September 2020 – Photography, aviation and flight simulation

Blue jay and Russian Mountain Ash. Autumn 2020 in Quebec City.

Every Autumn, a Blue Jay lands on our patio knowing he can stock up for the winter. After hearing his calls, I quickly get the peanuts and the camera.

The pictures were taken with a Canon EOS 5DS R which allows significant cropping without loss of quality. In the photo above, the branches of the Russian Mountain Ash surround the bird and provide a natural setting.

I place the peanuts in front of the tree, just to include a few small red fruits in the photographic composition.

Blue jay with a peanut in front of a Russian Mountain Ash. Quebec City 2020.

Capturing the blue jay in flight is a bit more difficult, but in the digital age and with a Canon EF 70-200mm f / 2.8L IS II USM lens, photographing birds in flight is made much easier. The photo below was taken with a shutter speed of 1/8000, an aperture of 4.0, and an ISO set at 1250.

I have yet to see a Blue Jay eat the fruits of our Russian Mountain Ash. On the other hand, the ravens of the neighborhood have no problem with them.

Here is a link for more pictures of Quebec in Autumn on my website.

Guy Delisle took fifteen years to write this graphic novel. He tells the story of the kidnapping for ransom (K&R) in 1997 of a French citizen, Christophe André, while he was working for a medical NGO in the Caucasus region.

Faithful to his habits, this author born in Quebec City offers us a fascinating and humane narrative. A work that looks at a real life story often adds tension, when properly put together. This is what happens with the work of Guy Delisle. Hostage is a 428-page graphic novel that can be read in one sitting. As it often happens in dramatic events, humans discover an unsuspected character and strengths that enable them to cope with abuse, loneliness and stress.

The pace and the quality of the drawings and the script make it easy for the reader to dive into the story and imagine themselves in the place of the captive. Would the decisions made by the hostage also have been made by the reader? Would he have used other means to deal with his captivity?

I discourage the reader from trying to discover the conclusion of this story before starting to read the book. Resist this temptation, the read is worth the effort!

Title : Hostage.

Author : Guy Delisle

Editions : Drawn & Quarterly (25 April 2017)

ISBN-13 : 978-1770462793