So we’ve been totally swamped with work (which is always a good thing, right)!

And even though we don’t shoot a wedding every single weekend, we have been busy with family portraits, holiday card sessions, charity work and children’s portraits! Add to that the fact that our weddings don’t take a couple of days to edit. We take our time and we create unique works of art for our brides and grooms. And all that takes time, of which we seem to run out of more and more lately. However, our steadfast rule of no work at all on Sundays (which is exclusively family day) is still holding out very strong….

Last Sunday we took advantage of the awesome weather and headed over to the Koreshan State Historic Park. The weather down here has been absolutely fantastic! I LOVE the cold fronts that keep coming through. I am totally NOT a hot/heat/sweat/flip flop/shorts kind of gal, but have to be here in this heat hole! So whenever the temperature dips below 70, watch out! That means cold front to us Floridians! 🙂

The weather was perfect for a hike at one of our favorite parks and of course, I took my camera as always. But instead of focusing on palm trees (yes, I have been neglectful of the palm tree gallery) I decided to have fun with flares!

Flares, you ask? Well, camera lens flare happens when light enters the camera and hits the sensor or film directly. The flare will then appear in the form of a polygonal shape that is the same as the shape of the diaphragm of the lens. If I proceeded to confuse you more and you are interested in the topic, check out this link!

A few weeks ago we photographed a wedding (which will be up on the blog soon) and I caught a great shot of the bride and groom from behind with this amazingly golden, bright, buttery starry-night flare shining down on them. I LOVE this shot and you can see it in the gallery below. So while at the park, and while searching for something new to photograph and hyper-focus on, I decided to practice my flare. Now I don’t just let the sun shine right into my lens to create the flare…I also stop down considerably to get the sun looking like a star….

I’ve used Photoshop flare a few times…but I love getting it right in the camera from the get go. Not to diss Pshop, but filter flare just doesn’t have the awesome personality of natural flare!

All the flare below is natural in-camera flare…with color and contrast enhancements made in Photoshop. Ah flare! You have indeed become my new photographic interest for now and I just may have to devote a few more posts to you! 😛

Enjoy the flare!
~Astrid~
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