Untitled

I took this picture near the beach today. I've included the sun in

the frame but it is too bright to been seen in the photo. Well, the

obvious improvement would be removing the halo/bright spot or

whatever you'd like to call them. I think this is the result of

using cheap filters (optex). I have several photos in my portfolio

with the same problem. Does this call for a better filter or is it

the lens' problem?

Thanks

It calls for a lens hood or some other shading held so that no sunlight falls directly on the lens glass, causing flare and ghosting. This is difficult with wideangle shots aimed more-or-less at the sun. But correct shading (and total absence of dust on the lens) can give spectacular contre-jour photos, even of mundane subjects.

 

Try again, with a more normal focal length and a deeper hood. Contre-jour is tricky so you'll have to work at it.

what a great greay mistery

I did use a lens hood, but since the sun shine directly at the lens it makes the hood useless in this situation. I'll try taking off the filter next time and see if I will get better results.

 

Thanks for any inputs

Alan - yes it's often good idea to take filters off for these shots but the sun angle can be very difficult indeed. Another thought is to test a few different lens hoods - the manufacturers' ones are sometimes a little too wide. Final option: try a longer focal length lens .... Good luck - and don't give in!