{"id":145,"date":"2014-08-22T14:30:18","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T20:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stanroseimages.com\/blog\/?p=145"},"modified":"2023-08-25T12:37:20","modified_gmt":"2023-08-25T18:37:20","slug":"a-billion-sunflowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stanroseimages.com\/blog\/a-billion-sunflowers\/","title":{"rendered":"A Billion Sunflowers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"sunflower,sunset,denver,colorado\"<\/a>
<\/p>\n

A Billion Sunflowers<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Endless flowers and glowing skies at sunset.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

*REVISED, AUG 2023: NOTE: !0 years later, I’m still getting emails from people asking me where to find this field. I heard from one person it is now corn. I’m surprised it is not condominiums. If you want to find cool places like this, do what I did, research the internet, go out and drive around, you’ll find something worthwhile! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

I was planning on going to the mountains on my days off this week–but then I spotted a photo on Facebook by my friend Todd Caudle of a humongous sunflower field. I knew I had to check this field out, so I immediately called him to find out where I had to drive. There are numerous sunflower fields in northeast Colorado, but this particular field is not only humongous, it is relatively undisturbed by buildings, roads, and power lines, and it sits on a slight hill so the full extent of the field can be seen from the road. The size and accessibility sets it apart from other fields I’ve seen. So, I headed up in the afternoon after checking the weather charts; it looked like a storm would form just east of the field as sunset approaches. When I got to the field, there was one other photographer, Mike Renner, already set up to shoot the field. Another half-dozen photographers showed up, but Mike and I were the only ones to stay in this particular location and wait out the storms for sunset.<\/p>\n

\"sunflower,field,denver,colorado\"<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Flower Power<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Layers of flowers in a huge sunflower field.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I spent the next three hours or so scouting and shooting this one gigantic field. I drove up one farm road as far as my car would go, then back-tracked to the original location which had the advantage of sitting up on a slight hill overlooking the field. The light was constantly changing as storm clouds tried to organize south and west of the field.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Rays and Field<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Crepuscular rays.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Forever Field<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Flowers seem to go on forever looking west.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"sunflower,field,sun<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Sun Dog and Sunflowers<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Sun dog in late afternoon at sunflower field.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About an hour into my shoot, a storm started building to our south. It was the storm I expected to develop, but it was a little closer to my location than I anticipated. As thunder started to build in frequency, the other photographers left as Mike and I continued to test various angles on the field.<\/p>\n

\"sunflower,field,storm\"<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Sunflower Storm<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Thunderstorm builds on the edge of a sunflower field.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rain started falling, and as I looked east it looked like the sun might briefly dip below the clouds, so I set up in anticipation of a rainbow. As the rain got heavier, a couple rainbows did briefly appear, but they quickly disappeared as the rain picked up in intensity. I was soaked!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Rainbow 1<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

A rainbow appears briefly before heavy rain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Rainbow 2<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

A second rainbow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the storm moved away to the east, a few lightning flashes appeared but they were few and far between. I set my sights to the east, as the sun dipped lower on the horizon. With sunset getting closer, the textures and colors in the sky became more intense.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Textured Skies<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It looked like sunset might be a bust as the sun dipped below some gray clouds hanging on the horizon. But you never know with sunsets; colors can explode when moments before everything looks gloomy. This one did not disappoint as the horizon began to glow red. I took out my telephoto lens to concentrate on the endless rows of flowers against the glowing horizon. It was a great afternoon!<\/p>\n

\"sunflower,field,sunset,denver,colorado\"<\/a>
<\/p>\n

Field on Fire<\/a> : Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunflower field at sunset.<\/p>\n

<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*REVISED, AUG 2023: NOTE: !0 years later, I’m still getting emails from people asking me where to find this field. I heard from one person it is now corn. I’m surprised it is not condominiums. If you want to find … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t