Someone at a Fourth of July celebration recommended we visit the Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, North Carolina. They said there’s a field of sunflowers in bloom there.

We arrived at the park at about 8am on Sunday July 8th. There were a lot of people there taking photos, but the nice thing is that there’s a lot of rows you can walk down and the rows are long. Just beware that PRCR is hosting SunFest 2018 this Saturday July 14th at the park. The event runs from 2pm-7pm. Click here to view more information on their website about this family event, including a bluegrass concert.

The below photos show how the bees were really feasting on the sunflowers. I used the flash on my camera to give the sunflower in the photo on the left a little pop. I also took this photo from a low vantage point to make the sunflower stand out (appear isolated). This allowed the overcast sky to provide a nice simple background.

The next two photos were my attempt to capture a bunch of sunflowers in the field. I like the variety of sunflowers – one that looks droopy, one at its peak and nicely lit, another that is green and hasn’t even begun to bloom, …

I took the next photo right before we left when the sky was a beautiful blue. This photo is my favorite. To make the one sunflower look like it was towering above the others, I took this photo from a low vantage point and aimed up.

If you live in the Raleigh area, I hope you’re able to make it over to see and photograph the sunflowers in person!  The Dorothea Dix Park’s website says

• The 5 acres of sunflowers was planted by Public Utilities in partnership with the City Of Raleigh Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources (PRCR), and Office of Sustainability.
• The sunflowers are expected to peak Saturday July 14th.
• Access to the sunflowers is FREE and for people to enjoy. Check out the above website for directions and a map on where to park.
• After they peak, the sunflowers will be harvested and the City of Raleigh will use the biodiesel that is produced … which is great to hear!

Enjoy!

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