by hankinslawrenceimages | Oct 15, 2011 | Asteraceae Family, Flowers, New Photos
Sunflowers All in a Row © 2011 Patty Hankins
I’ve recently added a new photo – Sunflowers All in a Row – to my Beautifulflowerpictures.com website.
As you probably know, the sunflower fields at McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area in Poolesville, Maryland are one of my favorite summer photography spots. So often when I’m at McKee Beshers I feel like I’m standing in a field of sunflowers that goes on forever. With this photo, I tried to capture the feeling of endless sunflowers. I really liked the way the sunflowers recede into the distance adding a sense of depth to the photo. To say nothing of the fact that I just always want to smile when I see sunflowers – either in person or in a photograph. I hope these sunflowers brighten your day as much as they brighten up my day!
This photograph is available as either a 8X18″ or 14X30″ gallery-wrapped canvas. You can orderSunflowers All in a Row from my website.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Sep 24, 2011 | Asteraceae Family, Flowers, New Photos
Sunflower Center © 2011 Patty Hankins
I’ve recently added a new photo – Sunflower Center – to my Beautifulflowerpictures.com website.
This is one of those photographs that I’ve been seeing in my imagination for a few years – and finally was able to create with my camera and share with you. I love sunflowers. Every summer Montgomery County plants at least one field of sunflowers at McKee Beshers Wildlife Management Area in Poolesville. I’ve photographed the flowers in the field several times, but I knew there were more photos waiting to be created there. I’m fascinated by the geometric patterns in the center of the sunflower, and how as the flower ages the center changes from the tight pattern to the circles of seeds that the birds love in the fall. I’d been wanting to create a photo with a tightly woven center, the beginnings of the seeds and the bright yellow petals. Finally this summer I found a sunflower in just the right light and in just the perfect stage of growth for the photo I’d been seeing in my mind. And so here it is – Sunflower Center. I hope you enjoy it.
This photograph is available as either a 12 X 18″ or 20 X 30″ gallery-wrapped canvas. You can order Sunflower Center from my website.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 25, 2011 | Asteraceae Family, Flowers, Maryland, Photo Locations
© 2011 Patty Hankins
What can I say – other than I recently spent another fantastic morning at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area in Poolesville, Maryland. Regular reader of this blog know that McKee-Beshers WMA is where photographers and other sunflower lovers can be found in Montgomery County Maryland in mid-July. Each year, the county plants at least one field full of sunflowers. They plant them as part of their wildlife management plan – and while we love the sunflowers in July – let’s just say the sunflower lovers go into complete denial about what will be happening out there later in the year.
As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago – this year’s sunflowers were much shorter than ones growing in the same field a few years ago. The shorter flowers provided me with some great photo opportunities I haven’t had in the past – and I didn’t need to bring the stepladder with me that I’d been planning on bringing.
On this visit, I spent most of my time photographing in the open shade at the far end of the sunflower field. I was there on a Sunday morning with several other members of the DC Area Flower Safari Meetup Group and there were lots (and lots) of other photographers out that morning. So we heading out further than I usually do. Since we were photographing in open shade we didn’t have to deal with the intense yellows in the sunflowers that often make photographing them in the bright sunlight a challenge. It was also a bit cooler than in the direct sun – so we were able to photograph for close to two full hours that morning.
Most of the photos I took were detail shots of individual sunflowers. I’ve been out to McKee Beshers often enough that I’ve taken lots of photos of the whole field.
For just a few moments this one sunflower with lit brilliantly by the sun. The photos I took a few second before and a few seconds after this one are nice photos of a sunflower. To me – this one captures the wonders of the field on a bright day – golden light on a bright cheery flower!
© 2011 Patty Hankins
In this next photo I was fascinated by the patterns and textures in the center of the sunflower. I love the way the unformed seeds are so tightly packed and compressed in the center. It’s hard to believe that in not too long of a time the center of this flower will be full of sunflower seeds that the birds can’t wait to eat!
