Dbacks Game and Fireworks

Inside Chase Field from Section 117, done in HDR

What could be more American on July 4th than a baseball game, hot dogs, beer, and fireworks?  And so it was at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks as they entertained the Colorado Rockies.

The photo above was my view from section 117 before the game.  This is an HDR photo, or high dynamic range.  My Canon 5D Mark III (using a Tamron 28-300mm lens) has a setting that allows for three quick photos, exposure bracketed this time at -2, 0, and +2.  Then I combined them together in Lightroom to produce the finished product.  Not bad, considering I did this hand held and not on a tripod!

 

Patrick Corbin Starts First Time Since 2013!

It was Patrick Corbin's first start for the D'backs since 2013.  He had "Tommy John" surgery which is pretty major work on a throwing arm.  He pitched 5 solid innings and ended up with the eventual win.  

 

A.J. Pollock Strokes a Hit!

During Phoenix's hot summers, the roof of the stadium is closed.  So there is mixed lighting inside.  I was shooting at 1600 ISO (fairly light sensitive) hand held.  

Following the D'backs 7 to 3 win, they opened up the stadium roof so we could see the fireworks display.

 

Chase Field Roof is Opening!

The stadium lights were turned down.  I shot the fireworks with NO tripod, which isn't the right way to do it, but they won't allow such devices inside a stadium.  So I cranked up the ISO to 12,800, opened the aperture all the way, and hoped I'd get some useable shots.  

I think I had some nice shots!

Until My Next Adventure, 

(Spain, Italy/Sicily, Malta...)

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

Here are all the keeper photos!

Riding With the Verde Canyon Railroad

Only an hour and a half from Phoenix, Clarkdale is the home of the Verde Canyon Railroad.  It’s an old fashioned railroad trip that goes through the beautiful Verde Valley in Northern Arizona. 

I thought this would be a good four hour trip on the rails to thoroughly try out my new Tamron 28-300mm “travel lens.”  This lens is what they call an “all in one” zoom, perfect for traveling.  I put it on my Canon 5D Mark III.  It’s much easier to travel with an all in one like this that is lighter than Canon lenses and fits the range of zoom that I am liable to need. 

What was a bonus was to find out that the Liberty Wildlife people show off Sonora, the bald eagle on the first Saturday of the month.  Liberty Wildlife is based in Scottsdale and specializes in rehabilitation, education, and conservation.  Sonora hurt his wing when he was young around eight years ago and is trained to travel on the railroad and show off for the passengers. 

Now, anybody that knows me knows one of my interests is in photographing for non-profit organizations!  So this truly was a treat for me.  I plan on sharing my photos with Liberty once I post them. 

I am quite pleased with my new camera lens.  The Tamron performed quite nicely on my trip.  I’m also thrilled to have some photos to share with Liberty Wildlife!

Until My Next Adventure, 

(The June San Diego West Coast School!)

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

Here are all the keeper photos!

These photos are also on Flickr.  

* Please check out my related blogs on "photo philanthropy" at 

http://thecogentcommunicator.blogspot.com/2015/04/relay-for-life-book-and-video-out.html  

http://thecogentcommunicator.blogspot.com/2015/04/relay-for-life-at-pvcc-friday-10-april.html 

http://thecogentcommunicator.blogspot.com/2015/03/photo-philanthropy-at-santa-fe.html 

http://crossroadsphotographicworkshops.com/blog/participant-spotlight-jim-patterson/ 

Cave Creek Balloon Festival May 2015

Falcon Field Fly By

The weather in the Phoenix area for late May was absolutely delicious, with a high barely reaching the 80s, a far cry from the previous five Cave Creek balloon festivals held in the middle of winter.  Now, this is the desert and sure it's warm, but the night in winter can be FREEZING!  

Lauren Riley Performs

This was the 6th annual balloon festival.  I took photos of the early fly-by from planes based at Falcon Field in Mesa, local country singer Lauren Riley, and the balloon glow.  

Lauren Riley Close Up

Photographing the performers on stage was difficult during the day as the backlighting pretty much washed out the details of the musicians.  As it got darker, my luck improved and I was able to use the stage lighting.  

And as it got dark, I had to use high ISO to capture the balloons as they were fired up by their owners.  

Balloon Light

For those interested, I used a Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 70-300mm lens.  Some of the photos were also treated with MacPhun's Noiseless Pro to eliminate noise that comes from photographing at a high ISO.  

Until My Next Adventure, 

(Sedona, With the Tamron Tailgate Tour)

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

Here are all the keeper photos from Flickr!

Relay for Life Book and Video Out

I'm done.  Finished.  The book is ready to be sold!  The photo video is uploaded to You Tube!  As a way of raising more money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, I put together a book for sale at Blurb called "Hope: North Valley Relay for Life."  

It is made up of photos from 2011 to 2015 Relays held at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix.



The book is listed at $29.99 and $7 of that will go to the North Valley Relay for Life. 

Hope: North Valley Relay for Life by James Gordon Patterson | Make Your Own Book

   

I primarily edited the photos with Adobe Lightroom.  I imported some 60-plus photos into the Blurb bookmaking program called BookWright.  The book is being sold on Blurb.  I could have sold on the Apple site or Amazon, but costs would have run higher meaning less money going to the Relay for Life.  

I created the video using a program called FotoMagico.  It allowed me to lay down a music bed and narrate the video, too.  Then I uploaded to You Tube to share with you and the world.

This is all part of the "photo philanthropy" concept... giving back with a camera.  I hope to do more of this in the future.  

Until My Next Adventure, 

(Sedona, Environmental Portraits, with the Arizona Professional Photographers Association)

See You On Down The Road!

Jim Patterson

Relay for Life at PVCC Friday 10 April 2015

The Survivors Lap

It's time for another North Valley Relay for Life at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Arizona.  This is a benefit for the Cancer Society and my fourth year photographing the event.

Young Students Show Enthusiasm

This year, it did not go overnight like the other ones had done.  It started at 4pm and ended around midnight.  

This time around, I had a specific idea in mind.  I am going to put together the best of the last four Relays for Life at PVCC and publish a photo book that you can buy to benefit the relay for life.  Stay tuned on that as I'm still putting the book together.  I can tell you it will be on the Blurb site and hopefully we can sell it to you on the Amazon site, as well.

Shoshannah Raised Money with her Dolls

I had a shot list of things that I needed for the book.  Mostly, I wanted to do some wide angle photographs.










We had some excitement around 5pm.  Seems a dust devil hit were some booths were set up, throwing the tents and paperwork high into the air.  

Dust Devil Hits Without Warning!

Everything Thrown High in the Sky!

They had an interesting contest involving trying to tear apart a frozen tee-shirt and putting it on.  This guy tried so hard to get that frozen tee on!

Trying to Tear a Frozen Tee-Shirt Apart

Here are some other shots from the 2015 Relay for Life at PVCC...

My Attempt at "Art"

Bagpiper

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!

Click HERE to see all the photos from the Relay for Life!

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.