In late 2014 I was given a few pieces of piping. What you might call trash, but I call the ring of fire. It ended up being an incredibly useful tool in my photography. I quickly decided to add it to my (now literal) bag of tricks along with Prisming, Lens Chimping, my Broken Freelens, Anamorphics, etc).
These days camera lenses are designed so well that they’ll nearly never create a flare. The coatings are so incredible that even against the brightest, harshest sunlight they will not flare at all. This is a good thing! It’s really hard to recover from blown contrast in post processing, and flare is often unpredictable and difficult to compose with.
But what if you could make real in camera flare on command with the ability to transform it and shape it into anything you want?
How on earth am I making the flare in these images? I give you – the ring of fire!
Now, this is just a 1″ long and 1″ wide piece of aluminum pipe. But, held in front of your camera lens and given the right mix of direct/harsh sunlight plus handy live view – you have on demand, real, in camera flare. From virtually any lens no matter how new or old.
Incredible photographer Daniel Araiza has a super helpful video published to help you visualize what the heck is going on here.
Of course, with any new technique it’s probably best used in moderation. It’s a little too easy to get image takeover using this tool, but with enough practice you’ll surely get the hang of it.
My favorite lens of choice to use it with is the Nikon 58 1.4 – per my review here.
The flare can range from being be more subtle and bokeh-like in shape, or it can be very defined and circular. The shape, color, and texture of the pipe will all play into how your flare looks. That’s one of my favorite things about this ring of fire flare technique – everyone’s will look different!
I’ll leave you with some more of my favorite ring of fire images and I suggest you get out there and experiment. Hit up your local hardware store and see what you can find.
If you’ve found this interesting then wander on over to my other technical write-ups, and as always – enjoy!
Good Stuff!
How did you format these images so that they didn’t look super compressed?
I believe Facebook compresses them when uploaded to their site. Since these pictures are on his webpage and he’s sharing the link you can view the images as they are on his webpage. Also, there are other work arounds for posting images on Facebook. Saving them smaller will keep Facebook from going crazy with compression. At least that’s how I understand it.
I love your work and ideas! :)))
Awesome thank you!!!
#samtheman
thank you 😡
WTF….SERIOUSLY….my chin hit the floor when I saw this😀. Ridiculously simple idea yet ingeniously and creatively executed! I’m off to the hardware store to get me some pipe!!
Makes me wonder what else could be used.
Thanks for posting this Sam.
That’s damn cool!!!
Ah, finally! I’ve been waiting for this. 🙂 Thank you!
Elena Stanton
You are DA MAN! Thanks for this
This is amazing as always. Thank you so much for sharing.
I love you, your work and your ideas. But after recently taking childbirth classes “the ring of fire” has a horrifyingly different meaning for me.
Yikes!
Yeah…. don’t google it man. You’ll ruin your life.
Ha! Erika that’s hilarious! I relate from the birthing end too 😉
Glad I’m not the only one Val & Kate 😹😹
Same exact thoughts. Bahahaha. And it’s not a good experience. 😂😂👶👶
i luv u sam
Seriously though, thanks for being so generous with your knowledge of these techniques.
:::Starts looking for shiny tubes:::
Thanks for sharing Sam! Hope to see you in Texas soon!
I love how you inspire and keep it interesting every day.
Seriously, man.., I have been puzzling about this for-e-ver! Thanks for giving us all a peek behind the curtain to see how the sausage is made. Peace, brother.
Tnks for share <3 Love it!
Awesome as usual!
Melanie Thoma lass uns das mal probieren
No way my bro! Simple and stunnig!
Question, will it being a solid aluminum pipe make the light differ vastly in terms of bend from it being a clear plastic tube like in the tutorial video?
yes, it will look very different
but same overall concept/effect
zomg!
Thanks Sam. I had tried everything under the sun to achieve this after also seeing it on Nessa K’s site. The Helios 44-2 had some potential I thought at first, then I tried taking the lens out (your chimping technique) and if the sun hit the metal bracket on the end of the lens you had some ring, but it was 1 in a million shots and so randomn. Had tried magnifying glasses at an angle. Thank you for answering this and putting my mind at ease.
well, just for flarification …nessa’s flares are just from her 45mm canon tilt shift lens – it’s af late inherent to the design of that lens at the right angle to sunlight
Sam Hurd Photography thanks for that!
