Golden sunshine makes me smile especially when it's surrounded by sunflowers.
I kept seeing all these pictures of gorgeous sunflowers and when the Minnesota Women Photographers group I belong to planned an outing to one I had to do everything in my power to get there.
Treasured Haven Farms was about an hour and half drive for me on a Tuesday evening but I decided to make the trek out there and I’m so glad I did.
It was straight up 35E so really easy to get there and a bit out of the cities so not too crowded. They had a couple fields so it was neat to see the varied stages of growth in each field.
I had never been to a sunflower field so I didn’t know what to expect. Luckily, our brilliant group leader gave pointers of what to bring. I had my 100 mm macro lens for my Canon 6D Mark II for close up shots and my 18-135 mm for my Sony a6400 for other shots.
Bringing a tall step stool was a must so you could get the above view of the sunflowers. Varied viewpoints really helps when getting the perfect shot.
Water and a snack was also needed because it was hot and we were there for a little over 3 hours. You are walking in a field with mostly dirt (possibly mud) so proper shoes are a must and know that your things are going to get dirty as you set them on the ground.
We arrived around 5 pm and the sun was still bright but the different light hitting the sunflowers was nice to capture. We walked around and I always try to remember to get at least 3 different views of a shot.
I tried to think of ways I have not seen a sunflower being captured. You must make the light work for you in each shot and sometimes it doesn’t go as you hope and sometimes it turns out better than you thought. There's also other fun surprises if you look around.
One of the wise women there said remember when you get close to a flower it most likely has a bee on it so do not get too close when you take those selfies. The bees never bothered me but I didn’t bother them so we were fine.
I loved how each sunflower was unique and they each seemed to have a different personality. The colors were so vibrant but I also like them in black and white with the detail and contrast.
We started taking photos of each other too so it was nice to have multiple subjects. The sun was starting to go down and we were hoping for a beautiful sunset and it did not disappoint. The sky was purple in one area and salmon and orange in the other.
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