It was annoying to look at my photos from the recent Iran Vigil here in DC to see lots of wierd lens flare action from the candles. I had seen this kind of behavior before, but never this bad.

After a little Google research, I tried one solution that was recommended–remove the filter. It’s pretty much a rule of thumb to slap a UV or skylight filter on every lens you own to protect the multi-hundred dollar lens with a far less expensive filter to protect from dust, scratches, and breakage. However, as my research indicated, these can also cause the unsightly flares by adding an extra layer of reflective material.

this week: look ma, no flares

last week: one item of flare

So at this week’s vigil, with great trepidation, I removed the filters and–look, ma, no flares. Click here to see the entire gallery. Of course, you wouldn’t want to do this in circumstances where there was more danger to your lens, but at Dupont Circle, in a fairly calm vigil (only partially interrupted by chanting supporters of the Shah–really? the Shah?–that is sooo 1970s), I felt I could get away with it.

My research also indicated that possibly more expensive filters would also be flare-free, so I’ll have to do some more digging on that, but occasionally slipping them off for beautiful night shots of candles or other single light sources doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal. Easier than Photoshopping out those nasty flares…