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I am having a problem with my new camera. I recently purchased a Nikon AW100 because it is waterproof and thought it would handle mud okay - and it does. My problem is that about half the images I take are filled with snowflakes. I discoverd they are reflections of tiny dust particles floating very close to the flash (see image). Does anyone know of a cure for "cave snow". Thanks

Welcome to the forum. This is a very common phenomenon in cave photography when using a point-and-shoot with a flash. It's caused by dust particles or water droplets or steam/vapor etc suspended in the air reflecting the light from the on-camera flash back into the lens. Particles can be anywhere in the field of view, not just close to the flash or lens. Dust specs on the lens can also cause problems.

A common fix is to use an external flashgun held away from the camera (arm's length is fine), and triggered with your on-camera flash muted by a piece of tape or similar. Another option is to turn your camera flash off, hold the camera steady (preferably on a tripod or improvised stand), and do a longer exposure using bright LED lights or a manually fired flashgun.

For more discussions about orbs and other mysterious flash photo distractions, see looking for my first tough digital camera and fog monsters you have captured.

The pproblem I found is the flash reflecting off fog that commes from my breath or clothing. If both the fog and the flash are close to the lens, the reflection is strong. You can hold your breath and step forward to get out of the fog when the flash goes off. Point-and-shoot cameras are not really suited for using a separate flash that is not close to the lens, though there are some tricks that can be used.