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Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

The 2018 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.

The 2018 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec took place on September 7th on a beautiful day. The cyclists had to repeat a 12,6 km pattern across Old Quebec and the Battlefields Park sixteen times, which amounted to 201,6 km.

The circuit’s height difference from start to finish was 186 meters, for a total difference of 2976 meters. It is the Australian Michael Matthews who won the race during the final sprint.

Here are a few photos that I took with a Canon 5DSR camera. I used a Canon 14mm 2.8L ultra wide angle lens and a Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II USM telephoto lens.

The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. The cyclists are passing under the St. Jean Gate.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. The cyclists are passing under the St. Jean Gate.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. Turning on St-Louis street.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. Turning on St-Louis street.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. Turning on Côte de la Fabrique.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. Turning on Côte de la Fabrique.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. The cyclists are passing under the St. Louis Gate.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. The cyclists are passing under the St. Louis Gate.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018, in front of Place d'Armes.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018, in front of Place d’Armes.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. The car from each team is never far behind the racers.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. The car from each team is never far behind the racers.
A few official photographers at the UCI World Tour Quebec 2018.
A few official photographers at the UCI World Tour Quebec 2018.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. The winner, Michael Matthews, from the Sunweb team, raises his fist.
The Grand Prix Cycliste Québec 2018. The winner, Michael Matthews, from the Sunweb team, raises his fist.

 

Pour d’autres photos de la ville de Québec, cliquez sur les liens suivants de mon blogue :

Ville de Québec et Île d’Orléans en automne
Ville de Québec et Île d’Orléans en hiver
Ville de Québec et Île d’Orléans au printemps
Ville de Québec et Île d’Orléans en été
Categories
History of cities

Books: Histoire de Chicago (History of Chicago)

The 2016 televised political debates on CNN between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump put forward the topic of racism in the United States. Chicago was specifically mentioned as it detains the national record for violent deaths. The book “Histoire de Chicago” allows, among other subjects, to better understand what feeds social inequalities between Blacks and Whites since the creation of Chicago.

The reader understands that it is not the cultural deficiencies that are at the base of the problems but an institutionalized racism and the economic choices of the different municipal administrations.

The city grew set against a background in which the color of a person’s skin determined the type of work that he or she was allowed to occupy. Eventually, even urban planning was designed so that Blacks and Whites would be separated: the artificial walls created by the construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway or the Dearborn Park are in themselves good examples.

In 2016, the polls show a strong support for the Unites States republican candidate Donald Trump. Trump knows Chicago very well and he had his “Trump Tower” built there.

The republican candidate takes over in his political platform some of the elements that have made the popularity and success of the Daley family who ruled over Chicago for decades:  the exploitation of fear between ethnical groups to build and maintain a political power, the idea of building a wall and the use of torture as a simplistic solution to complex problems.

This populism attracts a certain class of American electors who are easily scared by the differences between people and cultures.

The book “Histoire de Chicago” is very much a reflection of what is happening today and the authors do no fear to raise delicate political subjects.

Cover of the book "Histoire de Chicago" by Andrew Diamond and Pap Ndiaye
Cover of the book “Histoire de Chicago” by Andrew Diamond and Pap Ndiaye

Chicago

Chicago became a territory of the United States with the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Subsequently, natives progressively lost their lands through different manoeuvers, among them the signature of contracts while they were drunk. Around 1830, when the Indians were definitely gone, the speculative fever started.

Railways

Starting around 1860, Chicago organized itself to become the main hub for the most important railway companies of the United States. The city grew very quickly. Passengers, livestock, cereals and other merchandise had to transit through Chicago. The city depended on the train to grow, and the railway companies depended on Chicago to be profitable.

The rapid growth of Chicago’s population was essentially the driver of migration from Europe (Irish, Germans, Polish and Italians). The evolving and often violent relationships between Chicago’s ethnic groups is well explained in the book.

Retail stores

Just before 1900, the Chicago population witnessed the creation of the first retail stores in which a customer could order through a catalogue and use credit. New categories of employees and managers were added to the working population and helped shape the middle class.

Black immigration in Chicago

Around 1910, there was an important increase in the Black immigration coming from southern United States. Chicago was an abolitionist city. This does not mean that it was favoring racial equality but that it was against slavery. In fact, Chicago progressively became the most segregated city in the United States.

Blacks were massively arriving from southern United States, not only for economic reasons but also to get away from the slavery, racial violence and segregation that was the norm in multiple states. Although far from ideal, the situation in Chicago was better than in the south of the country.

