Flashlight Madness!!!!

I was pretty excited when I finally got the chance to actually experiment at home what we have been discussing in class.  I got a flashlight and as soon as the sun went down I headed outside. Though I couldnt see a "beam" of sorts, there were definitly areas in which the light was brighter than others.  When I would shine the light onto objects (my house, the ground, etc.) you could see a defined circle.  I alson noticed that the closer I moved the flashlight to the object the smaller and more definied the circle became. When I would move the flashlight further away the light would become dimmer as the circle grew.
The second part of my experiment involved smoke.  When I blew smoke into the direction of the light you could see the smoke inside of the "beam";thus making the beam more prevelant when smoke, dust or any other object comes into contact with the "beam".

I spent this past weekend in Washington DC and while I was there I made a couple of observations.  One, I actually say the "firework beams" that shoot into the sky.  I was so excited when we walked up to them because I knew I was going to see what we had been talking about.  Sure enough, there was a definite beam of light. There was no fuzzy pathway of light, it was all beam.  I believe the lights that are used are a very high wattage and concentrated and that is what created the beam. Two, I saw some spotlights that were used to light the Lincoln Memorial, and even though they were large flashlights, there was no beam,  just a cone shaped illuminous area- a lot like the box experiment.
Last observation- I love light because it creates crazy shadows!