Catchup and a Lesson 4

I was gone for 5 days (see here) and spring came.

What the heck! When I left it was cold, blustery, and cloudy. Then I returned to this.

It's SO stinking pretty. This is all in my backyard, too! Plum trees and peach tree, to be exact. Just looking at these pictures makes me have to sneeze. UH. My allergies have been seriously wicked. And I do NOT look cute when I have allergies. I look like a WEIIIRRRDOOO. Plus I sneeze about 500 times a day and people look at me like I'm contagious. But I have been using a little device that has made my life SOOO much better and I have to tell you about it, just in case you suffer like I do. It's called the Neti pot and it looks like this:

http://www.herbspro.com/images/productImg/Neti-Pot-Ceramic-60135.jpg

Yeah, you stick that little nozzle up your nose hole and tip your head to the side and the saline comes out the other side. And it's weird. For probably the first 5 times you use it. Then it's like heroine and you can't go to bed without flushing your nasal cavities. Anyway, I have some generic brand called "Nasal Cleansing Pot" so I don't think it matters which you get. But if you have a cold or allergies, try it! Then let me know how it turned out (you'll be thanking me)

It doesn't get green in Southern California very much but this year we've had a decent amount of rain. So this spring we are enjoying beautiful fields of green where there's normally only tumble-weed dust bowls. Behind my in-law's house there's one of these said fields and I went out to take pictures of my kids/nieces/nephews the other evening. The lighting was gorgeous and they had the best time pretending like they were animals playing in the wilderness and hiding from each other. It reminded me of when I was a kid. And I was a bit melancholy for the days I used to run across the field that divided my house from my best friend's house in bare feet and play until the sun was completely gone and I'd hear my mom calling me in. So I stayed and let them play until it was dark and cold and then we had to come in.
But this leads me to my lesson on the shots most people love and those are sun-flare shots. I have no idea if you can get something similar from a p&s camera. I've never tried. I don't think you can. But shooting into the sun is one of my favorite things to do because you get such varied results. Plus it adds character to your pictures and helps to capture the feel of the moment more. Here are some recent sun flare shots I love:








( I LOVE this shot even though it's not something someone else would look at and think was really great. But because of what was happening. Nolan was trying to get on this big ball and kept falling off. Carter thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen and was laughing hysterically. You can see Nolan's feet at the bottom there. They are always making each other laugh.)

So here's my best lesson on getting good sunflare shots with your DSLR. Before you start, decide what look you want the picture to look like. Depending on how much flare you want, open or close your aperture. The more closed (higher number, right?), the more it will look like a sunburst, or like a star. The more open and it will look like a blob of sun (like in my pics. I like to shoot wide open). Also if you want more in focus, close it up. If you want more of a background blur, open it.
It is said that you usually get the best flare with a cheap lens, which is a good thing if that's all you have.
Your camera will most likely have a hard time focusing on someone when the sun is blaring through your lens. Use your hand to block out the sun, focus, then remove your hand.
Overexpose. Usually quite a bit.
Move around very slightly and take a lot of pictures. Move so the sun is peeking out from behind the person's head then move a little more so something else is kindof in the way (like a tree branch), then so it's at the top of your frame. Just try a lot of different positions.
Never look at the sun (shut up, I know I'm not your mother)

And there you have it. I have never used a reflector for sun flare shots but I know some people do. Plus I know of one photographer who wears white to her shoots and lets her shirt act as a reflector. I still haven't tried that one.

Finally, practice a lot. It's taken me a while. But I love the look.

Good luck!