Buckeye, AZ Sunflowers

Sunflower portrait session for two sisters and their baby daughter/niece!

We took these photos at the beautiful Sweet Flower Home in Buckeye, Arizona. Every October, the farm rents out their sunflower fields to photographers. Other times of the year, usually in the spring, the farm rents out their broccoli and onion fields to photographers.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY UPCOMING SUNFLOWER PHOTO SHOOTS IN OCTOBER 2026!

Buckeye, Arizona Sunflowers

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY FALL 2026 PHOTO SHOOTS!!! (INCLUDING SUNFLOWER SHOOTS.)

If you are a morning person, or if you are forced to be a morning person because your babies or kids are morning people, consider doing a sunrise photo session with me at Sweet Flower Home in Buckeye, Arizona this fall 2026! There are so many good things about sunrise photo sessions at Sweet Flower Home. Here are a few I can think of right off the top of my head:

• The temperature can be so much cooler. In Arizona, during the hot months the temps can be 15-20 degrees cooler at sunrise vs afternoon temperatures. 95 degrees vs 75 degrees! Makes wearing clothes that seem more “wintery/autumnal” a little easier.

• Not as crowded or no people at all! These sunflower fields are full of people on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, but when we got there early on Saturday morning, we had the place all to ourselves. Acres and acres of sunflowers all to ourselves.

• Sunrises are magical. I schedule my earliest shoots to start before the sun rises, so you will get to see those magical seconds where the sun starts rising above the earth’s edge! I feel like most people see way more sunsets than they do sunrises. Seeing the sun arrive is just a totally different experience than seeing it leave for the day. First you experience the predawn dark, then blue hour, then golden hour, then the bright light of the morning.

• The green flash is real and I am pretty sure I experienced it once in a sunflower field at sunrise. What is the green flash? Scroll down to the end of this post to read about the green flash. Did I really experience it? Hmmm….it only lasted for a second or two, I was not expecting it, and I was all like WHATTTTT WAS THAT??? It was like a shot of light along the horizon, and I remember feeling it was more like blue-green light. Anyways, sunflower sessions at sunrise increase your chances of experiencing the green flash.

• All the birds are out in the morning and you get to hear bird song.

• Your morning hot or iced coffee will taste so much more delicious in a field of sunflowers.

• Mature/open/blooming sunflowers are much more likely to face east. Before they bloom, sunflowers track the sun. They will face east at dawn, then follow the sun westward until sunset, and then reset to the east overnight. This is called heliotropism. When I am taking photographs, I can work with whatever way the sunflowers are facing. No matter what there are challenges: stuff in the background and direction of light being my two main challenges. But I really like sunrise shoots with flowers facing east, because I do not have to work around all the powerlines and farm equipment in the background.

• The morning glories might be in bloom! Scroll down to see those blue flowers, they are morning glories and they bloom at sunrise. Later in the day, they will not be as open or bright.

• You will feel like you accomplished something fun and fantastic for the day and then you earned yourself brunch (maybe at Crepelatte or Goode Roots Patio Cafe in downtown Buckeye or maybe at One Story Social Dining or Anthem Coffee in Verrado ?) and then you will still have the whole long day to go do more fun things, or maybe just go home and chill!

• You get bragging rights for getting yourself and your fam out the door at such an early hour. If you can do that, you can do pretty much anything lol!

• Here is copy/paste from Wikipedia describing the green flash:

  The green flash at sunrise is a brief optical phenomenon that occurs just before the sun rises above the horizon, appearing as a green spot or ray at the top edge of the solar disc. This phenomenon typically lasts only one to two seconds, making it a rare sight for many observers.

  Understanding the Green Flash

  The green flash is a fascinating atmospheric occurrence.

  • Occurrence — The green flash can be seen just before sunrise or just after sunset, when the sun is near the horizon.

  • Duration — It lasts only one to two seconds, which is why many people miss it despite watching sunrises and sunsets regularly.

  • Cause — The phenomenon is caused by atmospheric refraction, which separates sunlight into different colors, allowing the green light to be visible at the rim of the sun.

  • Visibility — Conditions such as clear skies and a flat horizon enhance the chances of witnessing the green flash

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT ABOUT HIRING ME FOR YOUR PHOTO SHOOT, PLEASE FILL OUT THIS FORM:

Father's Day photo shoots

Father’s Day is coming up! Is your dad in town? Are the dads in your family all getting together on Father’s Day? Want to capture some memories of all you guys?

I am offering two photo shoots on Sunday, June, one at 6:30 AM and one at 6:30 PM.

