Visit to the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium 23 May 2021

Canon and Tempe Camera sponsored a visit to the Wildlife World Zoo in late May in Litchfield Park, Arizona.  So there were many photographers on the premises.   They were loaning lenses but I thought I'd be ok with the Tamron 100-400mm lens on my Canon EOS R6.

Outside, I was on ISO 100 and daylight white balance.  I was also on aperture priority.

Once I got inside the aquarium, I wondered how I was going to do it with the Tamron 100-400mm lens.   I opened up the aperture and set the ISO to auto.  Some of the aquarium images were outrageously high, as high at 50,000 and 102,400!   It would take some post processing to eliminate or control noise.

Back home, I edited mostly with Lightroom.

Sometimes I also use Luminar AI   But I think something new I tried really helped me with the noise issues.   Before editing, I took all the raw files and "enhanced" in Adobe Camera Raw.  Then I took those raw files and put them through the new DxO PureRaw.  If images showed some noise, the last resort was Topaz deNoise.  And, deNoise saved many of my images I captured from the aquarium.

What I should have done was bring a second lens, perhaps the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 or the Canon 100mm macro lens.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below to see all the images I captured from  the zoo….

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Images from the Front Yard

I spent a few early mornings in my front yard capturing images of bees, flowers, and (finally!) hummingbirds with my Canon EOS R6 and Canon 24-240 and Tamron 100-400mm lenses.

See the bee on the left?  He has a green tint and that came from the very green Brazilian Pepper Tree to his right.

Only one morning was I lucky enough to get images of hummingbirds.   Then in post processing, I had to go in and clean up the images in Photoshop.   I also used Lightroom and Luminar ai.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below to see all the images I captured from my front yard in north Phoenix…

Friday Night at the Buffalo Chip in Cave Creek

Friday night and Cave Creek, especially the Buffalo Chip, is OPEN!   

It's time to enjoy some bull riding with hundreds of my closest unmasked friends.

Sadly, the "Chip" sold out of VIP tickets, but I hear that is common.   So a bunch of us sat in the bleachers.   Still saw some find action.   

The photo on the right:  a little cowboy pulling up his britches like the big cowboys.  

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below to see all the images from the bull riding at the Buffalo Chip in Cave Creek, Arizona…

Arizona Gunfighters Visit Cave Creek Arizona

The Arizona Gunfighters came back to Cave Creek with their real show (not a rehearsal like a few weeks earlier).

They re-enacted famous gunfights from Dodge City and of course Tombstone and the OK Corral.

I captured all images with the Canon EOS R6 and the Tamron 70-200mm lens.   If I had to do it over again, I would have used the Tamron 24-70 since I was able to get closer than I thought. 

Post processing in Lightroom and Photoshop and a few also with Luminar ai.   

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below to see all the images from the Arizona Gunfighters in Cave Creek, Arizona…

CAF Visits Deer Valley Airport 18 April 2021

The Commemorative Air Force brought a few warbirds with them in their visit to Deer Valley Airport in north Phoenix this past weekend.

The CAF is a non profit group that restores and flies vintage aircraft from the World War II era.

They brought along a few bombers and a training plane and I had a chance to capture some images.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below to see all the images from the CAF's visit to Deer Valley Airport.....

Barrel Racing in Wickenburg's Rancho Rio 15 April 2021

I've photographed team roping at Rancho Rio in the past, so I was familiar with the arena.   A great ride of less than an hour from my Phoenix home.   

Barrel racing is one of the main events the ladies participate in at rodeos.   They bring a lot of passion and skill to the sport.

The town of Wickenburg is just a bit up the way from Rancho Rio.  It has a very welcoming western flavor.   And, the area is somewhat cooler than Phoenix.  I checked the weather and the high in Phoenix on the 15th wa 81 and the high in Wickenburg was 77.  

Enjoy the views around barrel racing this day!

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below to see all the images from team roping from Wickenburg....

Team Roping in Wickenburg Arizona

It was a beautiful Saturday 20 March 2021 in Wickenburg, Arizona, home of team roping.

Team ropers came out in numbers chasing some real money in the event.   

It was wall-to-wall horses, calves, cowboys, and cowgirls.  And they made enough room for me to capture it all.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below of Leo to see all the images from team roping from Wickenburg....

Bonus Photos....  I noticed a sunflower growing in my front yard.   

Bull Riding at the Buffalo Chip 10 March 2021

The Buffalo Chip in Cave Creek Arizona has opened up bull riding again but just on Wednesday nights.   It was a lovely night 10 March to enjoy bull riding and the company of others wanting a good time, too.   And I've found the best perch for me is the VIP section.

Of course, the sport of bull riding and all the participants and fans are patriotic, so it did not begin until the flag and national anthem were played, as it should be.

Although there were quite a number of riders, not one went the mandatory eight seconds.  

To the left is my favorite image of the night.  That will tell you how close we were to the action in the VIP section.  

Bull riding is a dangerous sport.  Although I think the cowboy hat looks nice, the helmet helps protect a rider's head better.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below to see all the images from the Buffalo Chip's Bull riding....

Wildlife World Zoo and Arrowhead CC Egrets

Waay out on the west side of the Phoenix area valley in Litchfield Park is Wildlife World Zoo.  There's also an aquarium there.  So photographing would be a challenge.   The aquarium was of course much darker than outside where the animals lived.  

 

I captured images with the Canon EOS R6 and Canon RF 24-240.   When in the aquarium, I wished I had the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 with me.   And there were times out in the zoo I wished I had more reach like the Tamron 100-400mm lens.   

Then again, I wasn't interested in lugging around all that heavy equipment.

One chief challenge is photographing animals through fencing.  If you can get close enough to the fence, you can focus through it.   Sometimes it just plain doesn't work.  

It's a pretty large park with lots of walking.   I'd advise going at 9am before it gets crowded.

The next day, I went to Arrowhead Country Club in Glendale to see if I could photograph the egrets that live around the pond at the golf course.   

I chose Monday since most everything at the club is shut down on that day.   I captured images with the Canon EOS R6 and the Tamron 150-600mm.  Some of the earlier shots were combined with the Tamron 2x extender, making my effective reach of 1200mm.

My camera set up is difficult to hand hold.   I found even with the new image stabilization feature in the lens and body it was still difficult to get good shots.  I should have brought my monopod.  

The solution was to go to the second floor of the clubhouse where I could set my camera on the hand rail.   And it worked.

Until My Next Adventure,

See you on down the road,

Jim Patterson

Click the photo below to see all the images from Wildlife World Zoo...

Click the photo below to see all the images of the egrets of Arrowhead Country Club in Glendale....