Sunflowers Abound

Around the area there are fields of sunflowers.  I'm not sure how these crops will be used, whether is for seeds, oil, or what but they are in bloom.  There's probably a couple more weeks before the are past.  I found out about some south of Dallas but in doing research I found out about some close to Prosper which is a lot shorter drive for me so I figured I'd check it out.  It was actaully quite challenging to get good shots but since it was the first time I tried this, I think it was successful and learned a few things.

I was hoping to take advantage of the sunset but some low clouds moved in and didn't cooperate as well as I had hoped.

Trinity River Aubudon Center

This weekend our meetup photo shoot was at the Trinity River Aubudon Center, south of Dallas.  The facility only opens at 10 am on Sundays, and the weather was predicted to get into the mid-90's.   After an hour and a half, I was pretty much done, I hadn't even covered half of the trails, but I have never seen so much poison ivy in my life and although I had been very careful up to that point, I didn't want to risk it any further.  So far so good though....

As it was getting to mid day, and hot, it was difficult to find any wildlife except for insects.  The birds were pretty wary so I was unable to get close enough to any.  I shot  a couple of shots with my telephoto zoom, but most of these were shot with my Tamron 90mm macro lens.  I used a translucent screen to diffuse the light for most of these but not all.

Mckinney Heritage Farmer's Market

Mckinney has a great farmers market in historic Chestnut Square.  It features local farmers and artisans with great product.  This past weekend the place was jam packed and vendors were quickly selling out.  There was even a flash mob that took place there.  I picked up some olive oils and vinegars as well as some jerky.  This next weekend is the annual Ice Cream Crank-off where folks compete for the best homemade ice cream, and its a pretty serious competition.

A few shots from the market.  Next time I'll try to get more of personalities that are in attendance.