Scottsdale Parada del Sol Rodeo 8 March 2020

The Scottsdale Parada del Sol rodeo finals was held at Westworld on Sunday 8 March.  The all-around top cowboy was JC Mortensen for bareback riding and bull riding. Here are the full results from the rodeo finals. 


Events included bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, the ladies of barrel racing, and bull riding.  In addition to the rodeo clown, lady trick riders and ropers entertained and they were GOOD!   
   
In my opinion, the very easiest event for the fan to understand is barrel racing.   Three barrels to get around.   Knock any over and suffer a 5 second penalty.   And everything is electronically timed.  The lady and horse with  the fastest score wins.  

Westworld is an indoor arena with mixed artificial and natural light.   Although to the naked eye the arena looks well lit, it's a different challenge for a photographer.   Photos right out of the camera have a very decidedly orange tint.   The best white balance I found was fluorescent.  Because of the camera-weak lighting, I had to often use a very high ISO of 6400 or more.   Post processing in Lightroom, sometimes also in Luminar 4, and a few in Simplify 4. 


Next rodeo up for me is the Cave Creek Rodeo at the end of March.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Here's a slideshow of all of my photos.... ENJOY!

Turf Paradise 4 March 2020

I've photographed action at Turf Paradise many times.   This time, I wanted to use my Tamron 70-200mm lens to see how that would work out.

I stayed through three races this day.   Got a beer and two hot dogs out of the visit, too.  

The Tamron lens was on a Canon EOS R.   Post processing done with Lightroom and a few I also used Luminar 4 and Simplify 4 for a painterly look.   Sometimes I use Simplify 4 on photos that might be a wee bit out of focus.   I kind of like the end result.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Here's a slideshow of all of my photos.... ENJOY!

Lost Dutchman Rodeo 1 March 2020

February and March means rodeo season in Southern and Central Arizona.    

Sunday 1 March was the finals of the Lost Dutchman Rodeo in Apache Junction, Arizona, just a short drive east from the Phoenix metropolitan area.   The rodeo grounds are in the shadow of the Superstition Mountains and the legend that there is a fortune in lost gold nearby.

It was our first visit to this rodeo.  It's a long ride from north north Phoenix, so I was hoping it would be good.   Here's a nice surprise.  All lathered up for the sun, I find the stands are in the shade!   No complaints here.   

And what I've come to expect from rodeos, the friendliest people around!   And, of course, very patriotic.

Most of the rodeos I've photographed have one ladies event, barrel racing.  At the Lost Dutchman Rodeo, add to that ladies breakaway (the rope breaks off as soon as its roped) calf roping.   I haven't seen that event in many years.  Now I hear our Cave Creek Rodeo at the end of March will have two events for the women, too.

Next rodeo up in the area is the Parada del Sol Scottsdale Rodeo, then the Cave Creek Rodeo.

All images captured with a Canon EOS R and Tamron 100-400mm lens.  Post production in Lightroom and a few paintings produced with Simplify 4.   

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Here's a slideshow of all of my photos.... ENJOY!