The Bakers are always looking for our next photography adventure in the great outdoors. My husband stumbled upon an article and pictures on the Sunflower Festival in Buchanan, Virginia. So we decided to get up early and take a day trip on a Saturday. We packed up all the camera gear and headed out towards Buchanan, Virginia. The 3.5 hour ride through Virginia is always great for scenery. As we rode along it started to rain the further we got into Virginia. We finally arrived at Beaver Dam SunFlower Farm and the cars were pulling out of the fields as we approached...not a good sign. We stopped and asked one of the folks there if they were closing due to the rain and they said, "yes" due to people were slipping and sliding and someone might get hurt.
Well, we didn't drive 3.5 hours to not get some sunflower photography time. So Troy decided to stay in the area and wait the rain out and see if they would open back up. We drove off to see what we could see. As we pulled away from Beaver Dam SunFlower Farm the storm got worse and within a few minutes, it was raining so hard we could barely see anything outside. We decided to ride out the storm and soon enough it had started to tapper off. We drove all around for several hours exploring and shooting some photography. We drove through Buchanan, Virginia and stopped at the park area and strolled over to the Buchanan Swinging Bridge. It's a very nice quaint town with little shops.
We decided since the rain had slowed down we might try and go back to Beaver Dam SunFlower Farm and see if they opened it back up. The field was a big mud hole at that point and as we pulled up one of the folks working the event said it was closed and won't open back up until tomorrow. Troy was desperate for a field shot of these sunflowers so we drove back down the road a bit where there was an access road to get a few shots. He got a great shot as sunset was coming on. It's the picture you see at the top for the main article. We took a few field shots and decided we would leave and come back tomorrow.
We arrive Sunday and paid the entrance fee. There were several food vendors, so we decided to eat some Carolina BBQ and roam around the vendors area for awhile. There were people selling all kinds of homemade crafts. They also had hay rides there and an area for the kids to play games and interact with the farm animals. We strolled around the sunflower fields for hours having fun and taking many photographs of insects and sunflowers. This place it spectacular for sunflower photography.
However, when planning your trip, timing is everything. Consider that these sunflowers are VERY HEAVY and will start to droop over time, so it looks like the heads are bowed down and not facing you making a not so perfect picture. The farm allows photographers to pay a small fee to get inside and shoot photos a few days before it is open to the public. It's a great opportunity to get some great photographs and setup and stage shots if you do portrait photography. They have props all over the fields for anyone to use when you go in. They leave them there for the public also. We had a great time, took some great pictures, and we will return again next year.
The Beaver Dam SunFlower Farm is located in 302 Wheatland Rd Buchanan, VA 24066. The farm sells the sunflower seeds, and you can buy them there.