Rocker 7 Sunflowers

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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

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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!

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Buckeye, Arizona Sunflower Shoot

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

Where can you see sunflowers in Arizona this fall?

One location is Sweet Flower Home in Buckeye, Arizona. Farm owner Carrie Mayfield plants acres and acres of a variety of sunflowers and then rents out her sunflower fields to local portrait photographers. Permits are $125 a day. So a lot of Arizona photographers will be out there all during the month of October (well, actually from Saturday, September 28th to Halloween on October 31st.)

I currently have plans to be there on Saturday, October 5th, 2024 and will probably purchase permits for some other dates also, probably Saturday, October 26th.

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

Sweet Flower Home Sunflower Photographer

This is my friend Georgia and her Baby C. They were the first people I ever photographed at Sweet Flower Home, back in the fall of 2022. Wild to think Baby C is now around two years old. She was absolutely brand new here and I feel like this photo above represents new motherhood/parenthood with an artsy take. It’s a hypnotic, slumberous blurry time of life taking care of your brand new little human. I feel like when you look back at that time in your life, it’s all kind of a blur. Which is one reason to get photos like this, to remember how it was and to remember how tiny they were.

The owner of the sunflower fields does staggered planting of sunflower seeds, so that there will be rows of beautiful flowers all month long. Sunflower blooms don’t last all that long, they start to fade after a week or two, so it’s so extremely helpful for photographers to know that at this location they are way more likely to be able to have lovely blooms in their photos. If you are a photographer and want to photograph here, contact Carrie at Sweet Flower Home.

If you would like me to photograph you/your family amongst sunflowers CLICK HERE to find out more and book with Brenda Eden Photography.

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

Tonto Creek →

Payson, Arizona

Dark blue skies

Rolling thunder

Light rain

Thousands of purple butterflies

A creek with stepping stones

Logs and boulders to climb

Blackberries to pick

We had the place all to ourselves this long summer day

Jon (who is 5) and I keep coming back to this Idlewild - this magically beautiful spot a two hour drive from our home in Tempe.

It's Tonto Creek near the fish hatchery, near the Mogollon Rim, near Star Valley. You drive up to the Fish Hatchery, and park at the trailhead parking lot.

Every time we go there it's different. This time the water was low and not too cold and therefore perfect to play in. The rose pink flowers were in bloom, blackberries on the bushes were still sour but surely almost ready to pick, and since we were the only people there for hours and hours, there was a strange hush to the place despite the running water and rolling thunder. There are always butterflies there, but I had never seen it like this: thousands of light purple butterflies gathered together. Which was pretty spellbinding.

When we first got there the sky to the south was super dark blue, we could hear the low rumble of thunder, and we got rained on a little bit. After a while though, all the clouds moved on and it was all sunshine, not even a puff of a cloud in the sky.

We will be going back to this wildlorn place before the summer is over, maybe this Friday or next. Who wants to join us for blackberry picking and playing in the water and doing not much else? We will pick enough blackberries to make a pie. Blackberry brambles grow up the road from this spot around the fish hatchery. The day we were there - the second day of August - the bushes were weighed down with endless blackberries, some of which were still green or red or just barely turning black. And some were black and I ate them and they were pretty sour, but even though they were so sour, there was something amazing about them. After sort of choking down the first sour berry, I didn’t think I would eat anymore, but within a minute I was craving them and wanting more. Almost like sour candy. I am guessing they get sweeter as the days go by and now I want to go back and find out

So now I am looking up blackberry pie recipes and thinking about whether I want to make one that is pretty traditional or try something more unique. I am seeing various different recipes that mix blackberries with apples, peaches, raspberries, bourbon, whiskey. I am seeing one that is called a blackberry sour cream pie and that one sounds like a winner; I might try that first.

Here’s a map of where we went. You park near the yellow diamond and then walk three minutes to the creek, going east. You can pick the most blackberries up by the fish hatchery, which is shown , although I think you can find them along the road too.

In these photos you will see a little fort. We didn’t build it, we just found it. Whoever had been here before had also made nests out of mud. Or maybe they were supposed to be little bowls or plates. They made me think of little nests.

Also, I want to put it out there to the universe and possibly to you that this would be a dream location for a photo shoot. I can imagine doing family photos here, family documentation, maternity or high school seniors ( for HS seniors who absolutely love nature.) This would be perfect for an engagement session.

Get in contact if you would like to do a photo shoot here!