What was it that I photographed...?

[Polo786]

Hi everyone,
my name is Mike and I live in Argentina. Excuse muy English.

I want to attach two photographs; in one, three red lights appear in the upper left corner.
File "20220806_190946 Ovni.jpg"
I'm sending the other photo for reference.

The photos were taken with a Samsung Galaxy A52; the metadata will not be present using this upload method... is there another way to upload it?

Descripction:
PLACE OF OBSERVATION: City of Buenos Aires, country: Argentina

More details about the location can be obtained by searching on Google Maps or Earth: Sanatorio de los Arcos, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

OBSERVATION DATE: August 6, 2022
OBSERVATION TIME: 7:09:46 PM
DIRECTION TOWARDS WHICH THE CAMERA WAS POINTING WHEN FOCUSING ON THE OBJECT: SouthWest

I was hospitalized at the Sanatorio de los Arcos, located at Ave. Juan B. Justo 909, City of Buenos Aires. The photograph was taken from a side window on the 8th or 10th floor (I'm not entirely sure which floor). The avenue runs southwest.
I was alone in the room and had turned off the lights to see outside better. I don't remember if I took the photos through the window glass, but I think I did. I also understand that the three red lights were facing south.

What can you tell me about those lights?

Thanks,
Regards,
Mike


Photo for Reference:

Three red lights appear in the upper left corner:

 

[Mick West]

I feel like they are most likely reflections of something in the room. Hospital rooms often have equipment on the walls with power indicator lights. They are just out of frame in the other image.

Brightened up, you see what might be the devices on the wall.

 

[FatPhil]

I agree with Mick that it's most likely something reflected from within the room.

Less accurate than Mick's method, as it doesn't correct for rotation, but one you can do quite simply yourself - I put the two images in two tabs, zoomed in, and positioned them so that the circled light didn't move when I switched tabs. And indeed, the three mystery lights had to be pushed out of frame, so it shouldn't be a surprise if they also appear in some of your other photos in a similar position. The fact that they're streaking is probably because image stabilisation was being performed in-camera, and because the probably-LEDs in the room are so much closer than the outside scene, they'll be moved in response to your movement of the camera.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

Zoomed in and enhanced with ACDSee exposure, contrast, and fill light.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

Looks a lot like LEDs on a router.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

It might be the flashing red light on a smoke detector.

Still another possibility is an illuminated test button for an emergency light.

... and multiple images in triple pane window?

Since the reflections are up high that argues for something on the ceiling. A flashing light on a smoke detector would only show once every ~45 seconds. So wouldn't be in every photo.

Not likely to be on an IV infusion pump or patient monitor, or so forth, because red light signals an emergency.

 

[purpleivan]

I took a look for photos of patient rooms at Sanatorio de los Arco, to see if there was some wall mounted equipment that might have the kind of arrangement of lights seen in the photos in the OP.

Here are some I found, including head board units (the wall mounted equipment above the head of the beds).

https://www.agustinali.com.ar/sanatorios/

https://diagnosticojournal.com/ampliacion-del-sanatorio-de-los-arcos/

https://www.swissmedical.com.ar/clinewsite/arcos/sobre_sanatorio_arcos.php

Some of these include an arrangement of what looks like power sockets and what might be switches (that might become illuminated when on) or status lights, as seen in this crop of the first image in this post.

I'm possibly connecting two things that have no actual connection, but I thought the slanted angle of these (assuming they are illuminated status lights or switches), looked similar to the arrangement of lights in the photos in the OP.

Of course, for them to be the source of the lights, the things on the angled lower section of the head board units would have to be illuminated when in use. As I've not been able to idenitify the model of these units, then I can't be assume they would be, but it might be worth looking into as a possible source.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

Bed Head Unit, and I think this is the Nurse Call System. I flopped the window reflection lights so that they are no longer mirror imaged.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

I captured a frame from the above video while the camera was moving. The lights are streaks due to motion blur. Then I brought down the exposure level.

And the window reflections.

 

[John J.]

Hi Mike (@Polo786), if you or someone you were visiting was unwell, I'm sure we all wish you all the best.

I wondered if (if the room had a similar layout to that in @purpleivan's post #7) the lights might be caused by reflections off of the wall-mounted medical gases/ suction devices, with the near-horizontal band visible in Mick West's brightened picture being the vertical face of the wall mounting (between yellow lines)

-though maybe it's more likely the lights shown in the photo (if they are reflections) are direct reflections of small light sources (e.g. LEDs).

