PBS at ASDM

On Friday April 6th, 2012 the Arizona Illustrated crew from PBS was out to do a story on the Raptor Free Flight program at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. Frank and I were fortunate enough to be in the crowd for the "show". They setup cameras in the desert, in the trees and in the crowd to capture every aspect of the event. Here are a few images of the crew at work. Click on the pictures for a slideshow and larger view.

A Day at the Museum

I don't get out much these days - chemo leaves me tired and a little weak but yesterday I went to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum with my Nephew Bryan and Brother-in-law Daniel. I brought my new Canon EOS 1D Mark IV (well not new - but new to me. I bought it from my good friend Michelle who sold it to me for a great price.) Man this thing is fast - at 10 frames per second you can burn through a 16 Gig memory card pretty quick. I think I took over 2500 images during the 5.5 hours we were there (yeah - and only about 100 were worth keeping or not duplicates - typical of my imaging success rate :-)).

My friend and "student" Frank meet us there and based on what he has posted on FB - kicked my arse. The student is now the Master - time for him to leave the nest.

Anyway here are a few of my efforts with the new camera. Most were taken with the 400mm F/2.8 monster - I was unfamiliar with the camera controls and therefore the images are not of my usual caliber. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. :-)

From across the pond

It always nice to have visitors from across the Pond here in AZ. We were lucky enough to have a great couple from England spend a few days letting us drag them around the desert.

Carmen and Andy - two intrepid travelers - spent two weeks touring Arches national Monument, Canyon Lands, The Grand Canyon, Sedona, Monument Valley and even (brave souls) Death Valley, before coming to see the Sonoran Desert. They had wonderful stories about their adventures and I love the way Brits speak - such an classy and elegant tone.

Andy being a fellow photographer was great to work with in the wilds of the Desert Museum, Titan Missile Museum and San Xavier. Old haunts for me - but always interesting to visitors.

Here are a few snapshots from our desert wanderings . . .