White streaks in photo?

Marinoni

New Member
I took this image on a clear day a couple of months ago. The sky was clear, no clouds and this is what my phone camera recorded. I did not see this when taking the pic. I figured it was simply a distortion, maybe something digital until today when I looked at the heads of two ladies, one with a hat and one near the stone wall. The white streak is behind them. Any thoughts please?

 
I have a family member in the full photo, I'm trying to be discreet. Is a modified pic acceptable? I can blot out the family member?
yea. it looks like a typical sun pattern... do you have other photos of that day/time as well, so we can see the sky without the white blob part?
 
I guess it was 4 or 5 p.m. on the west side of Baja California about 70 miles south of San Diego. This shot was from a similar spot as the first pic, but pointing up and apparently to the setting of the sun. Sorry, no other pics with a good shot of the ocean horizon.

 
The horizon line looks edited, as if the camera decided what to edit. These phone cameras often "try" to get the best possible photo, often resorting to digitally highlight faces, and digitally define horizons.
What phone are you using ?
 
The horizon line looks edited, as if the camera decided what to edit. These phone cameras often "try" to get the best possible photo, often resorting to digitally highlight faces, and digitally define horizons.
What phone are you using ?
MOTOROLA MOTO G
 
It's almost certainly a digital artifact. The most likely to me seems to be panorama stitching, possibly as a result of the flash going off on the camera in front. This looks like that
20161031-121719-219df.jpg

Although I suppose it could just be someone coincidentally bending over.

It's at La Bufadora, a common day drip from cruises docked at Ensenada. I went there a few years ago. The camera is looking roughly southwest. The sun would be going behind the hill on the right.
20161031-124053-gueav.jpg

There's a blowhole there that shoots white plumes of water into the air, but nothing like this, and would be off to the right of the photo.
20161031-124615-5zl08.jpg
 
Correct, the blowhole is off to the right. So, the flash went off maybe??

Maybe. If you want to investigate, then use the same Moto G to take a photo of an outdoor scene while someone else takes a photo with the flash, holding the camera in front. It might at least show if the stitching is done curved like that.
 
Maybe. If you want to investigate, then use the same Moto G to take a photo of an outdoor scene while someone else takes a photo with the flash, holding the camera in front. It might at least show if the stitching is done curved like that.
I will try that. Thanks for the input on this.
 
I briefly tried replicating it with an iPhone, but got nowhere.

Could you possibly post the entire exif data of the photo?
 
i'm thinking there might also have been some clouds there.. as in your second photo to the far right of the photo there is a faint cloud. you say 'a clear day', but obviously there was some clouds available to maybe highlight? the flash? (just a guess)

http://www.imore.com/iphone-5s-vs-iphone-5c-vs-iphone-5-camera-shootout
hh.JPG



add: this page too has a shot of the ferris wheel (twice) once wheere clouds show as clouds and once washed out bright http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/moto-g-2014-1263344/review/5
 
The photo looks like it's HDR, and the glitch might be from that, rather than panorama.

HDR images are made by taking two (or more) images with different exposures, and then blending them together. This allows sunlit and shadowed areas to both be visible. It gives a bit of an odd flat look to the image, here's an example 20161031-135754-of4o5.jpg

Note the bright area around the leaves - that's entirely from the HDR processing.
 
This is from a Moto G, see the fringe around the tree. Maybe the sky streak is a glitched version of this.



And possibly even trigged by the flash.
 
i'm thinking there might also have been some clouds there.. as in your second photo to the far right of the photo there is a faint cloud. you say 'a clear day', but obviously there was some clouds available to maybe highlight? the flash? (just a guess)

http://www.imore.com/iphone-5s-vs-iphone-5c-vs-iphone-5-camera-shootout
hh.JPG



add: this page too has a shot of the ferris wheel (twice) once wheere clouds show as clouds and once washed out bright http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/moto-g-2014-1263344/review/5
There were no clouds on the horizon at all that I recall.
 
The photo looks like it's HDR, and the glitch might be from that, rather than panorama.

HDR images are made by taking two (or more) images with different exposures, and then blending them together. This allows sunlit and shadowed areas to both be visible. It gives a bit of an odd flat look to the image, here's an example 20161031-135754-of4o5.jpg

Note the bright area around the leaves - that's entirely from the HDR processing.
This really looks like the issue...but mostly a glitch of some kind. Maybe on the weekend I'll head out there and take a bunch of pics and see if I can duplicate it.
 
It's almost certainly a digital artifact. The most likely to me seems to be panorama stitching, possibly as a result of the flash going off on the camera in front. This looks like that
20161031-121719-219df.jpg

Although I suppose it could just be someone coincidentally bending over.

It's at La Bufadora, a common day drip from cruises docked at Ensenada. I went there a few years ago. The camera is looking roughly southwest. The sun would be going behind the hill on the right.
20161031-124053-gueav.jpg

There's a blowhole there that shoots white plumes of water into the air, but nothing like this, and would be off to the right of the photo.
20161031-124615-5zl08.jpg
I think your red arrow is pointing to a child likely bent over running or playing or something.
 
This really looks like the issue...but mostly a glitch of some kind. Maybe on the weekend I'll head out there and take a bunch of pics and see if I can duplicate it.

Yes, looking at the original you send me, it's an HDR image (it says HDR in the file name). It also says auto-bracketing (which would be part of the HDR process). Is this straight from the camera? (Says XT1040 camera model)

So I'm 99% sure this is an HDR artifact. To try to duplicate it, make sure HDR is switched on (it might do it by default), and then take photos with the sun just off the top right of the image, and obscured by a hill or something (even house or street sign). I'd try a variety of positions, maybe with the sun peeking over the top of the hill/house/sign). Tilt the camera similarly.
 
Last edited:
Yes, looking at the original you send me, it's an HDR image (it says HDR in the file name). It also says auto-bracketing (which would be part of the HDR process). Is this straight from the camera? (Says XT1040 camera model)

So I'm 99% sure this is an HDR artifact. To try to duplicate it, make sure HDR is switched on (it might do it by default), and then take photos with the sun just off the top right of the image, and obscured by a hill or something (even house or street sign). I'd try a variety of positions, maybe with the sun peeking over the top of the hill/house/sign). Tilt the camera similarly.
I'll get back to this thread in a week. I'll head out to the Bufadora on the weekend and see if I can duplicate it. Thanks very much for your input.
 
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