A few days ago, I stopped by a local, Missouri Department of Conservation area. I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of locations that had been recently plowed. In the past, these areas had been used to grow sunflowers in the summer, but had not been planted for 3 years. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the MDC will be planting sunflowers again this coming summer! The last time they planted was in 2012, where I captured these images:
Another example of how a telephoto lens compresses the landscape
“First Born”
A telephoto view of the backs of the sunflowers
Clearwing Hummingbird Moth
Monarch butterfly searching for nectar
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Male Blue Grosbeak singing from atop a sunflower
Male American Goldfinch pulling sunflower seeds
If the MDC does plant the sunflowers, I will once again hold 1/2 day workshops at this location, concentrating on the large field of yellow, macro photography of the sunflowers, and some of the many visitors that the field attracts. I’ll add workshop information to my Nature Photography Workshops page once I have established that the fields will be planted.