A Day At The Zoo

It was a nice morning to spend walking around The Phoenix Zoo today. I am a big zoo nut and though The Phoenix Zoo is not the best zoo around it makes do.

The animals were out in numbers for the first part today enjoying the 75-80 degree weather until close to noon time when they all faded back into the shade and out of site to keep cool.

I had been having a few issues with my Nikon 18-200VR lens so I had spent some time on it adjusting the Auto Focus Fine Tune. I thought today would be a great day to do some test shots at the zoo with it and I am very pleased with the results.

I am looking forward to the first week of June which will be in a week. I will be traveling to Blacksburg, VA to visit some friends and while I am there I will check out my five beautiful acres in Pearisburg, VA which is about a twenty minute ride south west of Blacksburg. It is nicely wooded and on the side of Angels Rest Mountain which has a great view of the valley below.

Noah

It was another hot day in Arizona today and we are on our way to a new record for the most consecutive days over one hundred for May. NICE!!!!!

My wife and I spent the first part of the day today at a birthday party for our friends son Noah who is now 1yr old.

Noah has been a great model for me over this past year and I have enjoyed seeing him grow and hope that I will be able to show his progression in life for many years to come.

Prescott

Today my wife Kelly and I decided to take a little ride up to Prescott for a short stay and some lunch.

The day was perfect up there and there seemed to be some sort of event on the lawn in front of the old court house where Billy Jack shot one of his famous scenes. I am not sure exactly what the event was about but I thought I had seen some signs about communal living.

I took this photo of one of the few park benches that just so happened to be unused. Most people had taken advantage of these benches which for the most part had been nicely shaded by the large over hanging branches which had been in the process of sprouting their new leaves for the summer.

I told myself as we started our ride back that I must get back up there very soon before the heat of the summer overtakes it.

Model Shoot

Last night I shot the cover for the May issue of www.AZModelShowcase.com and this is one of the almost 400 shots that I captured.

The models name is Kayla and she is a fairly new model who has a true heart for this and is doing I think very well.

AZ Model Showcase is an online model magazine that I launched a few months ago to help up and coming models get exposure and is becoming very popular so far.

This was also a great opportunity for me as well, helping me to continue my progression as a "professional photographer". Really it was a great opportunity for all that had been involved from Rob the studio owner at 141 Boston, Lisa from Angel Kissed Make-up, Nancy DeOrta who was the hair stylist and also Brad Armstrong who help as a technical consultant with lighting.

People have become my choice of photography from starting off as more of a nature photographer but I do still enjoy getting out there with nature.

Mesa Riverview

Yesterday I spent may day and into the evening at a commercial shoot for the Mesa Riverview Mall in of course Mesa, AZ.

Mesa Riverview is a grouping of strip malls and free standing buildings consisting of many stores and restaurants such as Bass Pro Shop, Home Depot, Office Max, Chilies and the new Toby Keith restaurant to name a few.

Though I am not a Toby Keith fan I did stop in for dinner and found the food good and the prices fair.

The cool thing about this place is the transformation that takes place from daytime to nighttime due to the layout of colorful neon and incandescent lighting that makes this place come alive.

Above is a photo of the CineMark theatre which I took towards the end of my time there and is a great spot to photography if you like to shoot available light slow shutter speed stuff.

Next time I am there I will have to remember to bring my tripod to really take advantage of the lights at even slower shutter speeds (I am always forgetting something).

Note: Remember that you can also click on any of these images on this blog which will allow you to see the photo at a larger size so feel free click away.

Pow Wow

Yesterday I decided to go to a Native American Pow Wow which is held at Arizona State University every year. For some reason I seem to miss it every year but Saturday I was checking to see what was going on in the area that day and what do you know didn't miss it this year.

It was a nice day to be outside but did get a little warm in the sun by late afternoon.

America they say is a melting pot of people from every corner of the world. I agree that it is important as people to come together in a way that we can all get a long. That we become enough alike so that there is harmony.

But I also feel it is important not to lose who you are, that is remembering where your family came from and the traditions that they brought with them.

One of the events I use to enjoy while growing up was the Italian Festival that use to go on every spring back in Westport, CT. The food, music and friends that where always part of the day still brings back memories for me.

Likewise I am sure these Native Americans felt the same way. You could see it as they took care in putting on all of the different clothing, jewelry and other things that represented them as a people and as a tribe.

There was pride in what they were doing, and I would say they enjoyed what they were doing very much as well as enjoying those who were not part of thier people but who looked on learning about someone who was a little different than them.

I hope I can make it again next year.