Ken Duquaine

The Sun Lake Camera Club (SLCC) offered its members field trips in both November and December of last year. Two of our participating members were kind enough to provide a description of those trips. The first is by Tom Jones, who organized the November trip. His description of that photo shoot follows.

“Two groups of photographers from SLCC traveled to Catalina State Park in November 2022 to photograph reptiles, insects, and small animals found in the Sonoran Desert. Club members participating were Kathy Fiakas, Lynn Thompson, Donna McGregor, Tom Jones, Shelley Hughes, Ruth Massey, Norma Walsh, and Janet Ballard.

“In an indoor studio with a raised desert scene complete with lighting and flash units controlled remotely by the members’ cameras, photographers were able to capture images of different species of venomous and non-venomous snakes, a Gila monster, scorpions, desert toads, and a tiger salamander. Each group was able to photograph for four hours, and most members came away with more than 1,000 images.

“In addition to the wonderful photo opportunities, members were treated to an informative learning experience by the facility’s operator Mr. Jerry Schudda. Jerry and his fellow volunteers operate the facility and acquire the animals as rescues under a license from the Arizona Game and Fish Department.”

And the write-up of the December trip is courtesy of Burt Williams.

“One of the advantages of living in the Southwest is that this region has the highest concentration of national parks and national monuments within the United States. How does this relate to the Sun Lakes Camera Club? One of the underlying benefits of being a member of the club is the ability to participate in coordinated photo trips to these various locations. Our early December trip was to Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. Six of our members enjoyed photographing various species of birds as they migrate from north to south at this beautiful refuge. Observed during this trip were sandhill cranes, snow geese, coyotes, bald eagles, deer, Canada geese, and javelina. Another benefit is dining, post libations, and enjoying each other’s company following the photo shoot to discuss photo techniques and experiences. A few of the members also extended the experience to include the nearby White Sands National Park.

“Previous trips have taken club members to Bryce, Zion, and, of course, the Grand Canyon. Local trips have included shooting sunset at the Superstition Mountains, rodeos, Boyce Thompson area, as well as photographing the Milky Way at Picket Post Mountain.”

If you are at all interested in any of these experiences in photography, the Sun Lakes Camera Club meets on the first and third Thursdays, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., in the Navajo Room of the Sun Lakes Country Club from October through April. For more information about the SLCC and its activities, contact SLCC President Samantha (Sam) Palmatier at 902-727-0334 or [email protected], or Past President Lynn Thompson at 480-734-0040 or [email protected] and visit our website, www.sunlakescameraclub.com.