Though I think the lights in the OP photo are probably reflections from sources associated with the horizontal fixture above the bed's headboard, as well as indicator lights on fixtures (including TVs, routers), nurses and aides often leave mobile stand-mounted monitoring devices/ infusion pumps etc. on charge in various places, even if they're not needed at that precise location, as it's often more practical than constantly going back and forth to the designated storage/ charging area. Possible example in one of the photos posted by purpleivan:

So even a photo of the relevant hospital room might not show the light sources that were present at the time.

 

[JMartJr]

I suspect it has been solved above, but since I'd made this image before reading the thread this morning, I'll include it as what I guess is just an interesting coincidence. I was having trouble visualizing how this reflection could work in camera or in window anyway, and I'd expect a few more reflections of the bright lights in the traffic...

But pulling the top of the image down to compare to the bottom of the image, you get this:

 

[FatPhil]

I wondered if (if the room had a similar layout to that in @purpleivan's post #7) the lights might be caused by reflections off of the wall-mounted medical gases/ suction devices, with the near-horizontal band visible in Mick West's brightened picture being the vertical face of the wall mounting (between yellow lines)

If I understand correctly, those aren't real lines, they are simply the edges of the two images, one overlayed over the other at an angle, so are just a compositing artefact.

 

[John J.]

If I understand correctly, those aren't real lines, they are simply the edges of the two images, one overlayed over the other at an angle, so are just a compositing artefact.

Oh! Thank you.

 

[Polo786]

I feel like they are most likely reflections of something in the room. Hospital rooms often have equipment on the walls with power indicator lights. They are just out of frame in the other image.

Brightened up, you see what might be the devices on the wall.

View attachment 87337

Thanks Mick for your reply. I'm adding a short video from when I was hospitalized in that room and we were joking around with my daughter, so you can see how it was laid out. You can see the window from which I took the photos.

Although the reflections don't seem to match any lights in the room or streetlights, because there should be many more reflections in the photo, I don't understand why one of those three lights would leave a trail. I also included another reference photo in which no lights are visible.
Thanks again for your interest.

 

[Polo786]

Thanks for your interest and your answer

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

I don't understand why one of those three lights would leave a trail.

I think you might be talking about the light on our right... which has a tail.

There's another blob of light between the right light and the middle light. These may be reflections of the light(s) on a shiny surface, or it may be an artifact. Meaningless noise.



Let's sort things out.

First how could round lights become streaks of light?

Because of motion blur. The camera was moving. That's our guess.

It happens when the camera's sensor records movement over time. A sharp image becomes a blurred image.

Example of motion blur caused by camera movement. The camera is in a moving car. The stationary lights are blurred.

In your case the camera was near the window, so reflections in the window would be blurred by ordinary camera shake. The scene is dark, so the camera automatically adjusted the exposure time to a slow shutter speed.



Second. Why does the light on our right have a tail?

This image is cropped from a small portion of your jpeg image. And then I played around with it in ACDSee. So it is in low resolution and there are artifacts.

We're guessing that the motion blur changed rounds lights into streaks.

And those other... things... in different colors may represent reflections of the lights off bright surfaces, (stainless steel, chrome, whatever.) Or they may be artifacts... meaningless visual noise... and nothing more.

If they are reflections, they would also be blurred streaks.



We're working on the idea that these are reflections in the window of lights inside the room. The lights may not have been steady. They may have been intermittently flashing, such as the light on a smoke detector that flashes every 45 seconds to tell you that it's working

Or... the lights may have been on your camera or phone itself. Did you use a smart phone.? Are there red lights on that phone? Even one red light might produce three images in a triple pane window due to internal reflections between the the panes of glass.



Finally, instead of reflections of lights inside the room, these may be ghost images... popularly known as lens flares... caused by bright lights outside of the room.

It would help if you could show us the original uncropped photo, without compositing it into a another image.

 

[Z.W. Wolf]

Although the reflections don't seem to match any lights in the room or streetlights, because there should be many more reflections in the photo,

Even though I speculated about the lights on the Head Unit I continue to suspect that the reflections on the window were of something near the window. That would explain the brightness of the reflections and the fact that no other reflections are visible.

I just noticed that there's a wall mounted TV near the window.

I have to bump that TV up to the prime suspect. Or, more specifically, the LED indicator lights on a bit of hardware mounted to the side/back of the TV. Something that looks like a modem or router.

You wouldn't necessarily see these indicator lights because they would be behind or partially behind the TV. But you could see the reflections of these LEDs in the window.

 

[purpleivan]

Regarding the number of lights in the photo, it might be reasonabl to assume that the windows of the hospital room were are least double glazed (double paned), so possibly a light sources could have produced more than one reflection in the window. Although for the 3 lights seen in the photos, that would require either triple glazing with one light source (three reflections) or double glazing with 2 light sources (four reflections with two overlapping each another, or one reflection missing, due to the incident angle for the light source being obscured).

