What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.
-George Eliot
For the last four years, I have been photographing the Sussex County sunflower maze in Sussex, New Jersey. When they began hosting photo events, I was all in. I was especially excited about the Astrophotography events, despite not having much experience in night photography, it is a subject matter that I am really drawn to. I had an image in mind, yet I was not entirely sure what it would look like. I knew it involved a lantern, a story of emotion, and saying goodbye, so when they announced a full moon photo night, I took some notes, wrote down a few ideas, packed a bag, and made my way to the sunflower farm!
My first visit to the farm was in 2018 when I accompanied another photographer who wanted to take photos of it. I remember walking around, lingering among the blooms and the bees and feeling instant peace.
Since then my relationship with photography has been rekindled and I too, decided to bring my camera along. For me, photography is all about the experience, which is why I have gravitated to nature and wildlife photography more than anything. Nature photography encourages you to linger, to observe, to watch behind and away from the lens the every day miracles that often go overlooked.
Since I have been dedicating time every day to nature photography, my appreciation and gratitude for life has grown. Watching a bumblebee bee hover from flower to flower with her pollen bags, is such a miraculous thing to witness. Making eye contact with a curious puffin or the hummingbirds in my yard, although a fleeting moment, is still a connection; no words needed.
Images captured aim to tell a story, one woven between human kind and nature that begs to be understood, nourished, and preserved. The more time I spend photographing nature, whether it be the resilient arctic fox or the cheerful sunflower, the more I wonder how I can play a part in saving it all.
Sunflower facts
There are more than 70 varieties of sunflowers! A few of the most popular ones are Mammoth, a giant flower known for its large head and edible seed, Teddy Bear, which is a dwarf variety for pots, and Ring of Fire, with red and yellow petals.
Sunflowers exhibit a behavior known as heliotropism, where their head follows the sun. This behavior lessens as they mature.
Sunflowers are native to North America and the National flower of Ukraine.
Sunflowers are associated with feelings like hope, optimism, gratitude, abundance, and joy.
What appears to be a single large flower is actually a complex structure called an inflorescence, which is a cluster of many smaller flowers. Disc florets are the small, fertile flowers clustered in the central part that are responsible for producing pollen. The bright yellow parts that attract pollinators such as bees are the ray florets.
Birds, bees, and blooms
Pollinators floated amongst the flowers. I watched as a single bee crawled between the florets, her only job in life is to retrieve that divine sustenance we call pollen. When I arrived at the farm that morning, the early light was thin. Some flowers held sleeping bees. As the sun rose, they began to stir, readying themselves for their day’s task ahead.
I always find it challenging to explore the entire farm; every flower tells a story, and it is hard not to spend all my time admiring one or the other. I am particularly drawn to the outliers, the dark flowers, or the ones who stand tall among the rest. At one point, I found a giant, a bright yellow sphere that stood out between the greenery. I like those too; the ones that pop in the shadows.
I enjoyed the pollinator garden, a place filled with goldenrod and frequented by songbirds such as the yellow finch and the curious catbirds. If you were lucky, you would catch a glimpse of the season’s last monarch butterfly or ruby-throated hummingbird. Soon, they would be embarking on their long journey to their wintering grounds in Mexico.
Every year I return, there is a sense of nostalgia. Sunflower season, as uplifting as it is, is also a transitional period. It is the end of summer; the scorching heat and long days will soon be behind us, replaced by the cold, grey, bare trees and long nights. I didn’t like the heat, and as I studied my feelings about why this time was tough for me, I realized it was because it was a reminder of the inevitable. Our own life cycles, aging bodies, aging loved ones, things change, nothing lasts. Sometimes I liked this, other times it was hard to let go.
I sat with these feelings, curious about them and remembered that even this was temporary and that although the sunflowers would soon be gone, that they were also a reminder to sit with gratitude. To reflect on the year, and all that I accomplished, to be grateful for it, and to let go of what was in the hopes of what will be.
