“Given the right conditions, even the commonplace can show surprising potential’ – Ed Lehming

Oddly enough, in contrast to yesterday’s post about the commonplace, the next image up in my library is this one, which is not commonplace at all. This sunflower, a volunteer, likely seeded by a bird dropping in the middle of my daughter’s vegetable patch, is a monster, over 4 meters (14′ for the non-metric) tall. It towers above everything else, with a base stalk more like a tree than a sunflower. High above, the blossoms are just opening. They too are big, but seem diminished by the plant that supports them.

It’s really hard to miss. My challenge in photographing it was to create some sense of scale, so I decided on this low angle shot to give it that look of hovering high above me, framed by a backdrop of wispy clouds. I think it works. I’ll have to revisit it soon to see how it has developed. I’m certain it has not stopped growing; the soil there is incredibly rich, having been a cow paddock for years before being converted into a garden.

iPhone 17 Pro Max
Main Camera — 100 mm
1/638 sec, ƒ/2.8 ISO 20