sun flare

[Marko]

In many cases there's not much you can do except remove it in post. For that, in this case, i'd likely try the healing brush and/or cloning tool. (I use photoshop)
Best! marko

[NorthStone]

I'll have a go at this. What version of PS do you use Marko? Is Photoshop elements a good package to use. I know it's a budget package but CS5 is beyond my budget. I already have PS7 and while this is good the software's moved on since then and it doesn't let me edit RAW files.

BW,
NorthStone

[Marko]

I use CS5 but I have heard Elements is great and does a lot of what the full pshop can do.

[ericmark]

I have had the same lens flare and when shooting into the sun like the one you show I try to position a tree, post or something to shield the direct sun. A sheet of black card can work when not direct into sun to stop lens flare but hand held using a card as well is not easy which means carrying a tripod as well. Also often the dynamic range is too much for camera so want a series of images and again tripod is really best option. I at first used Photoshop HDR option but latter realised layers can work better than HDR but with layers the program does less correcting when you auto align images. Hence again the tripod.

[Mad Aussie]

Haven't read through others thoughts so excuse me if I repeat what some have said.
I use polarising, and UV filters etc and have found they are of limited use against flare from the sun or bright lights at night that cause a similar issue. In fact, it's my experience that removing the filters reduces the flare more.
Carry a hat with you or similar, and when the flare is evident, use the hat to shield the sun from the front of the lens. This isn't going to work when you are including the sun in your photo though.
When including the sun you will need to change your camera angle and position the sun where it creates the least amount of flare, sometimes you can eliminate it altogether.
Aperture may reduce the flare a little also, but often it just creates more of a star shape to the flare as you stop down and the aperture iris diaphragm closes in. The other thing is stopping down also will likely create an exposure you didn't want, i.e. shadows too dark and featureless etc
I find trying to remove flare in post using photoshop etc to be a bit hit and miss. I'm not too shabby with the program but it depends on the flare and what colour changes it created in what parts of the photo as to how successful I am in removing it.
The last thing I do if I get flare is try to use it. If I think the scene will benefit from some flare then I try to get the camera angle to where the flare will sit where I want it to.

[ericmark]

Good idea with hat. I must get myself a large wide brimmed hat of a dark colour. Thanks for that.