Last week while I was out hunting for enterprise in the great north territory known as Zone 3, I was surprised when I drove past a patch of Sunflowers on RT 190 in Somers. Sunflowers? October?

I was on my way to First Night at Gampel Pavilion as the men’s and women’s basketball teams marked the start of their season with the fan friendly event. I quickly spun my car around and parked in a lot next door. There was a car near a barn on the property so I ventured over to the young lady standing nearby and introduced myself thinking she owned the property. Come to find out she was another photographer, Christa Acosta, who was meeting a client there to shoot a family portrait. I asked if I could hang out for a while while she worked and she agreed.

The family to be photographed was running late and the afternoon light was beginning to be obscured by some nasty storm clouds. Forecasters were predicting the seasons first hard freeze so the likelihood of these bright flowers being around the next day were slim. When the family arrived Christa began suggesting a few spots for Andrew, 5, and his one year old sister Camryn, to sit for the portrait. The pair would sit then move, sit then move but luckily I was able to get an image that worked as Andrew held his sister by the hand as they walked out from the Sunflower patch.

Pro Tip: We do a lot of enterprise at the Courant and sometimes you get lucky and come across a situation that just screams out – STOP!!!! There’s a picture to be made here. Sometimes you are luckier than others, this day I was grateful to run into Acosta and her clients, the Czepiel’s. I’m sure she made some wonderful images that day, she was voted the Top Photography Blog by the Hartford Courant in April of 2012.
Camera – Nikon D300, Nikon 70-200/2.8 lens, ISO 200, Shutter priority set at 1/1000th, cloudy color balance.