Helianthus maximiliani (Maximilian Sunflower)

Taken following the 2019 NPSOT convention at League City, South of Houston, the group I was traveling with made a detour to a “pocket” or “remnant” prairie to the East of League City next a small quiet suburban neighborhood. The picture was taken either squatting or lying down and looking up at the sunflowers waving in the breeze as cumulus clouds rolled on by in the sky above. This shot was awarded first place for the Gulf Coast Plains and Marshes ecoregion category in the photo contest in 2020.