Sun Flare

I love sun flare. I love how it can make an image feel raw, dynamic and unpredictable. When I see an image that captures this beautiful phenomenon, I feel as though I am experiencing it myself rather than statically viewing it in a photo. Some people feel that this “effect” is a photographic fad that we will eventually tire from but I couldn’t disagree more. The overwhelming powerful light of the sun is here to stay, and the ability to capture something we would normally be reaching for our shades to block out should leave us with a beautiful appreciation of light and life.

In order to capture the sun flare seen in these images, I had to use a very narrow aperture of f/20 (and take off the lens hood, dummy). I prefer to shoot at or close to wide open so shooting at such a narrow aperture is not typical for me. However, I discovered that I am able to capture all the flare I want when my f stop is that high and, consequently, I am completely fascinated by the possibilities.