The Duck At Papago Park

My wife and I have not been home for a weekend since before Thanksgiving until this weekend. I am not complaining as we have had short weekend get aways to celebrate a first birthday for our granddaughter in Los Angeles, a wedding in San Jose and then our nieces graduation in San Diego for her Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy (two of her internships over the last year and a half were here in the Phoenix area where we were thrilled to house her both times) and next weekend finds us in Seattle for Christmas with the following one in Los Angeles for New Years. I share all of this (yes I am headed somewhere…) as to why it was that we found ourselves in the ever popular shopping malls and stores this past weekend doing our last minute Christmas shopping. This is not to say that Amazon has not received it’s fair share of our purchases, but there are those items you need to actually pick up or find. Having survived the masses, my mind went to a peaceful quiet place as we wound down Sunday night. The result is the attached photos.

Papago Park in Phoenix is nestled between the Desert Botanical Garden and The Phoenix Zoo. It has ponds and hiking trails and is very “quiet and peaceful”. Key point!! I was looking for a beautiful peaceful snow scene, but since I couldn’t find one (yes I have been living in warm climates for many years now), so I settled on this to represent a reprieve from the last minute hustle and bustle of the season. So back to the ponds. The ponds are home to many birds, but as the fall and winter migration occurs, it has a resident that calls the ponds home year ’round, the Mallard Duck. Both shots are the same duck, who appears not to have a concern in the world. So I give you my visual of a little peace and quiet during this busy season!!

The Duck On The Pond At Papago Park

The Duck Between The Reeds And The Rocks

Thoughts?

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A Pond At Papago Park – Excerpts From a Photo Shoot

A couple of weeks ago, my oldest daughter called and asked if I would be interested in doing a photo shoot with her during the sunrise in Papago Park. I have been around the area of the park, but never directly in it. The park is situated next to the Phoenix Zoo and the Desert Botanical Gardens. Never being one to pass on a chance for a photo shoot in a new place, especially with my daughter, I was more than willing to get up uber early to make the hour drive to the park. For my daughter, it was an opportunity to pick my brain on lighting, shutter speeds, aperture settings, etc., to capitalize on the unique lighting from a rising sun in a beautiful desert setting. She has a great eye and came up with some really creative shots and I thoroughly enjoyed our time together.

For me, I fell in love with one of the ponds in the park. The golden hue of the rising sun reflecting off of mirrored water created some really nice shots. I have attached seven of my favorite ones from around the pond.

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The first and second captures give you a perspective of the pond.

Papago Pond 1

Papago Pond 2

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The third shot focuses on the end we were standing by, which had a lot of reeds planted and loved by a number of early morning ducks.

Papago Pond 3

 

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The fourth shot was the area where we were standing looking back towards some red rocks near the Desert Botanical Gardens. I wasn’t kidding when I said there were some reeds planted.

Papago Pond 4

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Photo number five gives you a perspective of the angle of the climbing sun (notice the steep angles of the shadows) and a duck swimming through a shadow of a park light pole (look closely in the lower left for the duck).

Papago Pond 5

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In photo number six, I was able to capture a duck facing the sunlight and…

capture number seven zooms in on him….I loved the reflective quality of the water and the lighting of the duck.

Papago Pond 7

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…thoughts?

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Saturday Morning In The Park – Excerpts From A Photo Shoot

In our community, we have two lakes that are the focal point for a lot of social activities. Around the lakes, it is a park setting with a continuous wide sidewalk that always has walkers and joggers enjoying the fresh air and outdoors. The lakes are not physically connected, but sit right by each other. The sidewalk connects them for all of us to easily go between the two. They are called North Lake and South Lake. I love the creativity in the names (yes, sarcasm) and frankly would argue that they aren’t really lakes, but large ponds. It is 2.5 miles around both of them, so we are talking “large ponds”. Both are man made and serve more than just aesthetic beauty. They actually hold recycled water that is used throughout the community to water the vegetation. You must remember, this is Arizona and we are in a desert, but we have learned early on, how to utilize water wisely. And with that said, since it is Arizona and we’ll take what we can get in water…the term Lakes works.

I decided to get up early last Saturday morning and take a walk around the two lakes. I’ve attached six shots from my morning adventure.

Saturday Morning In The Park 1

The first shot is at the end of North Lake where there is an open-air amphitheater in the lawn stepping down to the lake with the water fountains as backdrops. Throughout the year concerts are held here representing a variety of music. Notice the early morning couple walking their dog. As I said earlier, the sidewalk and the lamppost go the full 2.5 miles around the lakes with sidewalk connectors into various neighborhoods.

Saturday Morning In The Park 2

The second shot is from South Lake looking back east towards the Estrella Mountains as a backdrop. If you look real close along the sidewalk, you’ll see a parent pushing a stroller coming out from under the Palm trees and to the far left, a gentleman sitting on a park bench.

Saturday Morning In The Park 3

The third shot shows the end of South Lake, where there is a large park hosting tennis courts, picnic pavilions, playground equipment and a boat ramp for very small boats.

Saturday Morning In The Park 4

The fourth shot shows the sidewalk as it winds its way through the picnic pavilions.

Saturday Morning In The Park 5

The fifth shot takes us back over to North Lake, where there is a clubhouse hosting a swimming pool and water features that help beat the heat for all ages from young kids up to….well, let’s just say people my age and older.

Saturday Morning In The Park 6

The last shot is the dock, which sits close to the clubhouse. From here you can get kayaks, paddle-boards and small sailboats to go out on the water.

Our heat hasn’t gotten too intense yet, so as the day progressed, so did the activity around the lakes. As a side note, I mentioned the lampposts that go along the sidewalk around both lakes…summer nights are a great time to also take the walk as it is well lit, the temperature is more tolerable and the lights reflecting off the water …beautiful. I feel another photo shoot opportunity! Thoughts?

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