Finding dust by lighting from a grazing low angle

Light from a flashlight at a grazing angle

Ah, dust. Anyone who cleans surfaces or objects indoors knows that dust is everywhere all the time. When I bought a flashlight with a super bright Cree LED and played around with it, I discovered that it is much easier to see the dust on a surface by shining a bright light on it at a grazing low angle. Below are some photos to illustrate this method.

Floor tile, lit from high angle

Lit from low angle

After cleaning, lit from low angle

DVD cover, lit from high angle

Lit from low angle

Partly cleaned, lit from low angle