Toronto Photography Meetup Group

surely someone has an iPhone app for this

any ride I can hitch?

yaaaaaaaa, somebody with a schoolbus--post an ad hoc!

Thanks for that...That was me...Yes...this was taken near Thornton. Hwy 27 just south of barrie. If you're going north, you turn left on the 21st line. It it not even a Km away from there on your right. I'll go by tomorrow to see how it is this year and report back.

from what I've heard farmers don't always grow sunflowers 2 years in a row (crop rotation). I've seen a lot of anecdotal instances of people going to sunflower sites from photos they saw from the previous year on Flickr only to see a field of corn this year.

Google isn't helping much..,These people grow sunflowers every year but I don't know how many or if they are easily viewed.
http://www.laprimaverafarms.com/farmers-markets/

I've seen photos of sunflower plants in different yeats from farms in and around Flamborough which is real close to Hamilton. Perhaps anyone close to Hamilton/Burlington can have a gander.

Shrek, did you have a chance to get to the field near Barrie?

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/11322176
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agathad/48 ... 659788262/

I did not get up there this weekend. I will be going by there tomorrow and will update on the status.

Chris

Mob-style or in the photographic sense of the word?

Just to let you know that none of the locations/links provided by me have been confirmed for 2011. Seems (as far as I can tell) farmers rarely grow sunflowers in consecutive years. So don't go to any of the fields mentioned thus far with clients without confirming they contain sunflowers...and lif you do go for a look et us know what you find!!

Ok..so I drove by today and either they are past their prime or corn was planted there this year. Sorry folks. I will update next year on places around here. There are a few I can post.

It's too early for them to be past their prime. Your not trying hard enough you need to go up in a spotter plane to find the location of this year's sunflower fields.

seconded! We need some serious scouting! ha ha

I hear through the grapevine that sunflower field photography season is just starting in this part of the world.

According to said grapevine, when are the sunflowers harvested?

Like most farm crops the typical grapevine answer: when they are ready.

any idea when that might be this year?

no I'm not a farmer

There are a few sunflower plants in front of the building just down from mine and they look pretty peak to me.

Just took this:



They aren't quite peaking. There are still several plants in this patch closed up but some wide open and loosing petals. Now or soon would be good.

Yes have fun shooting them and by all means judge peak by a small patch of inner city decorate sunflowers I''m talking about large fields of giant seed crop sunflowers.

Yes because the species has decided that in small groups to grow at a much slower rate and follow a completely different calendar. Cause city sunflowers are cool! You're not a farmer and know **** all but feel free to chime in with dumb unhelpful shit? Show us where growth rates change by crop size that would be considerable to the point of changing when one would look for them.

Don't be an idiot of course cash crops have a different planting cycle then the obviously smaller variety you show in your photograph. Also Toronto has it's own micro climate with a warmer spring the the country side, on top
of this there has been below average rain in June and July, of course most Toronto gardens are watered and are not affected by lack of rain... I could go on but it more trouble then it's worth.

And if you would learn to read before shooting your mouth off you would have read that my information comes from someone that has inside knowledge of what is happening out in the countryside it doesn't come from guessing and a false use of logic.

Care explain you great knowledge on the subject?

We all know you aren't a farmer. We all know crops are harvested when they are ready. So in the interest of contributing something useful for people in this thread, again I restate......can you please ask your 'inside' contact when they look most likely to be harvested this year? Thanks.

I think I did contribute some useful information to this topic:

This year I said: "I hear through the grapevine that sunflower field photography season is just starting in this part of the world."

Last year I googled mapped the field location for people http://goo.gl/maps/IRlL Look at the photos (above) from that trip and you will see what a field looks like when it's ready to harvest. Not the best time to take photographs unless your hobby is sunflower seed photography

Last year everything was early, this year not. When I received new information I was going to post it here, now after Ions insults and Phil's sarcastic comment I really don't have any interest in adding any more updates.

How mature of you metrix.

