Lake Champlain - Pristine With Improving Water Quality? - Part 2

Stacy, a friendly clerk at my local post office, said, while asking how her summer was going - " It's been a great summer....except...except for the last month. We are selling our boat and putting in a swimming pool because we are fed up with the Blue Green Algae in the St. Albans Bay and Georgia Beach, where we have been boating and swimming for years. We don't want to fish in the Lake any longer, and certainly can't swim in the Lake with all the algae."

I drove the thirty miles north from Burlington to St. Albans to check the area for myself. I asked the only two  fisherman on the St. Albans Bay pier where the beaches were - "Oh, St. Albans Beach is over there, and Georgia Beach is a few miles south on the Lake Road, over there (pointing to the south). But, you can't swim....there closed"

Closed Today. Closed Yesterday. Closed Tomorrow. Closed. Closed. Closed.

St. Albans Bay water quality has been in the news a lot lately. It's problems with the Blue Green Algae will no doubt add fuel for the water quality passionates during the forum with water quality stakeholders at All Souls, Interfaith Gathering Place in October. Knowing my images are going to be on the walls at the Gathering Place, I wanted to capture the ugly algae to catch the attention of the forum participants. I decided on the image below. I have to apologize - I can't capture ugly; I am programed to look for beauty.

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Blue Green PhaseOne IQ 180 35mm 1/3 sec f11 ISO 35