Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Tucson Rodeo February 2016

A beautiful February day in the upper 70s greeted fans out to see the Tucson Rodeo, or La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, or Festival of the Cowboys.

Since my college days, I’ve gone to this professional rodeo the most. 

I remember very cold rodeo days, and the last one I photographed in 2011 was downright windy, making lens changes especially difficult.

Before the big girls and boys competed, the young ones came out.  I might have enjoyed the young ones most of all.  The little ones gave it their all in riding sheep.  And, the one rodeo event for the ladies is barrel racing.  Note the little girl with her blonde hair straight out as she rode hard around the barrels. 

Maybe one of my favorite shots of the day was the lady holding the sheep on a leash, with the other sheep waiting nearby.



I shot with a Canon 5D Mark III body using a Tamron 28-300mm lens and a Manfrotto tripod for a bit more stability.  I did use at times a 1.4x Tamron extender.  I left at home, sadly, a lens I should have used:  the Tamron 150-600mm.  I ended up having to crop most of my shots.  I processed them using Lightroom and a few plugins from Macphun:  SnapHeal and Focus along with the plugin called Perfectly Clear.  I took nearly 900 shots and pared it all down to about 67. 


Until My Next Adventure


See You On Down The Road!




Here are all the keeper photos!


Tuesday, February 16, 2016

The Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show and Shopping Expo


Saturday 13 February 2016 marked the first time I ever visited the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show and Shopping Expo at Westworld on the north side of Scottsdale. 


First off, I was stunned at the size of the shopping expo.  Imagine huge rows and rows of storefronts selling saddles, and anything having to do with horses and riding. 


When first walking in, I saw people there from Liberty Wildlife.   Last summer I photographed their rescued eagle Sonora when taking the Verde Canyon Railroad.   This time around they featured a couple of owls.


Then it was time for the afternoon show.  I especially liked the young people on their beautiful horses. 


Until My Next Adventure


See You On Down The Road!



Here are all the keeper photos!