Sun Spots?

When we first started in photography, (ancient times – film)  we were taught to not shoot into or towards the sun.  It would cause a massive bright spot in the photo, if not ruin it completely.   Film did not always react the best to that situation.  Well, digital doesn’t either, really.  It will still give you a bright, bleached out spot in the image, it creates what is called ‘flare’ or ‘sun flare’  that is not always wanted in an image.  But then again, it can be used to an advantage to get interesting and maybe artistic results if you watch what you are doing.  I run across this every once in awhile, and will usually take the shot anyway.   I want to see the results.  Maybe I can improve on something I’ve done before.  It can be more of a challenge when you have a point and shoot camera, but it still works.   The sun will get “blown out”  anyway, so don’t worry about that, expose for the rest of the image. If you have not tried it before, bracket your shots  if you have that camera function, (one or two shots over and under exposed).   I don’t usually, I take a couple of shots at different angles, and move on.   I will check the screen to see if it anywhere close while I am there.    Please remember not to look at the sun through your viewfinder any more than you would with any other device.   It will damage your eyesight.   I have also found that not all printers like to reproduce the area around the sun in these images.  They turn out a bit odd on some printers, so if you get these results, well, your not the only one.  Be careful and enjoy the fun.

 

There is a sun!

I woke up this morning expecting to get to take some photos in the fog that had formed during the night. What I got at our house was clear skies. Not a cloud or fog bank anywhere. I finally decided to brave the elements, (it’s warmer now – mid 40’s) and try to get some images anyway. We have a couple of parks that are close, that provide a bit of view around the area. I’ve displayed photos from there before. With the sun peaking through, at least that was the forecast, I gathered my point and shoot and headed out. Results were pretty good all in all. I even played a bit with lens flare. There is one odd looking log. It has some interesting trails on the surface, they were made by some beetles or bugs of some sort. It made for interesting patterns and colors. Two mountains presented their colors today. Mt. St. Helen’s is the pink, clipped top image. Mt. Hood is the other. The fog seemed to be everywhere I was not. It filled the valley’s like someone had filled the low spots with whipped cream. Very nice morning outing!