Part of being a photographer is working with the elements and, if you live in Illinois, that can be pretty hit or miss at times.

Every spring, my husband takes special care to plant our fields in a series of plots so that, depending on the time of year, I constantly have sunflowers to work with if I want.

This spring was no different.

And then Mother Nature intervened.

Strike No. 1 - We chalked this one up to farmer error. Maybe they were planted a bit too close together. The sunflowers came up, but they were small and thick. While this presented an excellent backdrop for toddlers and dogs, it wasn't so great for anyone or anything over 3-feet tall. 

Still, I remained hopeful. There were two more plots in the ground.

Strike No. 2 - Rain, rain and more rain. The remaining plots of sunflowers turned into two plots of dirt with random plants scattered throughout. As exciting as mud might be to a kid, it makes for a less-than-attractive backdrop.

Strike No. 3 - The wait. We have since planted more sunflowers but now we have to wait until Mother Nature decides their fate.

In light of our farming woes, I knew I had at least one client who expressed interest in summer photos taken in the sunflowers, sunflowers now in question. 

I'm racking my brain one night over possible solutions when I get a message.

"I don't suppose you would be available to take a few pictures of Kalee in the sunflower field at...."

Wait, did I just read that?

I swear I read it five times before it registered.

We set up the session for the next evening and headed out.

I'm always skeptical when someone says there is a huge field of flowers.

How big is huge? A garden-sized plot? A house-sized plot?

What I didn't expect when we arrived at our destination was more sunflowers than I'd ever seen in one place in my life.

Acres and acres of beautiful golden sunflowers in full bloom. 

I should have had Kalee and her mom take my photo as we came upon the site.

I can't even begin to describe how beautiful the sunflowers were. You'd think I'd have taken photos of just the flowers but in my haste to make sure we had enough time for Kalee, the thought didn't even register.

Everything about the evening was absolutely perfect - the scenery, the unseasonably pleasant July temperature, the relaxed subject.

Mother Nature was in her glory.

In fact, the minute I arrived at my car, I shot a message to my first client who wanted sunflowers to explain the Hevron sunflower situation and this new alternative location.

Three days later, I was back to Kalee's spot.

And so was Mother Nature, but I'll save that story for next week...lol