© 2011 Patty Hankins
As always, there were lots of bees in the sunflower fields. Since we were there at 7 AM, many of the bees were still sleeping on or at least not moving from the sunflowers they were perched on. This bee stayed in the same spot long enough for several of us to photograph it before it flew off.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
This year, the rows of sunflowers were planted perpendicular to the way they’ve been planted in previous years. With the sunflowers arranged this way – I spent more time looking (and photographing) the backs of some of the plants than I have in the past. I really like the way the hairy texture of the green leaves contrasts with the smooth yellow petals.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
For the first time, I photographed sunflowers that were just starting to bloom. I really liked the way the petals were to unfold.
© 2011 Patty Hankins
I hope you enjoy this year’s photos. If you’re in the DC area – I hope you’ll join me at one of the DC Area Flower Safari Meetup events. Our next one is at Kenilworth Gardens on July 30 – and I’m sure we’ll head back to the sunflower fields at McKee Beshers WMA next July.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Sep 11, 2010 | Asteraceae Family, Flowers, Photo Locations
For those of us who live in Montgomery County Maryland, McKee Beschers Wildlife Management Area is where many photographers head for our annual summer sunflower fix. As I’ve done shows in other parts of the state, people have asked me if I’d seen the sunflower fields in Harford County. Until this week – I hadn’t.
Based on an article in the Baltimore Sun – I finally had directions and information about when and where to find the sunflower fields near Jarrettsville, Maryland. So one morning I headed up towards Jarrettsville to see what I could find. The best way to describe what I found was a goldmine of sunflowers. I saw several large fields of sunflowers – all as large if not larger than the one at McKee Beasher WMA! I spent most of time photographing in one of the fields Jarrettsville Pike near Hess Road. It’s right across the street from the Royal Farms Store located at 3209 Jarrettsville Pike in Monkton.
As I headed towards the field, there were sunflowers as far as I could see.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
One of the wonderful discoveries I made while photographing the sunflowers was all the morning glory vines wrapped around some of the sunflower plants. I love the way the blue flowers of the morning glory contrast with the bright yellow of the sunflowers.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
As the sun rose in the sky – I found several sunflowers that I could photograph from the rear. I loved the contrast of the green leaves and the bright yellow petals – especially as the sunlight lit up the petals.
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
And finally – a pair of sunflowers – just in case you haven’t seen enough sunflowers in today’s blog post
(c) 2010 Patty Hankins
So now I know two different places and times to photograph sunflowers in Maryland – McKee Beschers WMA in July and Harford County in September. Does anyone know when and where I can find other sunflower fields in the DC area? In case you haven’t figured it out by now – I love photographing sunflowers. All I have to do is think about a field full of bright yellow sunflowers – and I start to smile.
by hankinslawrenceimages | Jul 2, 2009 | Asteraceae Family, News
Field of Sunflowers (c) 2007 Patty Hankins
Field of Sunflowers is the BeautifulFlowerPictures.com Photo of Month. It was photographed at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area in Poolesville, Maryland. If you visit McKee-Beshers WMA in July, you’ll find a couple of large of sunflowers. You’ll also see lots of photographers, painters and other artists smiling as they create their art. It is my favorite place to photograph in early July.
Until July 31, 2009, SAVE 20% off the regular prices for Field of Sunflowers. The photograph is available in two sizes of gallery-wrapped canvases.
Save $ 17 on the 8X18″ Canvas – regular price $ 85 – July Photo of the Month Price – $ 68.00
Save $ $ 53 on the 14X30″ Canvas – regular price $ 265 – July Photo of the Month Price – $ 212.00
Free shipping to U.S. Addresses for either size photograph.
As with all photographs from BeautifulFlowerPictures.com, Field of Sunflowers comes with my Unconditional Happiness Guarantee. You have one year to decide that it is the perfect photograph for you. If it’s not, just return it (in original condition) for a full refund.
