After a weather delay on our initial date, 8 members of the Camera Club assembled in Cochrane for a 90 minute drive to our first stop at Frank Lake - Basin 1 on June 19. This was our first Photo Outing since our outing to Abraham Lake in late January due to concerns for the Corona virus. In order to comply with social distancing protocols, we all travelled in separate vehicles and maintained proper social distancing during our photo walks.
Frank Lake is a 3100 acre wetland complex managed by Ducks Unlimited that provides excellent habitat for waterfowl, marsh birds, shorebirds and the wildlife. It is considered one of the most important wetlands in southern Alberta for breeding water birds. Unfortunately, the viewing blind was closed due to social distancing concerns, but the shorelines provided ample opportunity for our members to photograph a wide range of birds including; Eared Grebe, Gulls, Common Terns, White-faced Ibis, Pelicans, Yellow-headed and Red Winged Blackbirds, Ruddy Ducks, American Avocets, families of Canada Geese and many others.
After several hours of roaming the shorelines and plenty of photo opportunities, we took a lunch break and then proceeded to the ghost town of Herronton to photograph some classic prairie architecture including an old grain elevator and several vintage farm vehicles.
We ended our day in the town of Mossleigh where we photographed three more abandoned grain elevators and a large collection of old railway cars. The weather was perfect with blue skies and plenty of sunshine and a number of unique photographic perspectives were captured by the attending members. We have asked the attendees to send us 2-3 of their favourite photos from this Outing so we can post them in our Bog for all club members to enjoy.
The Outing was led by our Outing Coordinator, Dennis Gowriluk who organized this event in conjunction with our Club President, Wendi Forster. We look forward to organizing more Outings in the near future so stay tuned.