FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (400mm, f/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO400)

Where is the best place to see desert wildlife? Not it the wild – so much is safe.

One of the best places is the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, This is a wonderful place full of desert flora and fauna.

We went there in the evening but it was still hot, still close to 40 degrees Celsius! It’s so hot and dry that they have to water the plants which are mainly cactuses. And that’s why this botanical garden is full of live because it’s an oasis in the desert.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (372.6mm, f/5.6, 1/450 sec, ISO200)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (400mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO500)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (400mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec, ISO1250)
FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (100mm, f/4.5, 1/550 sec, ISO200)

When we entered the park I spotted a road runner and quickly switched to my XF 100-400 OIS to take a picture. This was the first time I ever saw a road runner up close. I was so excited that I didn’t even check shutter speed. Just have a look at the EXIF data of the first shot. Luckily it still worked thanks to a crazy good image stabilisation of the Fuji and a very cooperative bird.

The lens stayed on my camera for the first half of the visit because I hoped to take some pictures of other wildlife too. But I was too slow or the wildlife was too fast, anyway, I got those road runner shots that I’m proud of even though it is obvious that they weren’t taken in the wild.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 (218.7mm, f/8, 1/80 sec, ISO200)