Categories
Street photography

Street photography: Chinese women playing cards in Hong Kong’s Jade Market

Le Jade Market à Hong Kong, en 1990

This picture of a group of Chinese women playing cards was taken during summer 1990 in Jade Market, Hong Kong, before the island was retroceded back to China.

Street photography requires that a photographer does not prearrange a scene, in order to protect the natural atmosphere. This is where the real information stands. Those women, totally absorbed by their game, offered a superb opportunity to capture a normal day life scene.

It was important to proceed quickly to avoid that one of the ladies looked at the camera and changed her attitude. That way, the natural effect was maintained.

The picture was taken with a Pentax SF1 camera equipped with a film made to be developed for slides.

For other street photography pictures posted on my site, click on the following link:

Street photography

Categories
Ship photography

Ship photography: the Havelstern between Quebec City and Lévis

The Havelstern is a chemical tanker sailing under Canadian flag which was built in 1994. Its draught is of 8.5 meters. It is photographed here on June 3rd 2017 in front of Quebec City, with Lévis in the background, heading to Point Tupper in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The Havelstern between Quebec City and Lévis on June 3rd 2017
The Havelstern between Quebec City and Lévis on June 3rd 2017

Several vessels are visible in the picture above. In the foreground, it is possible to see the two chimneys of the Louis Joliet, a boat essentially used for tourist excursions. Then there is one of the two ferries constantly traveling between the south and north shore of St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec City.

The small boat riding by the Havelstern is used to carry one of the St. Lawrence Seaway pilots. A pilot who masters the navigation specifications on this part of the seaway boards the ship and takes control until he can transfer the control to another pilot farther down the seaway ( Pilotes du St-Laurent ). In the background is the second ferry used to carry passengers and cars from one shore to the other.

The full-frame camera used to take the pictures was a Canon 5DSR equipped with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens. With a 5.0 aperture and the ISO set at 200, the shutter speed allowed was 1/1000 sec.

The Havelstern ship and île d'Orléans in the background, June 2017
The Havelstern ship and île d’Orléans in the background, June 2017

While the tourists are having fun in Quebec City, the picture above shows the Havelstern heading to Île d’Orléans in a rain shower.

The picture below represents the Havelstern making a wide turn to navigate around the southern portion of Île d’Orléans. The ship was quite far away and some serious cropping would have to be done in order to enlarge the image. In order to get a picture that would not be blurred, I had to increase the shutter speed a bit.

The Havelstern ship is approaching Île d'Orléans in June 2017, heading to Point Tupper in Nova-Scotia
The Havelstern ship is approaching Île d’Orléans in June 2017, heading to Point Tupper in Nova-Scotia

The ISO was adjusted to 200 and the focal length was set to 200mm. The aperture was only 4.0, allowing a shutter speed of 1/2500 sec.

For other pictures of ships on my website, click on the following link : Ship photography.

Categories
Flight Simulation

Flying in and out of Limberlost Ranch (CA21)

The following pictures show a virtual flight in United States. The trip is from KBLU ( Blue Canyon-Nyack) to Limberlost Ranch (CA21) then to Gansner Field (201). Landing and taking-off from Limberlost Ranch is a nice challenge.

For this flight simulation, I used the FSX flight simulator, the Carenado Cessna C-207 equipped with bush tires and REX clouds.

Airborne from KBLU.

The Cessna C-207 is airborne from the Blue Canyon-Nyack airport runway
The Cessna C-207 is airborne from the Blue Canyon-Nyack airport runway

Enroute from KBLU (5284 ft ASL) to Limberlost Ranch and it’s 1700 ft grass runway (1650 ft ASL and about 23 NM east of KBLU), you pass by the Nevada County airport (O17) that has also received a special treatment from ORBX.

It might be necessary to fly over the Limberlost Ranch airport before starting an approach, so that you have an idea of what to expect on final.

Over the Limberlost Ranch short and sloped runway
Over the Limberlost Ranch short and sloped runway

Limberlost Ranch has a sloped runway (in fact, a multiple slope runway). Part of it is asphalted, but most of it is grass. You make the approach for the grass section. Note that there is a fence on the side at the beginning of the runway. The virtual aircraft should not touch the field before it has passed the fence (for more realism).

The Cessna C-207 is on final for the Limberlost Ranch sloped runway
The Cessna C-207 is on final for the Limberlost Ranch sloped runway
Landing on the Limberlost Ranch short and sloped grass runway
Landing on the Limberlost Ranch short and sloped grass runway
The Cessna C-207 is parked at Limberlost Ranch for a few minutes
The Cessna C-207 is parked at Limberlost Ranch for a few minutes
Ready for take-off from the Limberlost Ranch runway
Ready for take-off from the Limberlost Ranch runway

With a bit of crosswind, taking-off from this short runway can be demanding. The aircraft feels really sloppy (and I mean it) and behaves more like a boat than a plane during the acceleration to get airborne. It is essential to avoid the line of trees on the left side of the runway. A bit of flaps is required as it is the norm for soft runway operations. Careful but essential use of the rudder will also make your take-off a success.

Aircraft airborne from the Limberlost Ranch runway
Aircraft airborne from the Limberlost Ranch runway

Enroute to Gansner Field.

Over the Gansner Field airport runway
Over the Gansner Field airport runway

Gansner Field is about 41 nm north of KBLU. The virtual airport is very well made and nestled in a valley. Coming in from KBLU, you need to pass 6000 ft mountains before diving for that 3419 ft asl asphalt runway.

The fully enjoy those virtual flights, it is suggested that you install the different layers of Orbx products (Global, Vector, Open LC) as well as the KBLU virtual scenery.

Have a good flight!

For more articles on flight simulation on my web site, click on the following link : Flight simulation

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec Ship photography

The Bulk Carrier Ferbec in front of Quebec City

CSL Bulk Carrier vessel Ferbec passing by Quebec in May 2017
CSL Bulk Carrier vessel Ferbec passing by Quebec in May 2017
CSL Ferbec Bulk Carrier vessel in 2017
CSL Ferbec Bulk Carrier vessel in 2017

The picture above shows the Bulk Carrier Ferbec. It belongs to CSL (Canada Steamship Lines). It was built in 2002 and regularly travels between Sorel and the North Shore to carry ore. It is seen here in front of Quebec in May 2017, with Lévis in the background.

The picture was taken using a Canon 5DSR equipped with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM fixed lens.

Instead of taking only a picture of the vessel, I thought it would be more interesting to keep it at a distance and capture the scene when I would see, in the viewfinder of the camera, vegetation partly surrounding the ship.

Weather was quite unstable around Quebec. On the north shore, the sky was mostly covered by a thin veil of cirrus clouds while on the south shore were numerous towering cumulus with rain showers.

Since there were only thin clouds on the north shore of the seaway, a part of the sunlight directly hit the side of the ship, adding some dynamism to the scenery.

Surprisingly, there was only a very light wind directly over the seaway, which helped improve the ship’s reflection in the water. All the elements were now present to capture a souvenir shot of the Ferbec in front of Quebec City.

For other ship photos posted on my website, click on the following links:

Ship photography

For other photos on the province of Quebec and also Quebec City, click on the following links from my blog:

Province of Quebec Photos

Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in Autumn

Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in Winter

Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in Spring

Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in Summer