Into the sun

It’s very unusual for me to post a black and white photo, but the afternoon clouds two days ago made me think of taking a shot or two in black and white. I think the sun’s rays show up just a tiny bit better when not in colour.

Two days ago, on 10 July 2014, I checked the weather forecast before dashing down to the Frank Lake area, SE of the city. Pretty much a spur of the moment thing. The temperature had gone down a few degrees from the unbearably hot day before, and the sun was shining. On the Weather Network, I discovered that there was a weather Alert in effect, possibly huge hailstones and also the possibility of a tornado. Thinking I might get a chance to see some interesting clouds, I decided that I would still go.

My destination was Frank Lake and the surrounding area, where I bumped into friend, Greg Wagner, who is extremely knowledgeable about the area and its wildlife, and does an amazing job of recording all his sightings. I saw Eared Grebes with their young ones (quite big now), a few White-faced Ibis and Black-crowned Night Herons (no photos). Did manage to get a few shots of a Sora (thanks for telling me to watch out for them, Greg!). After I'd finished at the blind, Greg took me to various spots around the lake, pointing out places where he had seen interesting things, hoping that they might still be there for me to see. Thanks so much, Greg - I enjoyed this and really appreciated it!

One of these was a Western Kingbird - our more common Kingbird is the Eastern, so I was very happy to see a Western. We also passed by a male Great Horned Owl, who was perched on one of the huge pylons (posted yesterday). He and his family seem to be doing well. I used Picmonkey to "frost" the edges of the owl photo, to soften the harsh metal of the pylon. The photo (posted yesterday) was quickly taken from inside the car, using 48x zoom and then cropped. Of course, more natural surroundings would have been nicer, but this family of owls likes to use this pylon : )

The clouds were building up as the hours went by and it did rain just a little when I was driving home. Fortunately, no hail or tornado! The sky looked so dramatic in person, so I was a little disappointed with how my photos turned out. Good enough, though, to remind me of a most enjoyable few hours SE of the city.