Miles Stevens at the Sunflowers

MARICOPA SUNFLOWERS

GO HERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY 2025 SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SESSIONS!

My sister Becky and my nephew Jonathan and I decided to drive out to Maricopa to see the sunflowers last month, June 2023. It’s kind of hard to believe now, as hot as it is now in July, but the weather was beautiful in June, especially in the evenings and early mornings. It never got all that hot in June.

Frequently, my sister and I take my 4 year old nephew somewhere fun on Wednesday evenings after work. And we always bring his strider bike wherever we go, because he loves riding it.

I spent some time looking at Google maps and Yelp to decide where to get dinner before we made it out to the flower farm. I wanted to go somewhere fun, tasty, and somewhere Jonathan would like. I found this place called Roots Eatery and so we went there for dinner. It was fantastic. It’s a little hipster spot in Maricopa with tasty food and a great ambience.

After dinner, we drove out to the sunflowers. Jonathan rode his strider bike around and Becky and I took photos of the sunflowers. There were a few groups of people out there, all admiring the sunflowers together. Next to us was this group a folks videoing each other. My sister and I started talking with them and found out they are a music group. I asked them if I could take a group portrait of them. They said yes, right as this train was barreling down the tracks, just north of the sunflower field. So I quickly started taking photos of them in front of the train, because I thought it would be a cool background. It was good to meet you Miles Stevens !! You can find them on Facebook and their music online too.

As long as sunflowers keep getting planted in Maricopa and blooming in June, I will keep going back to see them! Want a photo shoot there? Fill out this form and we can make plans!

Emily's family at Sweet Flower Home

GO HERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY 2025 SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SESSIONS!

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.

Buckeye, Arizona Pumpkins and Sunflowers

Rocker 7 Farm Patch Sunflower Photo Shoot in Buckeye, Arizona

GO HERE TO FIND OUT ABOUT MY 2025 SUNFLOWER AND FALL PHOTO SESSIONS!

Pumpkins at Rocker 7 Farm Patch

This coming year in Fall 2023, I will be doing sunflower photo shoots at Rocker 7 Farm Patch on Thursdays and Fridays instead of the weekend so that I can serve clients better and we can all have a great time!

Lupita and her family pictured here had their photo shoot on a week day and it was absolulely magical to have the place mostly to ourselves. We had originally planned for the weekend, but Rocker 7 Farm Patch got rained out. There was a massive storm that turned the sunflower fields and pumpkin patch into a lake. There were a few other people there that week night, but we didn’t have to try to stay out of other photographer’s shots and could go about the photo shoot in a much more leisurely way!

After the portrait session part of our photo shoot was finished, we went to the pumpkin patch just as it was getting dark - during the blue hour - and I took a bunch of documentation type photos. I love doing portraits, but I also just really love getting these slice of life type pics.

If you would like to get on my list for when sunflower photo shoot dates open up in Buckeye at Rocker 7 Farm Patch, message me here and I will make sure you are the first to know when I announce fall dates!

My portraits of this sweet family at Rocker 7 Farm Patch in Buckeye, Arizona

Rocker 7 Sunflowers

It’s April 2023 as I write this. I find myself thinking about the sunflowers in Buckeye. I know I will be photographing there again this fall. I have made the decision that I will only photograph on Thursday and Friday evenings so that I can best serve my clients and give them a fantastic experience. It’s less crowded on Thursday and Friday evenings and so we can wander around and not get in anyone’s way for photos. There will be limited spots available. Available dates are usually the middle to end of October. If you are interested in sunflower portrait session in Buckeye this fall with me, drop me a message here!