Analyzing Lens Flare

by | Dec 9, 2022 | Recommendations, Stories & Expeditions | 0 comments

I don’t often visit gun ranges, but this one held an attraction worth stopping for.

We were on our way north to spend Thanksgiving with Julianna’s family and we made sure to factor in some time for checking out three crosses I had observed on a hill close to home. As we followed the road up towards the site, we stopped short at the boldly marked sign: “D.Reynolds Gun Range, Members Only.”

Just then, a young man driving a side-by-side pulled up. When we asked if we would be able to get permission to enter for a short photo shoot, he directed us to speak with Seth down at the gun shop.

The gun shop was a large metal-roofed warehouse under decidedly discernable video surveillance. Once inside, I don’t think I had seen so many guns in one place before! Seth walked out from around a corner and when I told him the reason for my visit, he directed me into the back office to speak with D. Reynolds himself. Stepping through, one couldn’t help but notice jewelry and other trinkets for sale all over the room.

Since my request was simple, I expected to be able to get right to the point. But instead, Mr. Reynolds invited me to take a seat by his desk and began asking me what seemed to be unrelated questions about diamond rings and what I did for work. Maybe there was a miscommunication? I wasn’t here to ask for special favors. I just wanted to take pictures of the crosses on his hill.

Eventually, Mr. Reynolds smiled and gave me permission to drive up onto his range. I thanked him and stood up to leave. At that moment, it dawned on me. We were in the town of Reynoldsville. Donald Reynolds. His family had lived here for generations. This was the top dog. No wonder he wanted to check me out!

I left with an excitement about having permission to shoot at a new place and with a verbal reminder that we were on a gun range. So despite an occasional gunshot ringing in our ears, it was a better spot than I had anticipated. The crosses were in good repair. They were set apart. And we could walk around the base of them to get many different angles!

It was an enjoyable shoot. But as I was sorting through them later, I thought it was interesting to observe the lens flare in various of the photos that I took that day.

1 221121_James Staddon_2487 Canon EOS 7D Mark II, 16 mm, 1-200 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

With the sun all by itself in the sky, notice all the sun flare. I was intentionally shooting at f/11 to get the starburst effect, but the amount of lens flare in the photo was quite concerning. I think after that initial shot, I went and cleaned the glass on the front and back of my lens. But still, take a look at the lens flare in this other shot taken shortly after.

2 221121_James Staddon_8156 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-160 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

Even though the cross is close to the sun this time, the sun is still basically unhindered. There’s nothing in front of it.

But take a look at this shot.

3 221121_James Staddon_8158 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 21 mm, 1-160 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

The cross is now covering part of the sun. And the lens flare is not as bad.

And then this.

4 221121_James Staddon_8157 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-160 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

The cross is very much restricting the intensity of the direct sunlight now. And there is no problem with lens flare at all!

And here’s another example of the same thing happening.

5 221121_James Staddon_8176 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-200 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

The sunlight is practically unhindered and there is a ton of lens flare.

6 221121_James Staddon_8179 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-160 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

The sun is covered up a bit more in this shot, and the lens flare is less.

7 221121_James Staddon_8180 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-160 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

And with it covered even more, the lens flare is almost non existent.

Of course, the type of lens that’s being used, the amount of dust on (or inside) the lens, the intensity of the light source, and the location in which the light source is placed in the image all factor into how bad the lens flare looks. And, of course, you don’t want to cover the light source so much that the starburst isn’t big enough to really play its proper role.

8 221121_James Staddon_8161 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-160 sec at f - 11, ISO 100

But I think my takeaway from analyzing the photos from this shoot is: the amount of lens flare is dependent on how much the light source is covered.

221121_James Staddon_8182 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 17 mm, 1-160 sec at f - 11, ISO 100221121_James Staddon_0939 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70 mm, 1-200 sec at f - 11, ISO 100221121_James Staddon_0944 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70 mm, 1-640 sec at f - 11, ISO 100221121_James Staddon_8166 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 35 mm, 1-160 sec at f - 11, ISO 100221121_James Staddon_0938 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70 mm, 1-200 sec at f - 8.0, ISO 100221121_James Staddon_0947 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24 mm, 1-500 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 100221121_James Staddon_0961 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 35 mm, 1-640 sec at f - 4.0, ISO 100

I was so thankful for the opportunity to photograph these crosses, and walked away with the reminder that you never know what’s in your own backyard!

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