Opening Day at Country Thunder Arizona

The Main Stage!

I've always been interested in concert photography.  I've done some shots in the past of country bands and really enjoyed it.  What kind of photographer am I?  What do I love photographing?  These are important questions really.  I do what I love.  I love country music.  I love photography.  A nice match.  I don't have any feeling for loud rock music or rap, so I won't photograph that.  I also like horses, cowboys, cowgirls, and rodeos.  So I photograph them too!  

Old Pals Jim Brady and Faron Hall in the VIP Section!

Before Country Thunder, I would just go and shoot... but I did something smart at the 2014 Photoshop World.  I took the Alan Hess/Scott Diussa Real World Concert Photography workshop.  It really helped me photographing the opening day at Country Thunder.  

First off, I'm a former newsman/broadcaster, so I'm used to how they treat media and the need to get a media pass.  I was able to secure a media pass, so I could get up nice and close to the acts.  As Alan said, you have to ask.  Worst that can happen is you get turned down.  I asked and got one!

Use burst mode on your camera.  I found that was good advice.  Burst mode ensures one of the photos will be sharp and the performers eyes will be open.  

Open up the aperture.. as low a number as the lens will allow.  Lighting is weird at these concerts, so I also started with ISO800 and as it got darker outside, I switched to ISO1600.  My Canon 5D Mark III can handle the higher ISO without much grain or noise.  I found the Canon 70-200 lens was my workhorse.  I also used the 24mm setting for some wider "establishing" shots from my Canon 24-105mm.  

As for my goals, I wanted to focus on the opening acts, the up and coming performers.  The headliners like Brett Eldredge, Blake Shelton, and Luke Bryan are what everybody goes for.  These are the acts where photographers are told the limitations:  maybe you get to photograph two or three songs and that's it.  Or, in the case of Blake Shelton, none at all.  The artists I photographed had no limitations on how many I took.  Frankly, I want to photograph the hungry ones, the soon-to-be-stars so I can show them what I can do.  Who knows?  Maybe I will impress the artist or their publicity people and get them again when they hit it big!  By the way, I had another commitment on Friday night, so I missed my all time favorites BIG & RICH!!!  This was the duo that got me interested in country music in the first place.  

Little Girl Gonna Get an Autograph from Clare Dunn!

I also looked behind me at the fans.  By the way, another reason I like to photograph country artists?  The fans are the nicest in the world.  Just like the performers.  

Happy Country Thunder Fans

I photographed Old Dominion.... 

Old Dominion

The amazing Clare Dunn... pressure is on with her because I found she just doesn't take a bad photo!  I hope you agree.

Clare Dunn

American Longspurs...

American Longspurs

and






The Railers... a group from Arizona!

The Railers

A special thanks to KMLE Country Radio (my favorite station!) in Phoenix for being the major sponsor and Caitlin DeForest, Publicity and Events Manager for Webster Public Relations, for helping me with the media and parking passes!  

Until My Next Adventure, 

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

* Look for my soon-to-be published photobook on the Cancer Society's Relay for Life.  Sales to benefit the Cancer Society!

Here are all of my photos from opening day at Country Thunder Arizona.  

Cave Creek Rodeo Finals 29 March 2015

The Future of Rodeo!

I was happy to photograph yet another Cave Creek (Arizona) Rodeo finals.  This is one of the top five best small professional rodeos in the United States.  Every seat is a good one.  I like sitting at the very top row.  That way, nobody complains when I stand to take a photo.  I sat “center stage” high enough to give me a great vantage point. 

Leon Coffee, Rodeo Clown... and he was GOOD!

One of the Compton Cowboys

A movie crew was in town to film “Fire on the Hill: The Compton Cowboys” about some hard charging cowboys (Ghuan, Chris, and Calvin) from Compton, California, not really known for being a hotbed of rodeo talent.  But those fellows competed.  This is an interesting story so make sure you check out the link above.  I wish the film project well!

The other story line was the rodeo clown, Luke "Leon" Coffee, a Hall of Fame inductee, actor, and Vietnam veteran.  He was funny, too!

Rick and Callista

Of course we think of the cowboy and cowgirl athletes at these events.  But let’s not forget the animal athletes!  This years stock, like the last few years, supplied by the Cervi Brothers. 