The First World War considerably reduced the number of immigrants coming from Europe. This created a serious problem for a city that was benefiting from numerous military contracts and needed a very high number of employees in its manufacturing companies. This also favored the “great migration”, which is to say “the spectacular intensification of the Afro-American migration towards the North-East and Middle West major urban centers […]” (p.143)

Chicago’s slaughterhouses

Chicago was renowned for the very high number of its slaughterhouses, in particular its pork slaughterhouses. The smell and pollution created by this activity was terrible. Chemical laboratories allowed for the commercial use of all parts of an animal. The writer Georges Duhamel wrote in his book that in Chicago “nothing leaves the slaughterhouse but the squeal” (p.63).

Black workers did not have the right to work in the Chicago steel industry and had to limit themselves to slaughterhouses where they were hired as manual workers. They had no access to qualified jobs.

The Second World War

During the Second World War, Chicago was competing with other major American cities to obtain huge military contracts. The city did not manage its efforts to show it supported the American government. Chicago eventually received billions of dollars for the construction of tanks, tractors, torpedoes, bombs and aircrafts (among them the B-29 bomber aircraft).

To compensate for the lack of manpower, since a lot of men enrolled as volunteers and had gone to war, women massively entered the workforce. Employers saw an opportunity to maximize their profits by reducing the salaries of working women, which corresponded only to 65% of the men’s salary for the same work. This represents the way women were thanked for their effort and collaboration.

Transformation of the Chicago economy

A United Airlines Boeing B747 is taxiing over the expressway at the Chicago O'Hare international airport (on aviation postcard)
A United Airlines Boeing B747 is taxiing over the expressway at the Chicago O’Hare international airport (on aviation postcard)

Chicago experienced a profound transformation during the ‘70 s. The closure of the slaughterhouses in 1971, and the diminishing demand for steel mills products signalled the end of the industrial era. It was followed by an opening on the international and the development of a new economy based on specialized services like finance, real estate, insurance, marketing, publicity and legal services.

The Chicago mayor, Richard M. Daley, fostered the establishment of a new socio-professional class of creators in the city (design, arts, music, etc.) by considering it like another “ethnic group” who needed privileged space to express itself.

The development of housing estates and complexes during the ‘60s and ‘70 s

During the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Chicago landscape was profoundly modified. Huge housing estates and complexes were built (Magnificent Mile, Sandburgh Village, Marina City, Lake Point Tower, Dearborn Park) where the White population lived, in the north part of the city. The Chicago Tribune said of Dearborn Park that it was “a fortress reserved for Whites and aimed at protecting the financial district against the Blacks”.

The Daley administration had to fight against urban sprawling and consequently favored the construction of skyscrapers to maintain the presence of Whites in the central area while receiving more property taxes.  Two stock exchange institutions were created, the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The creation of those two institutions as well as of the complexes did not do anything to change the dynamic between the Whites and the Blacks.

The racial segregation

Although Martin Luther King was a dominant figure in the fight for the civil rights of the Blacks in the United States, the authors underline that the black population of Chicago had not waited for a leader to promote their rights as they had already started to mobilize themselves years before.

Martin Luther King’s ideas on the integration of Blacks did not receive the support of everyone in the black community, especially the Chicago black politicians who benefited from a special treatment from the Daley machine, which favored the status quo.

Chicago’s mayor Richard M. Daley experienced much success. To stay in power, the Daley Machinerested squarely on the continued separation and competition between communities”. (p.322-323) The separation between Blacks and Whites was planned and maintained. There was and there are still two Chicagos.

A highway, the Dan Ryan Expressway, was even positioned in such a way that it would create an artificial wall between the Daley’ s district, Bridgeport and the Black Belt: “This was the most massive obstacle that the city could build, other than a wall, to separate the white South Side from the Black Belt (p.259).

The Daley Machine

We cannot talk about Chicago without underlining the importance of the Daley family and its political machine: “Through an authoritarian control of the “machine”, Richard J. Daley and his son Richard M. Daley, each one in his own style, dominated the Chicago political scene for forty-three years, between 1955 and 2011.

                During that period which saw the development and the subsequent decline of modern civil rights, the ghettoization of huge parts of the West Side and South Side, a massive immigration wave from Latin America and the transformation of the city from an industrial giant to a world-class global services economy center, Chicago barely knew one legitimate municipal election or one real debate at the municipal council” (p.16)

There was rampant corruption and secret budgets in the Daley administration. In total opaqueness, the City Hall diverted the funds reserved to disadvantaged neighbourhood and distributed it to the privileged ones.

