ZooLights at the Zoo 25 November 2023

A yearly tradition in the Phoenix area is ZooLights at the Phoenix Zoo.   It's my chance to capture low light images with my Canon EOS R6 Mark II and this time using the wide angle Canon RF 14-35mm lens.  

It's truly amazing how beautiful the zoo  is at night with all of these lights.   

I even caught a jet coming in to land at nearby Sky Harbor airport.  

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

For images from my visit, click HERE

Phoenix ZooLights December 2018

22 December 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona.  It’s cool in the 50s and it looks like a perfect night to go to Phoenix ZooLights.  

I recently acquired a new Canon EOS R with the new RF 24-105mm lens and thought this would be a great way for me to get comfortable with the new camera.

It’s a smaller camera than the Canon 5D Mark IV and weighs less.  All good things for me.  I carry the camera with a Black Rapids strap and a Joby wrist strap.  

All of the photos I shot were in auto ISO, f/4, hand held.  

I set up the camera for back button focus.  The button on the back of the camera is in a slightly different place than it was on the 5D Mark IV, so that took some time to get used to.  There is a new multi-function bar on the back of the camera and I’m trying to figure out if I can use that for back button focus.  Otherwise, I’m going to turn it off.  

One additional thing I discovered is to go into the menu and turn on the econo mode to save battery power.  

The auto focus worked fast and effectively.  

All-in-all, I am quite happy with the EOS R.  

Until My Next Adventure,

See You On Down the Road!

Jim Patterson

And, all the photos!

Photoblog Addendum!

I had so much fun with my new Canon EOS R that I thought it would be a good idea to photograph the Christmas lights in my own Adobe Highlands neighborhood in Phoenix.

One thing I noticed was how easy it was to autofocus in dark conditions.  This was later confirmed by a few articles I read that said the EOS R was one of the best in autofocus when it was dark.  

The Phoenix Zoo and Models at Capture!PhotoCon in Phoenix

I was pleased to spend a long weekend with Nick, Cusi, and other photographers in Phoenix at Capture!PhotoCon from 18 to 20 May 2018.  If you've ever been to Photoshop World you'd have an idea what this conference was all about.  The one great thing for me was that it was local!  A side note:  the "photo" of the white bird in the upper left corner was processed in Lightroom and then with Topaz Simplify.

The first part of this blog will be on the pre-conference photowalk around the Phoenix Zoo with John Qoyawayma.  In the second part, I'll share my model photographs.

The Phoenix Zoo walk was done in the morning, so it's not unusual to see many of the animals sleeping.  John pointed out the need to be patient and that at any time the animals would hear the sound of a food truck and then pop to life.  

The Phoenix Zoo is a fairly large facility and we had four hours to seek out interesting animals.  To the right, you see examples of two very sleepy cats!  

In addition to the challenge of finding animals up and about, there were many frustrated photographers trying to capture images through fencing.  It is possible with a lens 300mm or longer to focus through the fencing if there is enough separation between the subject and background.  

More photos from the Phoenix Zoo are here:

During the conference, there was a number of sponsors who advertised their products.  And there were a few shooting booths where models posed.  I had the opportunity to photograph several of the models using continuous light like the Savage ring light which I fell in love with!  It produces a lovely wrap around light.  And look carefully at the models eyes.  You can see the ring light as catch light in Jami Watts eyes. 

In addition to photographing Jami, I also photographed Charles Garner, Cynamon Strong, Lindsey Lockwood, Kim Wright, and Shey Assar.

Until My Next Adventure,

See You On Down the Road!

Jim Patterson