Category: Photos du Québec

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Photos du Québec Photos of Canada

White Birch Paper Company by night in Quebec City.

White Birch Paper Company by night in Quebec City
White Birch Paper Company by night in Quebec City

The photo above shows the White Birch Paper mill in Quebec City. I took the shot handheld with a Canon 5 dsr full-frame camera equipped with a Canon EF 85 mm f/1.2L II lens.  

Here’s what artificial intelligence has to say about an industrial scene: “An industrial scene can evoke a variety of feelings, often linked to the urban environment and human activity. For some, it may inspire a feeling of power and dynamism, due to the energy and activity that prevail. Others may feel melancholy or nostalgic about the impact of industrialization on the environment and communities.

The textures, colors and shapes of industrial structures can also evoke a sense of strangeness or raw beauty. In short, the emotions that an industrial scene can generate depend largely on one’s own perspective.”

Photography theory

On the original RAW file, colors faded due to insufficient brightness, preventing the desired dramatic impact. Digital processing was the best solution to solve the problem.

I chose a single tone of steel blue to accentuate the effect of strangeness, prevent distractions of any kind and highlight the central tower, smoke columns and light contrasts around the installations.

To respect the age of the White Birch Paper buildings, I kept the digital grain fairly high. Polishing an image too much makes it look more modern, which I wanted to avoid.

Click on the link for more photos of Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in spring on my blog.

Categories
Photos du Québec Photos of Canada

Reflections on Saint-Louis Street in Quebec City in winter.

Beautiful Old Quebec night reflections on Saint-Louis Street. Photo by François Ouellet, 2025.
Beautiful Old Quebec night reflections on Saint-Louis Street. Photo by François Ouellet, 2025.

Another perfect evening to photograph Old Quebec in winter! I consider myself very lucky to have daily access to this magical place. It is as you know a UNESCO jewel and one of Canada’s major tourist attractions.

Photography theory and technique

It’s all there: calm winds, light snow, acceptable temperature, low cloud ceiling. Here is a great opportunity to improve one’s photography technique. What’s more, Quebec City finds itself between two busy tourist periods. This means fewer blurred people during night photography.

The snow melts immediately upon reaching Saint-Louis Street. It creates multiple reflections, ideal for special effects.

The quality of the lighting is superb, even in the middle of the nighttime. The city’s glow mirrors off cloud bases and precipitation. This in turn illuminates the old buildings.

Now it’s a question of locating an unusual angle to capture rue Saint-Louis. I’m trying to avoid the over-rehearsed postcard frame!

The viewer’s eye must remain focused on the street and the architecture. It must travel towards the background to discover a section of the National Assembly structures in the distance. The photographic composition is easily achieved.

In order to reach the objective, the viewer’s attention must be captured. A nice object can serve as foreground. It can also remain partially hidden. The vase installed on the Monument Samuel-de-Champlain will be good enough. We’re not really interested in it, but it serves as an entrance to the scene.

Those are simple but efficient photographic tips for winter photography in Old Quebec!

Click on the link for more winter photos of Quebec City and Île d’Orléans on my blog.

Categories
Photos du Québec

Photo of Quebec City and Château Frontenac by night.

Scène de Québec et du Château Frontenac la nuit. Photo par François Ouellet
Scène de Québec et du Château Frontenac la nuit. Photo par François Ouellet

Photographing a tourist attraction like the Château Frontenac at night, with all its lights, is a good challenge for both the Canon 5 DSr camera and the photographer. Here are a few photographic tips to help you repeat the experience:

1) For a special effect, you might as well go all out and capture the château, including all the lights in the buildings near the Petit-Champlain district.

2) Photographic composition is based on the rule of thirds. You don’t always have to respect the fundamental theory, but this time it works well.

3) The viewer first notices the brightest structures, all of which have a similar luminosity. He then detects the castle on the cape.

4) The contrast is deliberate. The castle is not depicted in all its architectural splendour, but as a few lines lit up in the night.

5) The observer no longer needs to see all the forms of the castle to recognize it. It’s the most photographed castle in the world. The brain quickly analyzes the visible shapes and completes the building in a fraction of a second.

6) Being photographed from this angle and in this light gives a more mysterious aspect to this hotel overlooking the smaller buildings.

7) HDR photography solves some of the lighting problems. I superimposed five photos to obtain the final result.

Click on the link for more autumn photos of Quebec City and Île d’Orléans on my blog.