I finally took a picture of the old fountain at Westgate Mall and got a weird surprise

I was at Westgate Mall in Springfield last weekend, the place is a total ghost town now. I wanted a shot of the big empty fountain in the food court for my collection. When I looked at the photo on my phone later, there was this weird, hazy reflection in the dry basin that looked almost like water was still flowing. It was just the light from a broken skylight hitting some leftover soap residue, I think. Has anyone else gotten a spooky optical illusion in a dead mall photo?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowanellis1mo ago

Oh man, that soap residue trick is the worst. I had the same thing happen at the old Valley Fair center. Try wiping your lens with a microfiber cloth first, then shoot from a lower angle to avoid that direct light bounce. It cuts down on the ghosting effect a ton.

jason5621mo ago

Ugh, the microfiber cloth move is solid advice that I always forget until it's too late. My usual method is just breathing on the lens and using my shirt, which, big surprise, makes everything worse. I've probably taken more pictures of my own blurry thumb than actual subjects thanks to that ghosting effect. Next time I'm definitely trying the lower angle thing before I give up and just live with the weird glowing orb in every shot.