Do you recognize that your claim that a photon doesn't exist until detected is DEMONSTRATED FALSE by experiments that have already been done?[/b]
Experiments seem to suggest that waves travel along multiple paths and interfere where undisturbed. Where the observer (or final path interaction) occurs it appears that the waves collapse and become particle-like. I have never seen an experiment that DIRECTLY observes waves, only the result of the final interaction. Even an ocilloscope captures the wave and translates the energy/information to another form before being translated to a form we can interpret easily.