Turf Paradise Camels Ostriches and Zebras

Saturday March 26, 2016 saw one of the largest crowds I've ever seen at Turf Paradise... and all for the show between the sixth and seventh races.  Fans brought their children to watch the fun races featuring Camels, Ostriches, and Zebras, including a "zedonk" - a cross between a donkey and zebra.

Given the large crowd, I didn't have much choice as to photographing location.  So I went up to the top of the grandstands.  I used a Canon 5D Mark III and the Tamron 28-300mm lens.  For post editing, I used Lightroom and plugins from MacPhun (SnapHeal to erase annoying objects) and Aurora for the High Dynamic Range (HDR) look.  I also used Topaz Labs "Simplify" for a watercolor painting look.  

In addition to the action on both grass and dirt, I also photographed the fans.  Turf Paradise must have made a mint on doodads like stuffed animals, as these kids demonstrate.  

And many of the young people seemed more interested in their cell phones than the action on the track.  

Until My Next Adventure, 

(Cave Creek Rodeo)

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson     

...and, here are all the keeper photos!

Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park, Arizona

Mid-March and the weather is perfect here in the Phoenix area.  Time to visit a place I’d never seen before, the Wildlife World Zoo on the far west side of the Phoenix area in Litchfield Park.  It boasts the largest collection of exotic animals in Arizona.  They also have an aquarium.

I saw swans, kangaroos, parrots and other exotic birds, ducks,  monkeys, giraffes, a lovely meerkat that loved to pose for me, a leopard, a few ostrich, a tortoise, and a lot more.  

I photographed with a Canon 5D Mark III, a Tamron 28-300mm lens, on aperture priority, most of the time at ISO 100.  I did post editing with Lightroom and plugins from MacPhun, Topaz Labs, and OnOne.  

Until My Next Adventure, 

(Who knows before April 3rd and the Cave Creek Rodeo)

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

Here are all the keeper photos!