“[…] While important businessmen, Mafiosi and others who had links with the Daley machine were getting richer, Blacks and Latinos in need were shot in the street or tortured in the precinct’s’ back rooms(p.394)

Law firms and entrepreneurs gave huge sums of money in exchange for important contracts. The Daley Machine was never short of money.

Beechcraft N35 Bonanza N545T in flight during the years when the Daley family was reigning over Chicago (on aviation postcard)
Beechcraft N35 Bonanza N545T in flight during the years when the Daley family was reigning over Chicago (on aviation postcard)

Racial tensions and repression policies under Mayor Daley

By the 1930s, Chicago had become, according to the historian Frank Donner “the national capital for police repression” (p.321)

The black migration that took place during the 1940s and 1950s scared the Chicago population that felt besieged. This increased racial tensions that were already present and maintained. It was easier to accept more policemen than social housing.

The muscled tactics of Mayor Daley were the most obvious during the 1968 Democrat Convention, when policemen and 7000 National Guard soldiers “went down hard on the [crowd of 10,000 young protesters] in an explosion of mindless violence” (p.315)

The exploitation of racial fears was quite successful. Daley was defending his policies by saying that “ most people are more worried about a black uproar than of a mayor that orders the use of lethal force to put an end to it and they recognized themselves far less in pacific protesters than in policemen that hit them with truncheons” (p.319).

Media propaganda and the Daley Machine’s police were efficient in convincing the Blacks to respect the established order. Torture was common in the zone 2’s precinct, in the South Side, between 1972 and 1991.

The expected arrival of a new black mayor, Harold Washington, during the 1980’s, increased the fear that everything would change in Chicago. Everything was done to undermine Washington’s candidacy, but he eventually won helped by the black vote.

There were several left-wing political movements which all had their own objectives and were unable to unite under the same progressist banner. This provided the necessary margin of manoeuver to the Daley Machine, who worked in cooperation with the federal authorities to organize the state repression.

Back cover of the book "Histoire de Chicago"
Back cover of the book “Histoire de Chicago”

Social problems in disadvantaged neighbourhoods

During the 1995 heat wave, 739 persons died in Chicago. The social precarity helped increase the number of deaths, but it was easier to determine that the victims were responsible of their fate.

The Blacks and Latinos believed, and still do, that the problems related to their school system and neighbourhoods come from some cultural deficiencies, but in trying to understand the real nature of their problems, they overlook the ongoing racism and economic choices of the different city administrations since the creation of the city.

The 1980 census showed that ten out of sixteen of the poorest neighbourhoods in United States were in Chicago, in the Black Belt, of course”(p.334)

In 2002, Chicago was the American murder capital, with 647 victims. In 2008-2009, the city held the record of students killed in public schools which were gang related.

Today, there are two Chicagos

Today, Chicago benefits from well-defined ethnic neighbourhoods that attract tourists in search of diversity. However, the sustained racial segregation policies have isolated the black neighbourhoods and in 2016 Chicago still has the sad reputation of being the murder capital of the United States.

The Chicago situation looks more and more like a science-fiction scenario. While part of the city has an economic capacity that sets it among the five first in the world, the other part is frozen in an austerity situation that could very well become irreversible” (p.443)

Title: Histoire de Chicago

Authors: Andrew Diamond and Pap Ndiaye

Editions: Fayard

© 2013

ISBN: 978-2-213-64255-0

Categories
Photos of Europe

Photography in Europe: Gruyères and the Moléson in Switzerland

Gruyères and the Moleson in the background, Switzerland 2013
Gruyères and the Moleson in the background, Switzerland 2013

The city of Gruyères is located in the Prealps, in the Friburg County in Switzerland. It is a very charming small medieval town where cars are forbidden (the white van shown in the picture above is only used for morning delivery). In the city, one can visit the Gruyères Castle (Château de Gruyères), the H.R.Giger Museum (creator of the “Alien” in the movie Alien), the Tibet Museum, a cheese factory and boutiques. There are also some restaurants.

In the picture above, shot with a Canon 5D MKII, it is possible to see the Moléson in the background, a mountain that rises only 512 metres above the surrounding terrain but is still at more than 2000 meters above sea level. It is a tourist attraction that should not be neglected since it is very well equipped for all types of visitors, with a funicular and cable car. The visitors also have access to very interesting walking paths, for all ages and experiences.

Moleson cable car, in the Gruyeres region, Switzerland 2013
Moleson cable car, in the Gruyeres region, Switzerland 2013

When you use a cable car and do not see where it is leading due to the presence of clouds, you have to trust human engineering. But we are in Switzerland, so it should be all right!

