Rocker 7 Sunflowers

CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT UPCOMING SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SHOOTS!

Victoria and her husband and their baby-on-the-way at Rocker 7 Farm Patch in Buckeye, Arizona.

I was so happy for the pretty clouds we got for this photo shoot at the sunflowers at Rocker 7 Farm Patch. This was taken around 10 in the morning and those clouds just gave us dreamy light.

I think something about the color red looks amazing in sunflowers. I think it's sort of related to red being a bright/prime color and it matches the intensity of yellow sunflowers and especially looks great when blue skies are bright blue and have a similar intensity. So if you like wearing the color red, definitely consider it for your sunflower photo shoot.

I have read that Rocker 7 planted even more sunflowers than in past years, so I am very curious to see what that looks like. I appreciate that they always plant a fantastic variety - plenty of the traditional bright big yellow sunflowers, but cream and red and orange variations, too.

I have sunflower photo sessions coming up at Rocker 7 in October. I now only do sunflower sessions at Rocker 7 on Thursdays and Fridays. The place is so beloved (understandably so) and gets crowded on weekends, but if we meet up on a Thursday or Friday, we don't have to navigate the crowds. In all of these photos of Victoria and her husband, I had to edit out people in the background. With Thursday and Friday shoots, I shouldn’t have to do that as much.

Here is the info for those sessions coming up: https://book.usesession.com/i/7aUFvsYCJ

I have sessions at both Rocker 7 and a nearby sunflower farm called Sweet Flower Home.

Thanks to Victoria for having me photograph her and her little fam here! Thanks to Rocker 7 Farm Patch for creating such a magical place!

Here is what Rocker 7 is saying about their upcoming sunflower season:

Buckeye’s Original Sunflower Field

It’s our 10th Anniversary on the farm, and we’re ready to help you make new memories! A lot has changed for us over the past ten years. The same fields you have enjoyed for fresh air and making memories are open, but in a simpler way for Pictures, Pumpkins and Play Areas. This year offers more of our signature sunflowers along with historic Arizona cotton and Sudangrass (Sorghum Hybrid) for your enjoyment. Yes, we will still have pumpkins for purchase! Our focus will be on celebrating the family farm, enjoying the outdoors, giving the kiddos a place to roam and explore, and enjoying some tasty treats from local food trucks and local vendors on the weekends along with local entertainers from time to time as well!

What’s included in admission?

• Cotton Field

• Sudan Field

• Sunflower Field

• Pumpkin Patch Entry

• Jumping Pillow

• Tractor Tire Playground

• Pedal Carts 

Pumpkins and concessions are sold separately, including vendors on Saturdays and Sundays. We do have an open food policy for anyone who would like to bring their own picnic to the farm; alcoholic beverages are not allowed.

CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT UPCOMING SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SHOOTS!

Rocker 7 Farm Patch Sunflower Photo Session for Tiffany + Family

CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT UPCOMING SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SHOOTS!

Tiffany and her family at Rocker 7 Farm Patch in Buckeye, Arizona.

One day in October 2020 I heard about the sunflower fields planted by this farming family in Buckeye, Arizona. I just had to see these sunflowers for myself and I really wanted to photograph people there. Years before, I had been part of a group of people who made four acres of sunflowers bloom near Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix and I have just loved sunflowers ever since.

I love photographing in the sunflower fields at Rocker 7 Farm Patch (located at 19601 W Broadway Rd. Buckeye, AZ 85326.) I met up with Tiffany and her young adult/teenage kids. Such a beautiful family!

Rocker 7 Farm Patch plants a variety of colors of sunflowers - cream/red/orange/dark red/lemon yellow, and of course the classic dinner plate-sized buttercup deep yellow sunflowers. Rocker 7 is a super popular location and for good reason! You can have a ton of family fun there. In addition to sunflowers, there are food trucks on the weekends, a pumpkin patch (with very reasonably priced pumpkins in all sorts of sizes) picnic tables under a large shaded structure, a large air pillow/jump pillow under shade for kids to run around on, and depending on the year, there are cotton fields or sorghum fields to wander through and get photos.

Going forward I will be doing photo shoots there on weekdays, just because Rocker 7 is such a beloved and popular place for fall entertainment. In all of these photos that you see here, I photoshopped people out of the background. I have found that when I go there on Thursday or Friday afternoons, my clients and I have the place practically to ourselves. And very much the opposite on Saturdays and Sundays when we have to share this gorgeous location with a lot of other sunflower-loving folks! (Although you can beat the crowds by going early.)

CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT UPCOMING SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SHOOTS!

Siblings at the Rocker 7 Farm Patch Sunflower field.

Two sisters at the Rocker 7 Farm Patch Sunflower field.

The whole family and so many beautiful sunflowers at Rocker 7 Farm Patch!

CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT UPCOMING SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SHOOTS!

Sweet Flower Home Sunflowers

It’s June. It’s hot. Arizona hasn’t had any monsoons yet. I am finding myself thinking of fall and sunflowers a lot these past few days. I will definitely be doing sunflower photo sessions at Sweet Flower Home in Buckeye again. This mom and her baby girl and her baby-on-the-way looked so beautiful out in the sunflowers on this October evening when the weather was turning from hot to beautiful. I will be posting info about my fall 2024 sunflower sessions pretty soon.

CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT MY UPCOMING SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SHOOTS!

CLICK HERE FOR INFO ABOUT MY UPCOMING SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SHOOTS!

Emily's family at Sweet Flower Home

Here is Emily Gipper and her family at Sweet Flower Home, the farm in Buckeye that plants acres and acres of sunflowers that bloom in October. It was early October 2022 and I had just got my new Canon 5D Mark 4 in the mail and wanted to photograph models before I tried out my new camera on clients. There are significant differences between my old 5D and the new 5DM4. One of the significant differences is that the M4 has way higher ISO, which is sensitivity to light. So I was eager to find out what my new camera could do when it was almost completely dark outside.

I’d say the first photo here was taken during the blue hour and the last image was taken when there was barely any light left at all in the sky, like almost completely dark. I have to admit, I did not use the ISO on my camera this night as well as I should have. Being completely new to such high ISOs, I just didn’t think to use it at a higher ISO. After this I went and read a lot about the 5DM4 and ISOs. And I shot this whole session in JPEG!! UGHHHHH was I soooo upset when I realized I hadn’t shot it in RAW. RAW is so much better/easier to edit. But that is why I photographed this family as models with my new camera before I used my new camera to photograph clients. I learned a ton right away from this photo shoot.

There is always soooooo much to learn when it comes to photography. I both enjoy the challenge and somehow wish I could just download all the world’s info about photography and cameras and editing and just know it and never have to look it up, and especially never have to relook it up. For me, it’s not like riding a bike. It’s one of those things you just have to constantly practise and learn and relearn. And of course, technology changes, new products come out, and there is always something new to learn.

Emily is a doula and photographer who specializes in birth photography and we did this shoot the day before her birthday. I’m so glad she and her family were able to make it out the sunflower fields in Buckeye and be my models. Thanks Emily! Check out her website, especially if you are expecting and would like to have your baby’s birth documented.

If you would like to have me photograph you/you + family/friends at the Buckeye sunflower fields in October 2023, fill out this form and I will make sure you are on my list of people first to know about sunflower photo sessions when I figure out when they will be.