Flare

Flare is such a wonderful thing. In photography it is caused by light bouncing down the barrel of a lens and sometimes breaking up into the coloured components of the visible spectrum. A speck of dust sitting on the lens at just the right angle can cause it.

It adds to an image. Humans don’t see flare when we are walking around so why is it such an atmospheric addition to an image? I don’t know, however in this image it unmistakably adds to the image. You can somehow feel the warmth in the sun. We get to glimpse the ethereal ray of light that has travelled a long way to be captured in my camera.

© Christian Pearson - Surfer flare, 2025