Sunbursts Galore 3.8.12

Whether you call them sunbursts, starbursts or sun flares, there is no denying the beauty of seeing rays of sunlight in a photograph. Ever since I learned to capture them in September I have been fascinated with photographing the sun in this way. I love the magical quality it gives the photo and the way it adds definition to the sun. During my shoot at Clark Lake Park this past week I was once again compelled to shoot the sun with its majestic rays. It was a rare day filled with warmth and sunlight. What better way to photograph it than through sunbursts :o)? My tip for shooting sunbursts is a high aperture. I use some where between 22 and 29 depending on which lens I am using and the available light.

For this first shot, I wanted to capture the reflection of the sun in the lake as the water was still and calm, almost like glass. I purposefully put the tree line in the middle and did not use the rule of thirds as I wanted to play up the duality of the suns. In processing I removed some distracting flare (a hazard of shooting sunbursts that I am not sure how to correct while shooting...tips are welcome :o) and worked with the basic settings for a clean edit.

Settings: ISO 200, 18mm, ss1/320, f/22 (full manual, sunlight wb)

Intention: Dual suns and reflections

In this second photo, my goal was to capture the colors of the sun sinking below the horizon through the silhouette of the trees. In processing I removed another distracting sun flare (I left a bit of it in this time as it was very difficult to edit out entirely) and added some vibrancy to the sunset sky. 

Settings: ISO 200, 18mm, ss1/160, f/22 (full manual, sunlight wb)

Intention: Sunset silhouette

"Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun." - Pablo Picasso