The Moleson cable car, Switzerland 2013
The Moleson cable car, Switzerland 2013

The Moléson summit offers superb views. The small cumuliform clouds visible in the morning around the mountain progressively lift up due to daytime heating and eventually become beautiful cumulus clouds that add life to any pictures.

Moleson summit in the clouds, Switzerland 2013
Moleson summit in the clouds, Switzerland 2013

Once on top of the Moléson, it is possible to use a modern metal stairway to gain even more height and access a platform allowing an unobstructed panoramic view. The picture above was taken with a Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8L II USM wide-angle zoom lens equipped with a polarizing filter.

Metal stairs leading to an observation post on top of the Moleson, Gruyeres region, Switzerland 2013
Metal stairs leading to an observation post on top of the Moleson, Gruyeres region, Switzerland 2013

When ready to go down the mountain, the visitor has two choices: travel with the cable car and funicular he used when coming up, or slowly walk along an easily accessible path through beautiful green landscapes. The more experienced trekkers might decide to walk along the crests of surrounding mountains. We chose to walk on paths covered with flowers.

Path on the Moleson, Switzerland 2013
Path on the Moleson, Switzerland 2013

Back to Gruyères, a visit of the Château de Gruyères and both museums is a must, as well as a tour of the cheese factory. You might want to spend some time in the boutiques too and try the local restaurants. It is also the moment to take a few pictures…

Inside the Gruyeres medieval city, Switzerland, 2013
Inside the Gruyeres medieval city, Switzerland, 2013

The old architecture of the buildings in Gruyères as well as the neighbouring countryside allow for very interesting photographic compositions. A well-known photography technique consists in using an opening in a building and using it as a second frame (a frame within a frame). I made sure that the background was clear enough to improve the visual effect. An aperture around 16 allowed for an appropriate depth-of-field.

Spiraling stairs in the Gruyeres Castle, Switzerland 2013
Spiraling stairs in the Gruyeres Castle, Switzerland 2013

The picture above shows a spiraling staircase inside the Château de Gruyères. I can barely imagine what the results would have been if I had had access to the new Canon 11-24mm wide-angle lens. But nonetheless, the Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8L II USM zoom lens did a good job.

The beauty of the full frame sensor mounted on the Canon 5D MKII DSLR is that a wide-angle shot taken at a 16mm focal will stay at 16mm while with a smaller sensor, like the APS-C, the photographer is facing a conversion factor of 1.5 or 1.6X, which transforms the 16-35mm wide-angle into a 24-52mm, in the best of cases. The APS-C sensor is interesting when used with a telephoto lens but a bit less when comes the time to take wide-angle shots.

The picture below presents the Château de Gruyères seen from a neighbouring field.

Gruyeres old architecture, Switzerland 2013
Gruyeres old architecture, Switzerland 2013

As the sun was setting down, I tried a shot from inside the castle. It was interesting to see the two little boys standing up alongside the wall and admiring the sunset. At the same time, it was possible to see the Moléson in the distance, its summit hidden in the clouds.

Due to the strong light contrasts, it was necessary to use a Hi-Tech ND graduated filter installed on my Canon 16-35mm wide-angle zoom lens. The Digital SLR Photography magazine, in one of its recent editions, made a comparison between ND grad filters and indicated that the Hi-Tech filter had a slight magenta coloration instead of a neutral grey. I think it is easily visible in the picture below. The photo could have been corrected with Photoshop but I thought of keeping it as it was since the scenery looked somewhat unreal already.

View from the Gruyeres Castle and the Moleson, Switzerland 2013
View from the Gruyeres Castle and the Moleson, Switzerland 2013

Once the sun was below the horizon, the more subtle colours gave a totally new look to the countryside. On the picture below, it is possible to see on the right a small path that a visitor can take to head down to the nearby village.

Gruyeres region in the sunset, Switzerland 2013
Gruyeres region in the sunset, Switzerland 2013

All the sceneries are not that easy to capture and it is sometimes necessary to use HDR photography to extend the dynamic range and take care of extreme light contrasts. The photo below needed five different exposures that were subsequently processed with the Photomatix image editing software. Useless to say, it was necessary to use the mirror lock-up function, a tripod and a remote control release.

View from the Gruyères Castle, Switzerland, in HDR 2013
View from the Gruyères Castle, Switzerland, in HDR 2013

Here is, as the final picture, an idea of what is waiting for you at the H.R. Giger Museum. If there is a strange but very interesting museum, it is this one.

Artwork in front of the H R Giger Museum, Gruyeres, Switzerland 2013
Artwork in front of the H R Giger Museum, Gruyeres, Switzerland 2013

Other pictures of Europe and around the world will be posted in the coming months…