Join us for our annual summer Botanical Beach excursion!  When the tide at Botanical Beach drops below 4ft, another world, rarely seen, opens up for the photographer. Here in the intertidal zone, you will explore tide pools teeming with sea life - snails, chitons, sea anemones, sea urchins, and starfish. As you walk along the beach keep your eyes peeled for geologically interesting shale ridges. If you are lucky you may see large aquatic mammals passing by in the ocean. While Botanical Beach provides ample opportunities to capture loads of nature photographs, this field trip will be of interest to creative photographers searching for interesting backgrounds and black and while photographers who are hoping to capture abstract images. Bring along a wide angle, macro, and long lenses as there is a nearly infinite number of possibilities for image capture on this trip. A polarizing filter will be especially helpful if you wish to try to capture images through water and into the pools. A polarizer will also cut glare on shallow ponds left on rocks by the receding tide. As always, a tripod will be invaluable particularly if you are attempting to shoot macro and low light shots. We will meet at the Helmecken Road Park and Ride at 8:00 am on June 22nd. As always, carpooling can be arranged from the park and ride. Following the two hour drive to Botanical Beach, we will meet again in the parking lot to begin our 15-minute walk to the beach.  Peak low tide is at 11:08 am at 2.3ft, so we'll have a few hours on either side of that.  We plan to go to the Pub for Lunch in Port Renfrew around 1:30pm, it's up to you if you wish to partake or not.  Bring your own pack lunch if you prefer to stay and shoot longer.   We recommend bringing lots of snacks and water, to keep you going for the day.  Dress for hiking, with sturdy hiking boots and a light jacket or removable layers as it may be cooler out near Port Renfrew. Your Group Leader is our delightful club president, Teri