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Maintz Wildlife Preserve

 

Maintz Wildlife Preserve in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, is a part of the Missouri Department of Conservation. There is a map on their website from which you can see the many different areas within the preserve that you can drive to and park. Of course, the preserve is a place for hunters, but the regular walker or hiker can also enjoy the trails, better in off season of course.

I injured my foot really bad and it has been 4 months since I have taken a walk. I am not totally healed, but it felt good to get out even if the day was cold and dull! I took a very short walk at Maintz Wildlife Preserve, Sections 8 and a small peak at 9 on January 6, 2024.

About every end of July and August the fields are topped with the yellow heads of sunflowers. The locations of the sunflowers changed a bit from year to year, but at each parking lot there is a map of the location of the fields. It is fun to spend the entire day exploring to find each field. The fields are planted on different days and so they bloom at a different time. Each day or week the field in peak bloom might be different.

July 26, 2020 was my second time visiting the sunflowers and I decided to head out early to enjoy the flowers in the sunrise. It was so much joy to get there before the light of day and to explore with my camera waiting for that peak moment with the light working together upon the flowers and the sky behind them.

I am putting my favorite images from this photo shoot first in this post.

The morning dew dripping off the petals with the reflections really caught my eye.

It is amazing how the sun changing just a little bit changes the lighting in the composure.

The perfect lighting moments were short. I thought I would hit them on the first field, but they came in like magic on the next field. The warm glow on the petals popped and the blue sky turned into this amazing perfect blue.

Seriously, the perfect camera lighting only lasted a matter of minutes.

See what I mean?

Oh wow! I will remember this experience for a long time and strive to get up early again to do the same at another location.

This just makes me happy!

Back the beginning of the day, here is my first peak of the sunrise which was behind me as I faced the sunflowers. I was disappointed at first that I could not get this view with a sunflower in front of it.

This is what my first photos looked like with the beautiful sunrise behind me. The sky was washed out when I metered to the flower. Nothing impressive here.

When I metered to try to get the natural sky in the background, the foreground was too dark. This one was manipulated a bit post-processing to bring out the flower.

As the morning progressed, a fog lifted from the valley behind the sunflowers. I love spending so much time in one place and watching it change to bring me knew photo opportunities.

I loved this one for the sunrise peaking through the bend of the sunflower in the background making rays with the sunflower in the foreground pointing towards it.

Sunflowers in a field are like marching soldiers all standing upright to attention and facing the same direction towards the sun.

I took a lot more wonderful photos, and have even had to make myself pare them down, but I cannot share them all. I did want to share this one which shows the path along the mown grass to walk and the distance the flower fields go on and on.

Look at the flower hairs in this one! How fun is that?!

The first time we visited the sunflowers at Maintz was on June 13, 2019.

The photos continue below from 2019.

Oh, the golden fields!

Have you ever seen so many sunflower photos in one place? They are so fun to photograph as there is so much variety. Who would have ever thunk it!

The angle and the sunglare!

Just the right shades of blue and yellow.

Do you spy the bee?

I love the golden hue on this one!

I like how this one shows how vast the fields. It is hard to capture so many sunflowers in one composure.

There's this one guy who always tries to stand out in a crowd.

So lovely.

I share this one so you can see that there is also a lake and how far you can hike to get to the fields. It makes for a wonderful day outside.

The sunray!

This is another photo to show the path one must walk to get to some of the fields. Some are closer to the parking than others.

 

I hope you've enjoyed the flowers! Oh happy day!

 

Copyright Cheryl Rutledge-Brennecke
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