Tag: architecture and photography

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Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

June 24th in Quebec City.

Tonight, the weather is too nice to stay at home. Thousands of people are already walking in the streets of Old Quebec on this day of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, the national holiday of Quebecers.

The fontaine de Tourny in Quebec City on June 24th 2022.
The fontaine de Tourny in Quebec City on June 24th 2022.

People are positioning themselves early around the Tourny Fountain and on the Parliament grounds in anticipation of a multimedia show whose images will be projected on the façade of the National Assembly.

The Grande-Allée in Quebec City on June 24th 2022.
The Grande-Allée in Quebec City on June 24th 2022.

Once the show is over, it’s the rush to Old Quebec or the restaurants of the Grande-Allée. The photo above was taken from the top of the St. Louis Gate.

North sector of Quebec City Summer 2022.
North sector of Quebec City Summer 2022.

I love this view of the northern sector of Quebec City in the late evening. Normally, a filter would be needed to neutralize the intense light generated by a setting sun. But tonight, the clouds act as a natural attenuator and the sensor of the Canon 5DSr camera can do its job well.

The last picture below is of St-Jean Street, in Old Quebec, in the late evening of June 24, 2022. This street is being revitalized and new businesses and restaurants have recently settled there. During the summer, a section of the street is reserved to pedestrians and the strollers have access to many terraces.

St-Jean street in Old Quebec Summer 2022.
St-Jean street in Old Quebec Summer 2022.

Click on the link for more pictures of Quebec City in Summer on my blog.

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Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

The Joan of Arc Garden by night.

The Jardin Jeanne-d'Arc in Quebec City.

The Jardin Jeanne-d’Arc in Quebec City.

For Quebec’s national holiday, the big trees of the Joan of Arc Garden were illuminated in blue, to reflect the colors of the Quebec flag.

The small portable tripod that I carried during the photo session made my life much easier, because the lack of light required a fairly long exposure and a total absence of movement. In the background, you can see the Hotel Le Concorde Québec and its revolving restaurant.

The Joan of Arc Garden in Quebec City on the night of St-Jean-Baptiste 2022.
The Joan of Arc Garden in Quebec City on the night of St-Jean-Baptiste 2022.

In the center of the garden is a large monument of Joan of Arc by American sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and donated by her and her husband Archer Huntington in 1938.

Several publications and websites state that the donors of this statue are anonymous. This possibly adds a bit of mystery to this beautiful work, but nonetheless shadows the gift the couple gave in honor of the patriotism and courage of the fighters of the battles of 1759 and 1760.

Both photos were taken with a Canon 5DSr full frame camera equipped with a Canon EF 16-35mm f2.8L II USM lens. Click on the link for more pictures of Quebec City in Summer on my blog.

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Photos of Canada

Brockville in Ontario.

Historic district of Brockville in Ontario.
Historic district of Brockville in Ontario.

The historic area of Brockville in Ontario is surprising for its architecture, its large mature trees and the presence of a very well-planned marina. At the end of each day, many vehicles come to park along the boardwalk which provides a beautiful view of the St. Lawrence River near the Thousand Islands Archipelago.

The photo above shows one of these old buildings covered with ivy and other vines. The unstable weather on this day allowed us to capture a towering cumulus cloud (TCU) in the background, which adds to the overall atmosphere.

Isolated tree near the historic area of Brockville in Ontario.
Isolated tree near the historic area of Brockville in Ontario.

While walking around the historic district of Brockville, we spotted this huge tree standing alone at the curb. Although it is not protected by other trees in the area to endure the storms and high winds over the years, it managed to survive and reach maturity without too much damage.

Both pictures were taken with a Canon 5DSr full frame camera.

Click on the link for more pictures of the Canadian provinces on my blog.

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Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

The new houses of Sillery

Sillery was a formerly self-governing municipality that is now part of Quebec City. The architecture of the houses that have been built there in recent years contrasts greatly in style and format with the older dwellings.

The more recent constructions are somewhat surprising in their gigantic size. The new owners want buildings with a modern look and very imposing dimensions, sometimes doubling and even tripling the size of the traditional homes in the area.

The photo below shows the difference in size between a traditional property (on the far right of the photo) and a more modern home. 