You portray yourself as having allknowing inside information from some grapevine and when somebody simply asks for some information rather than say you'll ask your source you sarcastically claim that you aren't a farmer and childishly state the obvious that crops are harvested when they are ready. Well maybe you think that is helpful. And then you whinge like a child when people get frustrated with you. So you'll withhold information like a child grabs their toys and goes home when it isn't happy. Your demeanor begets the reactions it elicits.

Feel free to add me to your list of reasons why you should childishly guard your prized updates.

Ions, rhommel, chopper, shrek, axiom, philmar, vilk and other adults in this thread:
Sorry I can't help with a location near Toronto but I know of a huge sunflower field for anyone that is in the Ottawa region. It is so beautiful and easily spotted. It is just on the city border if you drive on Hwy 174 towards Orleans you will see just as you exit the developed urban area. Just after you cross the river between Ottawa and Orleans (not the Rideau River but a smaller one). The field is on the righthand side when driving towards Orleans. but you must get off at St. Joseph Blvd. (before the field is visible) and there's even a Tim Hortons there. You can't miss it. I was there earlier this week and it is so beautiful. Sorry I can't help with a field closer to Toronto.

Best of luck with your search.

You just don't get it and as usual it is you that is out of line making a direct personal attack. Grow up this is not within the spirit or the rules of this forum.

The sunflower crop harvest is after they have finished blooming and as I indicated to Phil that at this point even the farmers don't know when this would happen. So what relevance has harvest time got to do with thread? Maybe that wasn't what Phil wanted to know but that's what he asked. But of course as usual you just want to criticize and hear yourself talk.

My original information was to notify people that they aren't too late it hasn't even begun to reach peak at least one area. If you had taken the time to read the above thread you would have realized that some people had made the assumption that it might already be too late for this year based on last years early season. But I guess like Phil you don't consider this useful information.

Sure no problem. I think most were convinced by your sarcasm 4 and 5 posts earlier that you didn't want to share. Instead of stating the obvious (crops are harvested when they are ready) and being sarcastic (I am not a farmer) you could have stated "I will ask my source and let you know". But no big deal. You are what you are. Nuff said.

OK folks -I've been PM'ed with a location!!!
I'll check it out tomorrow and another place on Monday. And I'll let EVERYBODY know how it turns out. I hope it pans out!! Rhommel I'll try to find out when peak time is to photograph them in case you have a wedding party ready. Thanks for the Ottawa location fionah.

You might add this place to your list as according to a simple flickr search a few new photos have been posted from here by different people all within the last few days.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41031666@N04/5998862013



And your are never sarcastic on the forum Why on earth would I ask someone in this case a farmer a question that doesn't make sense in context? Why is the sky blue? Yes Nuff said

Thanks metrix that actually was the link that someone p.m/ed me with. I'll try to swing by there on my way to the Royal Botanical Gardens.
I have tentative plans to go there with ions tomorrow so we should be able to report back soon.

I wanted to know when they are harvested because I still would like to take a few closeup/macro shots of a flower. It doesn't have to be pointing upwards for that. It could even be on the ground keeled over.

I that case I'm sorry there is no real answer as it varies too much from field to field and the weather. Last year it was a good spring and summer but bad harvest because of excess rain prevented harvesting. This year too much rain in the spring left shallow roots and then a dry early summer stunted growth. If you know the farmers I know you would see that the answers I gave you were normal, they watch what is happening and when they think the crop can be harvested they bring in the heavy equipment and harvest hopefully before the black birds can get at them. Maybe the farm you are going to tomorrow can give you a better time frame for their field.

Then again most farmers would tell you the same but use 1/10th of the number of words.

An alternative as you are interested in macros would be to track the Toronto community gardens, last year there were more then a few of the large variety sunflowers planted and left all the way to seed.

Sorry metrix I guess I was not able to properly read between the lines of your short terse responses. As you may know English is my third language and though it be sufficient for me to practice law in Ontario I do still struggle with some of it's idiomatic uses.

For example I was not aware that:


and


really meant



...and that it referenced material written over a year earlier by you.

I beg for your forgiveness and await the day when I can see beyond the printed word and be fully able to understand what you intended to convey.
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Phil - Thanks for the invite guys but I must work on Monday. Check your PM. Have a great time.