is this lens flare?

[slooky]

2 weeks ago I went hiking and took this photo of the sun filtering in through the trees. When I got home I noticed something blue in the photo. I cropped the photo to have a better look and this is what I got. thoughts?

[Peter Ryan]

No it is a UFO in warp drive. Great shot.

I have not cropped lens flare to look at it closely but I would say this is lens flare. Shooting in the woods, which from the background looks like where you are, the light is indirect light reflected from the sky above and has a blue colour to it.

[lufkin]

its a fairy

[Colin Southern]

My guess is that it's what we call a "ghost" (seriously).

Have a look - on the uncropped original - and I'm betting at the same distance in from the other side - and the same distace in from the bottom/top (which ever is opposite), you'll have something bright.

PS: Welcome to CiC - great to have you with us. What's your first name?

[slooky]

My name is Kevin, and thanks, not really sure what you mean about looking at the original?

[slooky]

My guess is if you crop lens flare it would be blurry

[Colin Southern]

My name is Kevin, and thanks, not really sure what you mean about looking at the original?

Hi Kevin,

It's exactly what I thought. If you draw a line vertically and horizontally through the image, you'll see that the ghost is as far to the right of the vertical line as the sun is to the left, and it's as far below the horizontal line as the sun is above it.

What's happening is the sun is reflecting off the sensor - hitting one of the elements inside the lens - and then bouncing back on to the sensor. It's a very common thing when there are bright light sources in the composition - I see it with night time shots as well.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Kevin,

Colin's initial diagnosis was correct as usual

As was yours - yes, it is a lens flare.

Now we can see the whole shot, we can see that this would probably have been visible in the viewfinder too, and if you had moved the camera a few millmeters left or right, up or down, it may have been drastically reduced. That said, being so compact, it could, from the whole scene, be fairly easily cloned out.

Cheers,

[slooky]

Okay thanks! I really didn't think it was lens flare but after hearing your explanation I agree.

[Colin Southern]

As was yours - yes, it is a lens flare.

Hi Dave,

Personally I wouldn't have called it a lens flare, but I could be wrong. Personally I tend to think of lens flares as being an interaction with light off the front element, not the sensor.

[Peter Ryan]

My guess is that it's what we call a "ghost" (seriously).

Have a look - on the uncropped original - and I'm betting at the same distance in from the other side - and the same distace in from the bottom/top (which ever is opposite), you'll have something bright.

PS: Welcome to CiC - great to have you with us. What's your first name?

I have never heard of or seen that before but as usual the explanation is why I belong to CiC. Thanks Colin.

[Sahil]

Hey Kevin,
Well, very few people have knowledge as much as our Colin does. So you can very easily tell everyone that you captured a ghost

[Colin Southern]

I have never heard of or seen that before but as usual the explanation is why I belong to CiC. Thanks Colin.

No worries Peter - it's quite a common occurance with high-contrast night scenes too.