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A Weekly Column By Mike Johnston
Of the many technical concepts in photography that flummox photographers, flare does not rank very highly. We all believe we have a pretty good idea of what it is — non-image-forming light coming through the lens. (As such, it's distinct from "fogging," which refers to extraneous light that gets to the film from some other source.)
Flare, however, when we consider it more carefully, is a remarkably fugitive concept. First of all there are two main kinds: "veiling glare," which is an overall cast or softening of contrast, and "ghosts," which are more localized marks and reflections. Both are "flare." Yet, as with the technical names of clouds, sometimes it's not exactly clear which kind a particular incidence of flare actually is.
Because of the myriad ways flare can manifest itself, a lens's susceptibility to or resistance to flare is impossible to quantify. Flare is unmeasurable, and sometimes invisib...

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