Here is the link to book! Father's Day Photo Shoot Sunday, June 21, 2026

Your shoot will be located at one of these locations, your choice!:

• The Bridge at Water Ranch in Gilbert, AZ (morning or evening)

• The Queen Creek Wash in Queen Creek (morning or evening)

• Veterans Oasis Park in Chandler, AZ (only for the evening time slot)

• The Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, AZ (only for the evening time slot)

• Lost Dutchman State Park (only for the evening time slot, this location requires a parking fee)

I love the idea of all these dads looking back on these photos, and seeing the smiles of their kiddos, thinking of how much bigger/older their kids have become, seeing the connection they have with their little ones. I love the idea that some of these dads might use my images on their social media, on their computer or phone background, framed in their office, maybe a pic in their wallet.

I also love the idea of capturing multiple generations together…it would be a dream to capture a family that had 4 or 5 generations. Kid > Dad > Granddad > Great Granddad > Great Great Granddad! Five generations would be so rare, but I know it exists! That would be so cool to get to photograph.

Here is that link again:

Father's Day Photo Shoot Sunday, June 21, 2026

If you are reading this after this day has passed, but still want a photo shoot for the dad/dads in your family, reach out to me here: brenda.eden@gmail.com

Round Mountain, Globe, Arizona

Since 2023 I could have sworn this was the story: a woman from Italy immigrated to Globe, AZ & planted the night blooming stock that grows on the hills in spring after rainy winters, covering the hills in a dreamy pinkish purple/purplish pink bloom.

I wanted to photograph these flowers at sunrise, so I left my house at 5 AM. It was so cool driving towards the Superstitions seeing the faintest outline of the mountains at astronomical sunrise. Civil sunrise was at 6:47 AM. I got to Round Mountain at 6:46 AM. Phew. When I first got to Top Of The Hill, I was hit with the star anise fragrance of the flowers before I even saw them. The spicy licorice-adjacent fragrance seems to drift across town.

Back to that woman from Italy. When I first visited Round Mountain, I was so enchanted and came across a story online of a housewife, she was from Italy, she planted them to recreate some beauty from her country.
But now I cannot find that story at all. I searched a lot. I went down rabbit holes, as one does.
This is what I learned: Matthiola longipetala is from the Mediterranean and in the 1800s/1900s European seed companies were selling stock seeds to North American gardeners. Stock seeds bloom quickly, are easily scattered by wind and do well in dry, disturbed soils (like from mining.) There was a significant wave of Italian immigration to Globe, Arizona, driven by the mining boom in the 1800s/1900s. 13 percent of people in Globe report Italian ancestry. There’s no established “Little Italy” in Globe today. The closest you could probably get would be De Marco’s Pizzeria (I went there with my mom once.) And sadly there are no Little Italies in Arizona.

But are we absolutely certain there are no Little Italies in Arizona? I ask because I just rewatched the Northern Exposure episode where Dr. Capra discovers there’s a Little Italy in his Alaskan town! And here’s the thing: it’s only 2 families/2 houses/2 restaurants, but it counts! It’s a very little Little Italy. Ever since I first watched that show, I have kept some hope alive that someday I would come across a Little Italy in my own neighborhood; just neighbors who’d have a tiny restaurant in their basement or backyard – there’d be candles & checkered tablecloths and I would be in the know and pop by whenever I liked.

Going down this line of thinking, I searched online and found the smallest Little Italies. I’ll copy/paste that in the comments. Let me know if you know of any super secret Little Italies here in AZ! And if you want pics amongst these pink-purple flowers, DM me! They won’t be around for long.

(Pics are Round Mountain flowers & downtown Globe. Peep the cats & La Luz del Día.)

I looked up Little Italies in the US. Here are some of the smallest in size:

*****Very Small / Tiny Little Italies (1–3 streets)*****

Little Italy, Niagara Falls
Roughly just a stretch of Pine Avenue
Only a few blocks long
Known for the Niagara Falls Italian Festival
Mostly restaurants, bakeries, and bocce courts rather than a full neighborhood.
Little Italy (Madison Avenue)
A small corridor around Madison Avenue
Historically Italian but now mixed
One of the smallest historic Little Italies still recognized.
The Village
A very small section of downtown Jersey City
The Italian area historically centered on Brunswick Street
Known mainly for church feasts and festivals rather than a large enclave.
Small Little Italies (a few blocks to one district)
Little Italy (Corydon Village)
Essentially one commercial strip on Corydon Avenue
Filled with cafes, gelato shops, and restaurants.
Little Italy
A small historic district near the Missouri River
Bounded by a few streets (Pacific–Center).
Brier Hill
Often called the city’s “Little Italy”
Mostly centered around St. Anthony’s Church
Today only a small pocket of Italian heritage remains.