Modern Sillery house in winter, 2022.
Modern Sillery house in winter, 2022.

Below, a traditional house in Sillery simply decorated for the holiday season. The blue light of the little tree is reflected on the front of the house and it looks really nice.

Traditional Sillery house in Québec City 2022.
Traditional Sillery house in Québec City 2022.

The traditional house above and its Christmas decorations contrast strongly with another one two streets away (photo below). It’s hard to miss the house (of which we can only see one section) and especially the huge tree decorated in its entirety and which must have required the use of a crane equipped with a telescopic arm.

Modern Sillery house with Christmas decorations in 2022.
Modern Sillery house with Christmas decorations in 2022.

A final photo (below) shows another traditional house in Sillery with interesting architecture.

The old and the new are in stark contrast in the area, so I thought it was important to capture some memories of properties with unique architecture before they disappear to make way for modernity. Because today, the fashion favors demolition rather than renovation.

Traditional house of Sillery in Québec City with Christmas decorations. in 2022.
Traditional house of Sillery in Québec City with Christmas decorations. in 2022.

The pictures are from a Canon 5DSR full frame camera with a Canon EF 24-70 lens, all mounted on a tripod to avoid blur. The ISO was set to 200, in order to limit the photographic grain.

Click on the link for more pictures of Quebec City in winter on my blog.

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Photography Photos of Quebec

Quebec City’s MNBAQ in Winter.

The Turner Exhibition at the MNBAQ in Quebec City in 2021.
The Turner Exhibition at the MNBAQ in Quebec City in 2021.

Before winter 2021 officially ends, here are some photos taken around the MNBAQ (Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec) while there is still snow on the ground and on tree branches. In the spring of 2021, the Museum hosted the exhibition by British painter J.M.W. Turner.

A section of the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (MNBAQ) in winter.
A section of the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (MNBAQ) in winter.

The architectural design of the MNBAQ, in combination with the contrast between the blue and yellow tones, caught my attention. The scene is partially framed by two trees. The passerby in the center adds a touch of humanity.

The "blue hour", that special moment of the day, in a park near the MNBAQ.
The “blue hour”, that special moment of the day, in a park near the MNBAQ.

The photo above was taken during the “blue hour“, near the MNBAQ. The citizens have deserted the park and are back inside, as shown here with the building in the background, with almost all its floors now lighted.

I considered it important to include the nice trees around the museum in all three shots.

Click on the link for other pictures of Québec City in winter on my blog.

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Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

An old street in Quebec City after a snowstorm.

A street of Quebec City in February 2020.
A street of Quebec City in February 2020.

Winter photography holds great surprises during snowstorms. The picture above was taken on February 27, 2020, a day when Quebec City received between 30 and 35 centimeters of snow.

This little street in Quebec City still has its old wooden posts from which hang many electric wires. In several new neighborhoods, the wires are now buried and the lampposts are no longer made of wood.

The photographic composition did not require much effort, because everything attracted me to this traditional winter scene: the people, the diffused light at the end of the day, the horizon obscured by snow, the steeples in the background, the traditional architecture of buildings pressed against each other and the cars buried under the snow.

As for people, there was only the person shoveling her entrance when I took my first photo. Then a man walking his dog appeared in the distance. I took the photo when he was well in view but not in the foreground.

The scene was captured with a Canon 5DSr full-frame DSLR camera. Image processing software was then used to refine the final result.

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

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Photos of Europe

Black and white photo of a street in Cambridge, England.

A Cambridge street, United Kingdom.
A Cambridge street, United Kingdom.

The picture above was taken in 2015 in Cambridge, England. The stark contrasts between the sky and the street combined with the repetitive architectural patterns allowed for an interesting transformation of a color photo into a black and white photo.

Click on the link for other pictures of England on my blog.

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Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

Place d’Youville in Old Quebec

Digitally modified photo of Place d'Youville in Old Quebec
Digitally modified photo of Place d’Youville in Old Quebec

This digitally modified photo shows a part of Place d’Youville, in Old Quebec.

I wanted to capture the church in the background, which seemed to be squeezed between two bigger buildings. It became the principal subject of the photo and it was positioned according to the rule of thirds. This rule is far from mandatory in photography but it often provides interesting results.