My first astrophotography shoots
I have to be honest and say I find night photography intimidating but I do enjoy it. There is something peaceful about standing around with my camera when most of the world is asleep. Whether it is in a sunflower field below a sky of stars or on a horse farm beneath the dancing aurora, these are nights to always be remembered.
I remember my first time trying to photograph the Northern lights. Everything was blurry, the composition was a mess, and my hands were frozen. My tripod even got blown over by the wind! Although I walked away that night with not a single decent photo, I still had a great time and continued to practice and research the subject.
Like everything else in life, we learn and improve by doing. There were things about night photography I found daunting; yet as I repeat them, it gets easier. Remember, making mistakes is a part of learning. Without this, we would never improve.
Post processing was one of the things I couldn’t stand at first. The idea of culling through hundreds of photos and editing was tedious. Now I have developed a system that I repeat for every single shoot. The more I do it, the less scary it is, and I now enjoy the export, save, and edit process.
Tips for night photography
You can use a tripod and a remote shutter. Slower shutter speeds demand a still camera. It also helps to minimize your shadow if the moon lights the landscape or subject.
- Have an idea of what kind of shot you want before you arrive, but be open to changes. Having a general idea of your dream shot can help minimize confusion and distraction when you arrive on location. The photo I took of the lantern and the sunflower actually came to me as I walked around. I saw a tall sunflower, thought of how I felt, and said, “What if?”
- Tell a story. This goes along with having an idea. What kind of story do you want to tell with your image? What feeling do you want to invoke? Sadness? Joy? Loss? Nostalgia?
- Play with light. Lanterns are a fun prop and so is natural light. Take some shots during golden hour, blue hour and then at sunset. Test out what you see and your results. You may surprise yourself with the outcome!
- Play with perspective. Take some closeups and wider angles. Explore and get creative. I really believe there is no limit or rules in photography besides respect for the subject matter. Play and have fun. Your images should reflect your story and this is yours and only yours to hold.
- Scout your area during the day. Sometimes this isn’t possible but if it is, do it. It is much easier to set up and figure out where you are going in the day light. The farm opened at 6 for the night shoot and I was there at 5:45 to sort my equipment, use the restroom, and bug proof myself. By 6 PM I was on the farm exploring and thinking. This made navigating the farm once it got dark so much easier.
- Turn autofocus off and switch to manual focus.
- Open your lens up to 2.8 or more. Unless you are photographing the moon. For this I like to stick to a f/8- f/11.
- There are techniques to combine two photographs called “stacking” in Adobe photoshop. For this one, I did not have to do that because I used a lantern to illuminate the foreground and set the focus on me. However if you have two subjects in your image that will not be lit, it is best to take sets of two images; one with the foreground subject in focus and properly exposed, then the other with the sky in focus. This is especially important when shooting northern lights or the Milky Way with a foreground subject.
- Create backups for all your keepers and then two more backups and if you are paranoid like me, even more. I also download my favorites right away onto my phone through a Shutter app as a “just in case my memory card decides to combust on the drive home,” backup plan. Maybe crazy to some but it gives me peace of mind.
- Put the camera down. At the end of every session, I put the camera down and just take a moment. This evening, I could have taken more shots. I could have kept walking and looking but the corn moon was big and bright, the sunflowers were aglow and I knew soon I would be saying farewell. So I tucked the camera away, climbed atop a bale of hay and just watched for a moment.
The images only say so much, and I am hoping they speak to everyone who sees them; however, the moments themselves belong to me. Remember this next time you take your camera out: these moments are yours.
The Sussex Sunflower Maze is a family-owned farm in Layton, New Jersey, that opens in mid-August until the last of the sunflowers (typically mid-September). They carry over 100 varieties of sunflowers, several pollinator gardens, and local produce. They are open daily during the season for tours and host events that include live music, food trucks, vendors, and specialty events such as early morning photography sessions and astrophotography.