And this year, I brought two rodeo newbies with me, Arizona Wildcat softball great Callista Balko and her fiancé Wildcat football great Rick Elmore.  I think they both know what great athletes compete in rodeos.  These folks often haul their animals with them, pay the entrance fee, and if they make one mistake or have an animal not compete, they are out of the money and have to move on to the next rodeo.  Also note that only the bull riders seem to wear helmets.  This is a dangerous sport. 

Barrel Racing... the ladies turn!

I shot with my Canon 5D Mark III and this time with one lens, the Canon 70-300mm.  I found where I was sitting I could pretty much stay at 200mm.  I shot mostly f/16 at ISO400, AI Servo/fast continuous.  I ended up with nearly 500 photos but you will see just a portion of that. 

Thrown from the Bull... a dangerous sport

I do hope you enjoy… Next up for me is shooting the North Valley Relay for Life located on the Paradise Valley Community College campus on April 10th.


Until My Next Adventure,


See You On Down The Road!


Jim Patterson





Here are all the photos from the Cave Creek Rodeo!

Camel and Ostrich Racing at Turf Paradise

Every year Turf Paradise in Phoenix offers up camel and ostrich racing, this time between races six and seven.  Oh yes, there was horse racing too. 

Eric Wilson from Indianapolis

While shooting near the paddock area where the horses and jockeys come out, I talked with a nice fellow with a camera.  He is Eric Wilson from Indianapolis, who was in town on vacation.  Eric told me he primarily photographed weddings and portraits so he wanted to know what type of settings worked best at the racetrack. 

Great question!  It made me stop and think what settings I prefer when photographing at Turf Paradise. 

I use a Canon 5D Mark III and my lens of choice today was the Canon 70-300mm.  I brought along the Tamron 1.4x extender, which I ended up not using very much.  The 300mm was reach enough.  My normal perch is in the upper deck, in the shade (it was hot and sunny). 

I tended to shoot wide-open f/2.8 or so, ISO 100, and 1/1000 of a second shutter speed to freeze the action.  On a few of the shots I used MacPhun’s Focus2Pro (to add bokeh or out of focus to some elements) and SnapHeal Pro (to get rid of extraneous objects in the photo).  On a few other photos I used both Photomatrix Pro and Google’s HDR Efex program.  I will tell you sometimes when I’m not all that happy with a shot, I apply some HDR toning to see if I can save it!

Next up for me is shooting the Cave Creek Rodeo again, then the North Valley Relay for Life located on the Paradise Valley Community College campus.

Until My Next Adventure, 

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

A short video clip here... 

And, here are all of my photos from Turf Paradise!



 

Photo Philanthropy at the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and Crossroads

I spent my college spring break in Santa Fe, New Mexico taking a course on photo philanthropy called “Crossroads Santa Fe: Where Photography and Philanthropy Meet.” The primary instructors were Brenda Berry and David Middleton, both from Crossroads Photographic Workshops.

This was a different type of photo workshop from the ones I’ve taken in the past.  As David said in class, this isn’t about taking the pretty picture, the calendar photo.  What it was about was working with non-profit organizations to provide great photos they could use in their promotional literature and website. 

As a college professor, I found the idea fascinating.  I teach Photoshop, among other business and i.t. classes.  I could teach Photoshop as a boring cookbook “do steps one to seven” class, but I think it is more fun for the students to be able to apply what we are learning to their own work.  I’ve thought we could find non-profits locally, allowing students to improve their Photoshop and photography skills, and doing good for non-profits!  I’ve already done some unofficial work locally with the Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and the local Horses Help.  At Paradise Valley Community College, we call it service learning. 

What did I learn in the workshop that I can share with students?  Many non-profits have no money for promotion or professional photography.  Most would be overjoyed to have photos taken and contributed to them.  In addition to the Relay for Life and Horses Help, I’m sure I could contact United Way to find even more non-profits who would love to have photos. 

You rarely if ever get paid doing this kind of work.  The payoff is in doing good with your camera and having a chance to hone your skills.  Who knows?  If you do a good job, you could get a recommendation for a paying gig!  Plus, here’s another one I hadn’t thought of:  you can get a tax deduction for “in kind services.”  Every 501c3 non-profit can write you a receipt for your work. 

