In the northern hemisphere, we are now (early February) half way from the Winter Solstice to the Vernal Equinox, and the daylight hours are noticeably longer. Many cultural traditions celebrated this time of hope and expectation with feasts and ceremonies. To the ancient Celts it was Imbolc (‘in the belly’, referring to pregnant livestock), to Catholics it is the Feast of St. Bridget, in contemporary pop-culture it’s Groundhog’s Day. Today, I hope to lift your spirits with a few photographs of sun bursts (a.k.a., sun flares or sun stars). To photograph sun bursts, set your camera’s aperture (lens opening) to a small diameter (large f-stop) and aim so the sun is just peeking out from behind something. This is best done when the sun is low in the sky and the overall scene is dark. Give it a try, being careful not to look directly at the sun for long!

Orchard Sunburst No. 1

Forest Sunburst No. 1

Forest Sunburst No. 2

‘A’ Sunburst in Color

‘A’ Sunburst in B&W

Ice-Glazed Oak Sunburst