Landscape2 - Sun 'Stars' and diffraction

Was fortunate in having a bright clear day when visiting Southwold which is on the Suffolk Coast. This was my first experience of shooting at the sun and had really no idea what to expect and whether the sun 'stars' were a realistic outcome. I set the camera on a tripod to ensure stability but given the high shutter speeds the camera could have been hand-held.

I took some 16 shots and of those 6 produced the best 'stars'. In the others the image was either completely blown out or the 'star' lacked any definition. Not surprisingly these were the ones shot at a lower shutter speed (below 1/2000). The lens used in all the shots was a 24-70mm set at 64mm.

64mm f20 1/4000

As can be seen the 'star' is not well defined although the silhouette of the pier and the reflection makes for a satisfactory image

64mm f25 1/2000

Again the 'star' lacks definition and there is loss of detail in the silhouette of the pier. 

64mm f32 1/1250

The'star' has more definition but the image is not well composed with the upper structure of the pier appearing in the bottom part of the image and giving little if any clue as to its structure or purpose. 

64mm f22 1/3200

The 'star' has no definition and the silhouette of the pier is too low in the image.

64mm f32 1/6400

A very good 'star' but the image is overall too dark and appears to be night time.

64mm f32 1/2500

I think this is the most successful of the series with a satisfactory 'star' and a good silhouette.

It would seem that the use of a small aperture (f32 in the last image) is most successful at creating the 'star' effect and the selection of the shutter speed is the most important element in the acceptability of the overall image. None of the above photographs were enhanced other than to convert from RAW to a JPEG file. Clearly it would be possible to use software such as Photoshop to create a more balanced image but I assume this was not the purpose of the project.