Once you find a non-profit, David and Brenda said you should find out what they want.  What they want in photos may not be exciting or win any awards.  For instance, a representative of Santa Fe’s Randall Davey Audubon Center and Sanctuary came to our class and mentioned how proud they were of a new handrail.  Yes, a handrail.  Well, that was important to them and their contributors, so we had to make sure we had various photos of the handrail!  We went back several days as a group to make sure we got photos of that handrail.

As a team, we came up with a shot list after hearing from the Audubon official.  We developed several “buckets” that we would fill.  Obviously, the handrail was on the list.  David and Brenda taught something they called “Visual Grammar” to tell a story.  First, the establishing shot.  It gives context to where we are at.  Secondly, is a middle ground shot where you step in a bit closer without any sky.  Third you get the details and get close up.  For instance, with the hand rail, we used a shot of a person’s hand on the handrail. 

I use a Canon 5D Mark III.  I was very glad I brought the Canon wide angle lens, the 17-40mm.  It’s a great lens for wide establishing shots outside and indoors, especially in cramped quarters.  This was quite useful inside the Randall Davey house, which is on the Audubon property.  For some portraits and middle shots, I used the Canon 24-105mm, which was my main go-to lens.  One I wish I had brought was the Canon 70-200mm to get bird shots.

The second “client” we had this week was the Nature Conservancy, located next to the Audubon center in Santa Fe.  We went through several visits and built a shot list, then filled each of the “buckets” with photos. 

What I found was to do this job right, you have to visit the site a few times.  It’s rare to get all the shots you want in one visit, especially if you have never seen the place before.  Morning light is different from afternoon light is different from sundown light. 

Next up for me is shooting the Cave Creek Rodeo again, then the North Valley Relay for Life located on the Paradise Valley Community College campus.

Until My Next Adventure, 

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

...click here for more of my photos from Santa Fe!

For more reading on "photo philanthropy:


http://crossroadsphotographicworkshops.com

http://petapixel.com/2013/04/06/brian-hampton-is-a-ceo-turned-wildlife-photographer-and-philanthropist/ 

http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/giving-something-back-with-photography-10-ways-to-get-started--photo-4897

http://inspirationfeed.com/photography/photography-for-philanthropy-ways-to-do-good-with-your-camera/

http://lightbox.time.com/2011/11/01/collect-give-photography-meets-philanthropy/#1

http://photophilanthropy.org

http://www.catchafire.org 

http://www.volunteermatch.org   

https://nppa.org/page/nonprofits-its-not-about-free-anymore





Feed Shark

Turf Paradise With the Tamron 150-600mm

7 Horse Wins and Costs Me Money 

President’s Day at Turf Paradise.  Was I there to bet on the ponies?  Drink beer and eat hot dogs?  Or, test out my new Tamron 150-600mm lens?  How about all of the above!  The betting?  I got skunked. A few beers and hot dogs and I’m happy.  Now on to the testing of the new Tamron lens.
                

Last Stretch Near Finish Line!

This lens replaced my Tamron 200-500mm.  I tried the new lens with and without a monopod.  The lens is heavy, but not so heavy you can’t use it handheld.  I tried to take most shots at at least 1/600th of a second if not somewhat faster.  Overall, I was pleased with the results.  I could have also tried using the Tamron 2x extender with this lens, but of course I’d lose two or more stops of light. The good news is I shoot with the Canon 5D Mark III and I shot at 400-800 ISO with pretty good results.  Just a few years ago, there was no way a person could shoot with this lens without a tripod, but lenses and camera’s ISO sensitivity is vastly improved.
      

Real or Plastic?

One fellow at the race track told me about two owls… “do you like to photograph birds?” He asked.. so I looked through the lens and… they were fake plastic owls.  But this guy kept at me that they were real and had moved.  I think plastic owls move the more drinks a person has.  Just a guess.  


This will show the reach of the lens at 600mm.  I never noticed the slight haze.  This was hand held, too!  

Far Side of the Track

Until My Next Adventure (rodeo, Santa Fe), 

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

...and here are all the photos from Turf Paradise!