A sunflower farm in Canada has been forced to close its gates to Instagrammers, Snapchatters and other snap-happy social media users in search of the perfect selfie after thousands of people flooded the grounds to take photos.
The Bogle family, which operates its farm Bogle Seeds in Hamilton, Ontario, roughly 42 miles from Toronto, said on its website that "unfortunately, with the police involved, we have had to close the photos opportunities" after a traffic jam plugged roads for hours on Saturday, July 28.
The incident occurred just over a week after the Bogles decided to open their farm to photographers, charging $7.50 per person.
"Everyone was laughing and having fun," Barry Bogle told the newspaper of the first week that people started to show up to take photos with the family's picturesque field of sunflowers. "Then, all of Toronto showed up," he lamented.
A quick search of #bogleseeds on Instagram pulls up hundreds of images with many taking selfies in front of the sunflower fields or a classic turned away shot frolicking through the fields.
While for many, it was too perfect a photo opportunity to miss, for the Bogles and their neighbors, the attraction was more akin to a "zombie apocalypse," Brad Bogle, the farm owners' son told the Globe & Mail newspaper.
Hamilton police and the Ontario Provincial Police had to be called in to help with traffic control that afternoon, with one officer telling a nearby neighbor that officers had estimated the crowds at 7,000 cars, the newspaper reported.
The farm owners said their crops were also trampled on by people who refused to follow instructions from staff.
On their website, the Bogles state that "although photo opportunities have ceased on the farm, we are still open for bird seed and other product sales during our REGULAR hours."
And for anyone even thinking of trying to snap a selfie on the sly under the guise of solely looking for bird seed, the family has fixed a scrolling banner to its website warning in all capital letters: "ALL PHOTOGRAPHY OF SUNFLOWERS ON THE FARM ARE NOW CLOSED FOR THE SEASON!"
The news may come as a disappointment for some of the more than 94,300 people who have visited the farm's website, many likely looking to find directions for their next photo shoot location.
According to the Globe & Mail newspaper, the family farm has attracted visitors from as far away as Dubai, New York and Australia.
The Bogles also had to hire eight additional staff at $22 hours and rent porta-potties to accommodate the hordes of people showing up at their property. Days later, the family is still having to turn disappointed photographers away from the farm.
"We're closed forever!" the Globe & Mail described Marlene Bogle kindly informing one driver who drove an hour from Toronto with a van full of children just to see the sunflowers on Tuesday.
Those looking to take in the beauty of the Bogle family's golden fields will want to develop an interest in bird feeding first–and most definitely, leave their cameras at home.
Uncommon Knowledge
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