That last option, of an obscured reflection in a double glazed window (to get down from 4 reflections to 3) is pretty unlikely though, as it would require something very thin (maybe an equipment cable), to block the light at the exact angle for just one light reaching a specific pane of glass, so probably pretty unlikely.

I'm far from convinced by this theory, but thought I'd mention it as a possiblilty.

 

[Ann K]

Regarding the number of lights in the photo, it might be reasonabl to assume that the windows of the hospital room were are least double glazed (double paned), so possibly a light sources could have produced more than one reflection in the window.

There are many lights visible in the photo, so if the number of panes of glass were an issue I'd expect to see duplicate/triplicate images all around the edges, not just in one corner. I think @Mick West got it right in post #2.

 

[Polo786]

Hi everyone,
my name is Mike and I live in Argentina. Excuse muy English.

I want to attach two photographs; in one, three red lights appear in the upper left corner.
File "20220806_190946 Ovni.jpg"
I'm sending the other photo for reference.

The photos were taken with a Samsung Galaxy A52; the metadata will not be present using this upload method... is there another way to upload it?

Descripction:
PLACE OF OBSERVATION: City of Buenos Aires, country: Argentina

More details about the location can be obtained by searching on Google Maps or Earth: Sanatorio de los Arcos, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

OBSERVATION DATE: August 6, 2022
OBSERVATION TIME: 7:09:46 PM
DIRECTION TOWARDS WHICH THE CAMERA WAS POINTING WHEN FOCUSING ON THE OBJECT: SouthWest

I was hospitalized at the Sanatorio de los Arcos, located at Ave. Juan B. Justo 909, City of Buenos Aires. The photograph was taken from a side window on the 8th or 10th floor (I'm not entirely sure which floor). The avenue runs southwest.
I was alone in the room and had turned off the lights to see outside better. I don't remember if I took the photos through the window glass, but I think I did. I also understand that the three red lights were facing south.

What can you tell me about those lights?

Thanks,
Regards,
Mike


Photo for Reference:
View attachment 87335


Three red lights appear in the upper left corner:
View attachment 87336

Post update.

I appreciate all the comments. The smartphone camera was resting on the window frame. I know the basics of photography: clean lenses, camera on a tripod or resting on a surface, trying to avoid reflections, etc.

I don't understand why the third red light on the right leaves a trail while the rest of the image is still; it's a bit strange.

Here are the original photos:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zgddF00gkH40utZgSf36YJ1R9nprEjBz?usp=drive_link

Regards

 

[JMartJr]

I don't understand why the third red light on the right leaves a trail while the rest of the image is still; it's a bit strange.

I'm not sure that's a trail, it might be a more faintly lit something (maybe a bit of the wall?) that is also being reflected.

 

[Ann K]

I don't understand why the third red light on the right leaves a trail while the rest of the image is still; it's a bit strange.

Is that red light reflecting on something that has a coiled cord, such as those generally found on telephones? That would show faint reflections at regular intervals.

 

[Trailspotter]

Regarding the number of lights in the photo, it might be reasonabl to assume that the windows of the hospital room were are least double glazed (double paned), so possibly a light sources could have produced more than one reflection in the window. Although for the 3 lights seen in the photos, that would require either triple glazing with one light source (three reflections) or double glazing with 2 light sources (four reflections with two overlapping each another, or one reflection missing, due to the incident angle for the light source being obscured).

That last option, of an obscured reflection in a double glazed window (to get down from 4 reflections to 3) is pretty unlikely though, as it would require something very thin (maybe an equipment cable), to block the light at the exact angle for just one light reaching a specific pane of glass, so probably pretty unlikely.

I'm far from convinced by this theory, but thought I'd mention it as a possibility.

The reflections come from both front and back side of a glass pane, so the double glazed window can produce four reflections of a single light source. If its reflected image size is greater that the thickness of the glass, the reflections from the glass panes would merge, producing a contiguous smeared reflection, like those of the three red lights in the upper left corner (as opposed to a motion blur not seen on the other lights). I think that these three reflections come from three separate light sources, with the rightmost one illuminating something next to it. The illuminated part produces a longer 'trail' of this reflection.

Post update.

I appreciate all the comments. The smartphone camera was resting on the window frame. I know the basics of photography: clean lenses, camera on a tripod or resting on a surface, trying to avoid reflections, etc.

I don't understand why the third red light on the right leaves a trail while the rest of the image is still; it's a bit strange.

Here are the original photos:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zgddF00gkH40utZgSf36YJ1R9nprEjBz?usp=drive_link

From your video, the window extends down to the floor and has no windowsill. I do not see where the camera might be placed on the window frame. Could it be that it was resting on that small round table in the front of the window?