The Flower Mound, Sunrise: May 2020

My sunset visit to the Flower Mound yielded a shot that I'm extremely proud of. But the cloud cover prevented me from getting an actual sunset photo.  So I checked the weather forecast and noted that in three days conditions would be clear at sunrise.  Then at 5:30 that morning I got dressed, packed up, and headed back over.

I was plenty early enough to start shooting plants like this Thorow Wax in the low predawn light.

A lone Upright Prairie Coneflower caught my attention.

As the sun grew closer to breaking the horizon, golden rim lighting enhanced subjects like this Canada Wild Rye.

Closer and closer the moment drew, with ample light to start getting wide-angle shots of the floral diversity.

Backlit subjects like this Indian Blanket always catch my attention.

I wasn't the only one anxiously awaiting sunrise.  This Engelmann's Daisy was also pointed in the direction of the impending event.

A small patch of Lemon Beebalm had fully bloomed.

Another backlit Indian Blanket.  I really am a sucker for this lighting.

Very nearly there...

... there!

I even had time to shift slightly, recompose a bit, and still capture the rays of the rising sun before it got too high in the sky.

The backlighting became more intense once the sun was actually up.

The rim lighting did, too.

The Upright Prairie Coneflowers were probably the most abundant wildflowers.  But the most impressive thing about the Mound was how many different wildflowers were both abundant and in full bloom all at the same time.

I managed to catch some cooperative insect life with this Yellow-shouldered Drone Fly.

After I came down off the Mound I caught one last look at a Common Sunflower living up to its name by greeting the new day.  Then it was into my car, back home, and back to bed!