A Night Out at the Phoenix Zoolights

During the holidays each year the Phoenix Zoo holds a special event called the Zoolights. This event features more than 3.6 million lights, and the zoo is setup with more than 600 unique displays. The main attraction is a large music motion show over the zoo’s lake which has a 24-foot floating sphere and dozens of lighted displays moving to the music.

This annual event is attracting more than a quarter million visitors each year. 2012 was the 21st year since the Zoolights first opened to the public, and was the third time I’ve attended. While some of the displays stay the same from year-to-year they always bring new changes to the event – and this year the motion show was played to a new song  “Wizards in Winter” by the Trans Siberian Orchestra.

Other notable displays include an enormous tree in the main plaza, covered in 30,000 blue lights, hanging animals and insects – and even a little bit of the real wildlife is out on display (Komodo dragon, flamingos, and a camel ride).

This event was the first chance I had to take some night photos with my newly picked up camera, a Sony Nex-5N. I was very impressed with the results – click an image below to see in full size.