"Northeast" Holes by the Thousands

 Photo date: January 20, 2021. Photographer: Mark Mahin.   

I took the photos below while photographing only ordinary drops of pure, clean water falling in front of a black featureless background.  On this day (among other patterns) I got (in most of about 2000 consecutive photos) orbs with a large hole in their upper right parts. Below are some examples.

After getting such a pattern in most of 2000 consecutive photos, the pattern changed to become the pattern shown below, which persisted for a few hundred photos. Note the strange little flame-like features at the top of the orbs in the final photos.