Haha I think the same thing too, Erika.
Thanks For this Sam x
Dcg Phos Facil de conseguir el material, solo ahi que practicarlo
[…] on Facebook and Instagram, or reach out to him through Twitter. This article was also published here and used with […]
Thank you!!
So amazing, I was wondering how you did this.
You’re a saint. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing!
inspiring. thanks.
Thanks for sharing this! Do you mind telling me where you got that desk that you have the pipe on?
Real cool effect! Thanks Sam! See you soon!
Noam Shoval
Should have called it Johnny Cash.
Oh so glad finally you share your magic
Thanks for sharing all your great tricks, so generous of you!
So your fingers won’t get in the way of the shot while doing this because the subject is far enough away from the lens??
Shoot at f/1.4
Gotcha 😉
This is awesome! I’ve been wondering how this was done!
Also, I love your podcasts. Never stop making them. I feel like I’m listening in on a couple of guys talking over coffee.
And so starts the season of flare
Awesome!! Great trick Sam!
… the light playground … 🙂
I’m glad you’ve added this to your arsenal just before our wedding
Me encantó el efecto mil gracias!!
Maria Riley this is how they do it!!
Trent Daft Thomas Stewart
Beto Rohe…
wow! thanks sam, u’r the best!
Ross Alexander Muir
https://youtu.be/s0nCjKJdhsY
Maravilhosa ideia. Vou tentar fazer num ensaio
Gracias por la información lo probaremos 🙂
Just in time for wedding season. Thank you, as always, Sam!
que bacana..show vou tentar fazer por aqui..obrigado pela dica
Super cool. thanks for sharing
Wow following
OMG! Heaven sent. Thank you so much for imparting your knowledge. Absolutely amazing work. Your work has inspired me to continue to push new ways of using my camera. Thank you thank you thank you
Mel Cowell James Bass Sarah Corfield
😍
(y)
is not good for sigma 35mm art series??
In LOVE with your photography. You are the guy!!!
Always so willing to share! You rock and your work rocks! Thank you for this.
Just waiting for this to become an overlay preset in the next edition of ASE 😉
Thank you for the share 🙂
How do you hold the pipe, keeping your fingers out of frame?
Wayne Myers
AHH! thank you so very much for your inspiration!! I used your “Ring of Fire” and I am completely in love with it! Thank you thank you!
I have been trying this with a Sigma ART 1.4 50mm. Is that too big with a lens diameter of 77mm? My pictures look like 💩
Muito lindo show sensacional.
[…] is my favorite photographer, Ryan is another favorite. Sam has a technique he developed called the Ring of Fire, and this picture is Ryan taking a ring of fire shot OF Sam. Super […]
[…] in light and technique. One such technique is using a small copper pipe to create the “ring of fire.” The effect is achieved by holding the piping up to the lens while shooting toward the sun […]
Lol love it but yes the “ring of fire” is a not so pretty term when giving birth… But this… This is sooo much better!
Stunning images.
I’ve been meaning to try this for ages, all the bits of pipe I found laying around the house were too narrow for it to work properly though.
[…] En la última foto utilicé la técnica llamada Ring Of Fire, que pueden conocer de qué se trata AQUI […]
[…] feel you’d like more explanation of what’s actually happening! As Sam Hurd Photography mentions – just keep playing with the technique and pipe until you get the result you want! […]
[…] the ring of fire // photography technique | Washington DC … […]
[…] the ring of fire // photography technique | Washington DC … […]
[…] the ring of fire // photography technique | Washington DC … […]
[…] the ring of fire // photography technique | Washington DC … […]
[…] the ring of fire // photography technique | Washington DC … […]
[…] the ring of fire // photography technique | Washington DC … […]
[…] the ring of fire // photography technique | Washington DC … […]
[…] the ring of fire // photography technique | Washington DC … […]
[…] the ring of fire // photography technique | Washington DC … […]
[…] Pipe – See Sam Hurd’s breakdown on this here. He is really the innovator on the “ring of fire” […]
Thanks for sharing Sam