The powers that be would like for you to know that Carseland Weir is a great place to die. No, really. Look at the Big Red Sign – it says “DROWNING MACHINE.” Hopefully, it only advises caution and doesn’t serve as an enticement to people looking to snuff themselves, as there are always some out there and they don’t need to be given new ideas.
They also like to bandy about the words “certain death” and “drowning.”
I took the hint and stayed back from the edge of the water. After all, I’m too young and pretty to die. (Snort.)
The original plan was to go somewhere that was hopefully less dangerous and more interesting. I looked up nearby trails this morning and McKinnon Flats at Bow River seemed promising. Unfortunately, the road to it was closed off. So much for that. I knew that Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park was twenty minutes away, so it became my Plan B.
The Johnson’s Island entrance to the park can be a bit sketchy. You have to drive down a steep, windy road and you can’t always see what is around the corner. It wasn’t a problem today, but I have had the odd near miss during the busy season. I drove past Johnson’s Island today and made a beeline for the weir, as I knew that was where the action would be. Hopefully, anyhow.
There is really not a lot to see at this time of year other than the weir itself. I tried to work the water and the rocks, but I wasn’t really feeling it today. The flat lighting wasn’t helping, so I turned my attention to the dam itself.
AB, 2024-04-11
AB, 2024-04-11
Today’s camera of choice was the Canon EOS 40D that arrived earlier this week. I blew out the dust, swabbed the sensor, and loaded a fresh memory card. The camera is a genuine pleasure to use, and it reminded me very much of my old EOS 7D, that I wore out. It feels good in the hand and pops out nice looking 10MP images.
I very much enjoyed using the 40D, the problem was that I ran out of subjects to shoot with it where I was. The last image I found was a tree on the way out of the park.
I am relatively certain I have photographed this tree before, but when you’re desperate…
Today’s lenses paired with the 40D were my Canon 70-300 EF IS USM f4-5.6 and my Canon 17-40mm EF L USM f4-5.6 lens. These are my go to lenses these days and I rarely leave my home without them.
