Having taken a few wider angle views of masses of backlit sunflowers I opted to wait until after the sun had set to get softer ambient light and then photograph a single bloom close up with a wide angle lens to provide a sense of place with out of focus blooms appearing as random golden flowers behind. The twilight purple of the sky worked particularly well and the use of a white reflector to bounce some light into the main bloom povided that extra oomph to the colour and quality of the image.
Absolutely stunning.... your efforts paid off. I really appreciate you detailing the process for us. It helps me learn a lot. Your skills are amazing and so is your patience!! lol ;-) 7+++ Warm regards, Brigitte