I'm not sure about the glass sphere, but I would imagine that the high refractive index prevents most of the light reaching the ground. 

But on the blind, the reason for the solid shadow is clear. The light is shining from top right, and the slats of the blind are angled such that the light can 'see' no gaps between them. However, if you look closely at the far end of the shadow (through the blind) you can see where the light is shining through the end holes in the slats.

(edit) also in the very bottom left corner of the image.

"If I were a shadow, I know I wouldn't like to be half of what I should be."
Mr Otsuka, the old black tomcat in Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami)