What's that on my security camera? Hey Ray!

Security cameras are everywhere these days, and they can catch some interesting things. There is something caught on these cameras that I frequently get asked about.

Susan asks,  "Hey Ray!

I caught this on my Ring Camera last night at my camp in Tionesta. It was not raining there at the time."

I get the same type of video all the time from people wondering if they had summer snow or just wondering what is being picked up by the camera.  What are these cameras picking up?

First, let's talk about the night vision capabilities these cameras have.  

They use infrared lights.  If you ever walked by your camera at night, you may have noticed the red LED lights on it.  That red light is emitted, then bounces off of surfaces. 

This allows the cameras to see things in low light conditions. This infrared also allows us to see tiny droplets of moisture in the air.  

This isn't necessarily rain or drizzle.  

These are really small droplets of water that are more common in fog.  

Those tiny droplets are so small and light; they are suspended in the air. When the infrared light from the camera hits these cloud droplets, that light is reflected back to the camera. 

Since the infrared shows as black and white, these droplets appear white on the video.  

Often this is confused for snow.  In the winter, that seems normal, but in the warmer months, that doesn't make sense, so it causes a lot of questions. 

Now you have the answer!