuminated by the flash, which is very close to the lens of your point and shoot. I get the same thing if I'm not careful about dust in the shop. Good dust collection practices and a fine particle air cleaner are the answer, that or move your pieces to a clean room for photos.

 

[astroNikon]

When I first got my 35-70 lens I was getting a ton of spots on the image. There was alot of dust and other "goo" spots on the outside lens. Once cleaned off the spots were gone.

With dust in a workshop, the best thing you can do is increase the humidity. My little woodshop I have a hot mist humidifier - the kind you would use if you were sick. I normally work on ebony or african blackwood, which create a super fine coal type dust. With the humidity, the dust simply falls to the ground and doesn't linger in the air. Works great in the house too, above 30% humidity is a major difference. Just do the test of pulling kleenex out of a box. Normally you get tons of dust particles but with the proper humidity you don't get anything.

I practiced taking pictures of "orbs" or dust in the air. Quite interesting thing to do .. the kleenex does wonders for hundreds of orbs.

 

[Braineack]

Finally an accurate answer!

finally? post #2 had the answer.

 

[Designer]

Oh, so cleaning the lens will not help? O.K., then forget cleaning the lens. Clean lenses are way over-rated, and could indicate early onset OCD.

Oh, if it turns out that it IS ghosts, what do you suggest?

Sell camera.
Sell house.
Change identity.
Move to an Abbey.
Take up knitting.

 

[sm4him]

GHOSTS!

Some person I was connected with on facebook spent AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGES arguing that these things were ghosts.

I'm not connected with her on facebook anymore.

AH.
I wondered why you unfriended me.



OP: I think Derrel and KmH and others have steered you in the right direction. Try a really good lens cleaning and then taking some flash pictures in a less dusty environment. If you still have the spots, but not nearly as many, it probably means the lens cleaning wasn't as thorough as you thought. If there are still lots and lots of spots, then it could be something really embedded, or evil spirits. Do this:

Take the camera outside and remove the battery and memory card.
Drive at least 100 miles from your home and then chunk that baby into a big body of water somewhere.
On the way home, stop and by several bulbs of garlic and wear them like a necklace for at least the next six months, lest the evil spirits come searching for you. :lmao: