Author: Stanley

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Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

Winter photography 2020 in Old Quebec (3)

Place d'Youville under moderate snow. Seen from the Porte St-Jean during Winter 2020.
Place d’Youville under moderate snow. Seen from the Porte St-Jean during Winter 2020.

The photography technique adopted above uses the arch offered by Porte St-Jean to frame the main photo showing Place d’Youville and its buildings at the time of heavy snowfall.


This winter night photograph represents several challenges, including the need to show the snowflakes falling in front of the headlights of moving cars while respecting the natural light of the buildings in the background.

The two pedestrians strolling on St-Jean Street add a human touch and depth to this scene.

The photo below shows part of Pub St-Patrick with some of its Christmas decorations during the snowstorm of February 7, 2020. Old Quebec is full of decorated buildings long after the holiday season is over.

A pedestrian in front of Pub St. Patrick in Old Quebec, Winter 2020
A pedestrian in front of Pub St. Patrick in Old Quebec, Winter 2020

The photo was taken just before nightfall because the light is particularly soft at that moment. I waited for a rare pedestrian to add a bit of humanity to this scene.

The photographic composition takes into account the two diagonal lines starting from the upper and lower left corners and meet on the right side of the photo, roughly in its center.

The diffuse light coming from a lamp post located on the right and outside the frame of the photo adds a little warmth to this winter scene.

The pictures above were taken with a Canon 5DSR full frame camera.

Click on the link for other photos of Quebec City and île d’Orléans in winter on my blog.

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

Winter photography 2020 in Old Quebec (2)

A narrow street in Old Quebec during a winter storm in 2020
A narrow street in Old Quebec during a winter storm in 2020

The few Christmas decorations still remaining in Old Quebec enhance the winter scenery during a snowstorm on February 7 2020. The presence of several interesting elements add to the photographic composition: the color of the lights in the fir tree and its reflection on the snow, the yellowish lights , the pedestrians walking in the snow covered alley, the smoke escaping from one side of the building and the « blue hour », a period that lasts a few minutes before  darkness when one can still see the color of the sky.

Winter storm in Quebec in 2020
Winter storm in Quebec in 2020

The black and white photo above has received infrared treatment. This way, the characters passing in front of the car’s headlights are clearly visible, while also making it possible to distinguish the surrounding objects. Night photography with moving characters and such dramatic light contrasts requires a higher ISO if you do not want to leave out objects that would be of interest in the photographic composition.

Despite an adjusted ISO, the car’s headlights made it harder for the camera’s sensor to correctly read the average brightness of the scene. Without digital image processing, the surrounding buildings would all be extremely dark. Using infrared solved part of the problem.

The photos were taken with a Canon 5DSr.

Click on the link for other photos of Quebec City and île d’Orléans in winter on my blog.

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

Winter photography 2020 in Old Quebec (1)

Old Quebec during the February 7 2020 snowstorm.
Old Quebec during the February 7 2020 snowstorm.

A winter photography project can consist of planning a photo session during a huge winter storm. The next few articles related to photography will concern the snowstorm that took place on February 7, 2020 in Quebec.

The photo above was taken near Côte de la Fabrique, in Old Quebec, after the storm which left 35 centimeters of snow. I chose a black and white photo because the colors added nothing significant, even going so far as to distract the viewer.

The technique of black and white photography works very well here at showing the contrasts between light and dark. The pedestrian and the vehicle headlights emerge much better and the blowing effect near the buildings is more visible.

Delayed snow removal in Old Quebec.
Delayed snow removal in Old Quebec.

Interestingly, the rise and fall of tides in the St. Lawrence Seaway impacts snow removal in upper town of Old Quebec.

If the storm occurs during high tides, there may be an overflow of the St. Lawrence Seaway on certain sections of the highway in the lower town. The trucks responsible for collecting snow then have to make a long detour which brings them back to areas already affected by automobile congestion and where speed limits are considerably lower.

While the snowblower is on site and ready to clear the streets of Old Quebec, trucks are caught in traffic, thus slowing the snow removal process. (To be continued).

The photos were taken with a Canon 5DSr.

Click on the link for other photos of Quebec City and île d’Orléans in winter on my blog.

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Business

Internet fraud on Ulicense.online

Do not use the “Ulicense.online” internet site to order online products. This site is a scam but gives the impression of an honest business. I ordered a Microsoft product, thinking that they were allowed to sell those products. The activation key does not work and there is no way to contact someone, whatever the method. I was looking for help with the product and got nothing.

I then visited the Trustpilot.com site to check what the users thought of that company. I found several recent complaints about Ulicense. Feel free to advise your friends before they make the same mistake as I did.

Categories
Ship photography

The oil tanker Nave Equinox in front of Lévis.

The Nave Equinox oil tanker with Lévis in the background during winter 2020.
The Nave Equinox oil tanker with Lévis in the background during winter 2020.

Last week, there was virtually no ice on the St.Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City. Since the beginning of the winter, very mild temperatures had allowed ships to travel the St.Lawrence without encountering any obstacles. For the past week however, more seasonal temperatures with some days between -15C and -22C have been changing the appearance of the seaway.


The photo above shows the oil tanker Nave Equinox, a ship built in 2007 approaching Quebec City. Even at -15C, the day was still ideal for photography because the cloud cover was fragmented allowing the diffuse light of the January sun.


The photo was taken from the Dufferin Terrace near Château Frontenac.The vessel was quite distant and a significant cropping was applied to bring the vessel closer. The photo was taken hand-held and the image sharpness was retained using a very fast 1/8000 sec shutter speed. Doing so limited vibrations.

 
The camera used was a Canon 5DSr with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens. A 50.6 megapixel sensor limited image pixelization when cropped.

Click on the link for more about ship photography on my blog.

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec Ship photography

The oil tanker Euronav Cap Leon leaving the Quebec City region.

Oil tanker Euronav Cap Léon in 2019
Oil tanker Euronav Cap Léon in 2019

At the beginning of the trip towards the St. Lawrence estuary, a cable links the Ocean tugboat with the Euronav Cap Leon oil tanker. The current and the ice push the oil tanker towards the east and the speed of the oil tanker must be controlled for the tight turn around Île d’Orléans.

Oil tanker Euronav Cap Léon on the St Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City.
Oil tanker Euronav Cap Léon on the St Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City.

Click on the link for more articles on ship photography and on ship photography technique on my blog.

Categories
Street photography

The upscale sector of Beacon Hill, in Boston.

Porsche in Beacon Hill in Boston 2019
Porsche in Beacon Hill in Boston 2019

In the upscale sector of Beacon Hill, in Boston, there are a lot of luxury cars. It would appear, however, that some of the owners of these cars are less popular…

Click on the link for other pictures of the United States on my blog.

Categories
Controversial subjects Geopolitics

In our America, all people are equal.

With the current divisive administration in the United States under Donald Trump, citizens are more than ever willing to express their political opinions. In 2019 in Boston’s Brookline suburb, a quick walk in the neighbourhood allowed me to take the two following pictures.

In our America, all people are equal.
In our America, all people are equal.

In case your cell phone screen cannot clearly show what is written on the sign above, here it is : « In our America, all people are equal. Love wins. Black lives matter. Immigrants and refugees are welcome. Disabilities are respected. Women are in charge of their bodies. People and planet are valued over profit. Diversity is celebrated. »

On the sign below, the message is clear : « No kids in cages. »

No Kids in Cages 2019
No Kids in Cages 2019

Click on the link for other pictures of United States on my blog.

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

St-Gilles and the autumn colors

St-Gilles in autumn.
St-Gilles in autumn.

These pictures were taken in October in the St-Gilles region, in Quebec. In the photo above, the sunlight was streaming through the leaves, giving the peach color even more intensity. To make the leaves the main subject of interest, I positioned myself under a branch and reduced the aperture of the Canon 5DSR to 3.5. The leaves in the foreground were now in focus while everything else became blurred, adding to the atmosphere.

Cows and autumn colors in Quebec.
Cows and autumn colors in Quebec.
St-Gilles countryside in autumn.
St-Gilles countryside in autumn.

The owner of a nearby house in St-Gilles had a thought for walkers and left two chairs near the water. The chairs became the main interest in the photo and are therefore in focus. The forest and the colored leaves in the background are deliberately kept blurred.

Click on the link for other photos of the province of Québec on my blog.

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

St-Jacques de Leeds and the autumn colors.

St-Jacques de Leeds in Autumn.
St-Jacques de Leeds in Autumn.

The St-Jacques de Leeds region, in Quebec, offers interesting opportunities for photographers who like very diversified autumn colors.

A house in the St-Jacques de Leeds countryside in Autumn.
A house in the St-Jacques de Leeds countryside in Autumn.

At the time this picture was taken, most red leaves had already fallen. But the contrast between the dark tones of the evergreens and the other colors still offered beautiful landscapes.

To compose the picture above, I decided to keep the trail. It leaves the main road where I stood and heads, with a few curves, towards the house. The trail starts at the left of the picture and the observer naturally follows it to the house, then to the forest in the background. With my position, I was also able to hide part of the house with the colored trees.

St-Jacques de Leeds countryside in Autumn.
St-Jacques de Leeds countryside in Autumn.

During late afternoon in Autumn, the light is quite softer than in Summer. It is not necessary to wait for the evening to get interesting results. The scenery above offered a natural contrast between the blue of the sky and the orange tones of the trees. I kept part of the evergreen, for its position in the foreground as much as for its dark tone, to add to the dynamism of the picture.

Autumn evening in St-Jacques de Leeds.
Autumn evening in St-Jacques de Leeds.

The tripod was necessary for the picture above. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens, that is normally used for portrait, requires less light than the human eye. It perfectly captured the atmosphere and the colors that were prevailing a few minutes before nightime. All the pictures were taken with a Canon 5DSR full frame camera.