This is a very common mistake. Many people see this strange formation in their photos and wonder if it's some kind of energy vortex or long-dead great-grandma materializing to say "happy birthday". A close look at this "vortex" will make it quite evident that this anomaly is merely the strap that is attached to the camera which has fallen in front of the lens. This often happens when the camera is titled to the side to take a portrait-oriented picture, like this one. You can plainly see the loop of the strap and its braided texture. It is illuminated by the flash.
When I receive photos like this, I diplomatically respond by asking, "Do you think this could possibly be the camera's strap in front of the lens?" Oddly, they very often respond by saying something like, "Oh, but this camera does not have a strap on it...."
Oh, really? Then that must be the ghost of a camera strap in the photo. What is the motive of the photographer's response when it is quite obvious that the photo has captured the camera's strap? There's some psychology here, I think, that demonstrates how much people WANT to possess a photo that shows something paranormal -- even to the extent of denying the obvious cause.
