Northern Sunflower Trails

I have long been fascinated by sunflowers.  On my travels across the prairies of the Dakotas I loved to encounter sunflower fields with their collective bright yellow heads all aimed in the same direction.  

It is generally known that sunflowers track the sun across the sky, from east to west.  I wondered what happens after sunset, when the flowers would all be facing west.  With no phototropism to guide it, how would they get ready for the eastern sunrise?  Would they be caught off-guard in the morning and suddenly swing their heads back at the risk of floral whiplash?  Or is there a gradual re-setting of the neck-stalk fibers back to an easterly gaze?

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Comet Neowise

A photogenic comet visits in a year when the world is shut down by a virus.  We can still appreciate its beauty and find an isolated area in a nearby park.  Photographing comets has become considerably easier in the twenty years since my previous attempts trying to capture Comet Hale-Bopp on film!

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Excelsior, MN
20 July 2020
Canon EOS Ra with 70-200mm (200)4 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1600


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Ayres Natural Bridge Park

The Earth moves under the North Star while the moon illuminates the red rock canyon wall of Ayers Natural Bridges Park.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover this hidden gem in Wyoming, land donated from their ranch by the Ayres family.  The park was entirely free, including campsites, but no pets are allowed.  This is considered a benefit to some.

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10 July 2019
Ayres Natural Bridge Park, Douglas Wyoming
Canon 60Da with EOS EFS 10-22mm(@10mm)
Composited 5-minute exposures at f/5.6, ISO 200, 2-1/2 hours elapsed


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