Actually, a lens hood won't help you when shooting into the sun. It only keeps sunlight off your lens by casting a shadow onto your front element. The quality of the lens you use will determine how much "flare" you get shooting into the sun. Multi-coatings on today's lenses do a good job of keeping flare down, but today's top-level pro lenses will typically do the best job.
Another idea is to wait until the sun is partially set or more behind those clouds to minimize flare.
I think this shot is a great idea that may benefit from a lower point of view. Just my thought.
RickWalter Rick Long Nikon Samurai, Mamiya Master, Velvia Bandit
