Irish Sunny 16
Leica CL + Elmarit 18mm f2.8
Today again was a cold but piercingly sunny day. After a short cycle over the local hill, I stopped on the descent to photograph a farm that looked fetchingly film noire in the midday glare. I wanted the image to have a crisp-edged sort of look to it, with all the farm buildings and various machinery and debris in focus. So I dialled up the aperture to f16, set the shutter speed at 1/200, and the ISO at 200. When I looked through the viewfinder, I initially thought that I left the lens cap on. Everything was black! But no. Even at high noon, with the sun unobstructed by cloud, there was not enough light. In order to use the f16 and 1/200 settings, I had to set the ISO at 800.
That pretty much sums up the natural light situation in Ireland. Even when it is sunny, it is in fact kind of dark!
An interesting thing about the above image: The white cottage in the distance is so brilliantly illuminated by the sun {which is behind me and high in the sky} that it appears to be reflective, casting its own sun-star types of beams onto the barn beside it. At least that’s what it looks like is happening? I have several similar images, and they all show this effect.
Taking this second photo I stood in the exact same spot, but turned around 180 degrees and shot toward the sun. I like the flare effect, complete with what appears to be a sinister smiley face with x over the eyes!
The Elmarit 18mm is as modern of a lens as you can probably get, but clearly it is not immune to flare.