I liked the repetitive effect of the windows on each side of the picture and the fact that there were diagonal lines that lead the eye to the church. The vegetation in the foreground added a nice touch to the scenery. There was only one thing missing: a human presence.

With a little patience, three girls stopped on the sidewalk and started to talk, exactly where I wanted them to be. The wet sidewalk on which they stood helped to reflect the ambiant light and also lead the eye to the church, the principal subject in the photo.

I rarely digitally transform a photo in such a drastic way. The reason was simple: normally, when the ambiant light is not favorable, you can sometimes use the black and white setting. However, the light on that day did not offer the required contrasts to get sufficiently interesting results.

I did not want to leave Place d’Youville without having captured the energy I felt there. I opted for a radical option after having cropped the image in order to keep only the essential features.

The picture was taken with a Canon 5DSR full frame camera.

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
Categories
Photos of Canada

Autumn colors in Ottawa

The pictures below have been taken in Ottawa, Canada, with a Canon 5D MKII full frame camera. This model is aging a bit, but it has always and still provides the photographer with great colors.

Autumn reflections in Ottawa in 2015
Autumn reflections in Ottawa in 2015
Trees with autumn colors in Ottawa in 2015
Trees with autumn colors in Ottawa in 2015
Autumn colors on an Ottawa street in 2015
Autumn colors on an Ottawa street in 2015
Jogging session early morning in Ottawa
Jogging session early morning in Ottawa
Autumn scenery in Ottawa in 2015
Autumn scenery in Ottawa in 2015
Autumn colors in an Ottawa park in 2015
Autumn colors in an Ottawa park in 2015
View of part of the National Gallery of Canada from a park in Ottawa during autumn 2015
View of part of the National Gallery of Canada from a park in Ottawa during autumn 2015
United States Embassy in Ottawa
United States Embassy in Ottawa

Below is the interesting Canadian Museum of History, in Hull, and few sculptures. I find the Canadian Museum of History’s architecture particularly interesting because of its rounded shapes. It certainly is more expensive to build, but the result is superb.

The Canadian Museum of History, located in the Province of Québec and seen from Ottawa during the autumn 2015
The Canadian Museum of History, located in the Province of Québec and seen from Ottawa during the autumn 2015
Artwork located in Ottawa, Canada
Artwork located in Ottawa, Canada
Peacekeeping Monument (Reconciliation), located in Ottawa, Canada
Peacekeeping Monument (Reconciliation), located in Ottawa, Canada
Ottawa Parliament in autumn
Ottawa Parliament in autumn

For more articles in the category « Photos of Canada », click on the following link : Photos of Canada

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Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec Ship photography

Photography: the Queen Mary 2 in Old Quebec

The Queen Mary 2 in Québec in the fall of 2016
The Queen Mary 2 in Québec in the fall of 2016

The Queen Mary 2 comes twice a year in the Quebec Harbour during the autumn. It obviously always attracts a lot of onlookers. The vessel carries 2620 passengers who are prompt to visit Old Quebec upon arrival.

In order to take a picture of this superb ship and the architecture of Old Quebec’s houses, it was worth waiting until evening, when the colours were more subtle. I could have chosen to do a close-up of the Queen Mary 2, but by doing so the photo would have lost some of its dynamism since the quartier Petit-Champlain’s alleys and its pedestrians would have been absent from the scene.

There is only a small portion of the sky visible in the picture and this is voluntarily since it does not present any interesting details, especially when compared with the rest of the scenery. The front of the Queen Mary 2 has wilfully been located in the superior right corner of the photo since it is toward this part of the image that the eye ends its initial inspection.

There were quite a number of viewers installed on the Dufferin Terrace, most with a portable camera, trying to capture the scene. All those onlookers and photographers constantly moving on the wooden terrace were nevertheless creating vibrations: a tripod, usually the perfect tool to prevent any shaking of the camera, was only useful here providing that there was a shorter exposure time. The ISO had to be increased accordingly to respect the shorter exposure and avoid a blurred picture at low speed.

Still, the photo taken with a Canon 5DSR full-frame camera successfully portrays the mood in Old Quebec on that evening of autumn 2016.

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

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