Tag: artificial intelligence

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Environment Photos of Quebec

A visit of the Léon-Provancher-Marsh.

Red-winged Blackbird at the Marais-Léon-Provancher in 2024.
Red-winged Blackbird at the Marais-Léon-Provancher in 2024.

Bird photography enthusiasts can explore the Léon-Provancher-Marsh   in Portneuf.

Red-winged Blackbird chasing two dragonflies.
Red-winged Blackbird chasing two dragonflies.

In the photo above, a Red-winged blackbird is stalking bugs in flight. But it’s about 100 metres from the shore. A shot at this distance and on a small, fast-moving subject poses a problem. I try my luck with a Canon 5dsr equipped with a Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS II USM lens.

The bird has just spotted its meal. It swoops down on two dragonflies, braking at the last second to adjust to the insect’s changing trajectory. The agility of the little creatures presents a colossal challenge to the predator.

Once the photo session is over, it’s time to process the Canon 5dsr’s 50.6 megapixel RAW files to correct and bring the bird as close as possible. At this stage, I note the two dragonflies that were difficult to see as I concentrated on following the bird in flight.

For this kind of scene, the photographic technique always remains the same: we prioritize shutter speed while lowering the ISO, because we’ll have to enlarge the main subject considerably during digital processing. We want to avoid enormous graininess on the final print.

The last processing phase for this photo of a small, distant and fast-moving bird is the use of artificial intelligence software. This will enable the focus to be improved slightly if the need arises.

But even with AI, there are no miracles. You can’t turn a bad initial photo into an excellent one unless you completely recompose it. That’s when you step out of the world of photography and choose digital creation.

Green heron at the Marais-Léon-Provancher 2024
Green heron at the Marais-Léon-Provancher 2024

Above, a shot of a green heron caught at the end of a photography session. But it seems to me that I’d call it more of a blue heron when the plumage is captured from this angle.

Female Red-winged Blackbird at the Marais-Léon-Provancher in 2024
Female Red-winged Blackbird at the Marais-Léon-Provancher in 2024

Click on the following link for more photos of the province of Quebec on my blog.

Categories
Photos of Canada

A Cooper’s hawk in flight.

Cooper's hawk in flight in British Columbia, Canada.
Cooper’s hawk in flight in British Columbia, Canada.

At first glance, you don’t know what to look for. Nature’s mimicry has done its work. Then the Cooper’s hawk appears, wings outstretched, flying in our direction.

I took the photo in a British Columbia park. The RAW file makes it possible to correct areas that are too light or really dark, but you still have to respect the bird’s ability to blend in with the landscape. By over-lightening the bird, we take it out of the environment where it hides to watch its prey.

The fact that the hawk is advancing rapidly towards the camera makes it difficult to focus, especially through high light contrasts. The result is a slight blurring of the head, which is easily corrected by artificial intelligence.

A Cooper's hawk is airborne in Oak Bay, British Columbia.
A Cooper’s hawk is airborne in Oak Bay, British Columbia.

Several companies sell a product capable or claiming to be capable of correcting blurred areas. As far as I’m concerned, I use Topaz AI. All you have to do is position the cursor on the spot where a slight improvement is desired and you’re done.

However, don’t expect miracles with such software. The photo has to be good enough for the program to make a tiny improvement.

Click on the link for more photos of Canada on my blog.

Categories
Ship photography

Ships passing near Quebec City.

The Solar Sally from Shandong Shipping sailing south of Île d'Orléans. Summer 2023.
The Solar Sally from Shandong Shipping sailing south of Île d’Orléans. Summer 2023.

Above, Shandong Shipping’s Solar Sally photographed south of Île d’Orléans. I positioned the horizon according to the rule of thirds and gave plenty of room to the sky, filled with beautiful contrasts. The clouds let the sun filter through for a brief moment, bringing out the vegetation and horses. All that remained was to wait for the ship to enter the field of vision before taking the shot.

The Soulanges in front of Lévis in 2015.
The Soulanges in front of Lévis in 2015.

The photo above shows the Soulanges, a tug built in 1905, on the St. Lawrence River in front of the city of Lévis. Seen from a distance, this type of vessel always looks like it’s sinking. The water seems to be overtaking the stern of the boat, but there are very few waves.

The Barcelona Express and the MSC Tuxpan on the St.Lawrence Seaway 2023
The Barcelona Express and the MSC Tuxpan on the St.Lawrence Seaway 2023

The Barcelona Express and the MSC Tuxpan meet in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, off Île d’Orléans. Lacking a telephoto lens on hand, I captured the scene with a Canon Ef 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens and enlarged the photo. The boats were at a much greater distance than they appear here. I used an image processing software with artificial intelligence to improve the focus after cropping.

The Federal Skye and Mona Lisa ships on the St. Lawrence seaway near Quebec City
The Federal Skye and Mona Lisa ships on the St. Lawrence seaway near Quebec City

Above, the Mona Lisa (green hull) sails from Montreal to the port of Tanger Med in Morocco. The container ship sails under the Liberian flag. The port of Tanger Med boasts an exceptional geographical location when it comes to transshipping goods to Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa. Also visible in the photo, the Federal Skye arrives from Vila do Conde Brazil (BR VDC) and heads for Les Escoumins in Quebec, Canada (CA QLE). This port has a dry dock where major repairs can be carried out. The Federal Skye sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands.

The MSC Tampa vessel by Quebec City in 2024.
The MSC Tampa vessel by Quebec City in 2024.

A final photo shows the MSC Tampa sailing between Liverpool, Great Britain (GB LIV) and Montreal, Canada (CA MTR). This 294.12-meter-long container ship sails under the Liberian flag. The photo was taken from the Grey Terrace in Quebec City’s Parc des Champs-de-Bataille.

Click on the link for more Summer photos of Quebec City and Île d’Orléans and for more ship photography articles and photos on my blog.

Categories
Photography Photos of Quebec

Line study in photography.

Old Quebec Stairs May 2023
Old Quebec Stairs May 2023

Photographers make little use of the intense midday light when it comes to achieving an interesting effect. However, as in this HDR photo of the stairs of an Old Quebec street above, bright light can be used to create shadow effects with horizontal, vertical and oblique lines.

Quebec City HDR Spring 2023
Quebec City HDR Spring 2023

Above, another staircase with lines running in all directions. But it plays only a partial role in this HDR photo, the rest being taken up by the scene in the distance. I was looking for a double effect of chiaroscuro and atmosphere. The foreground, dark and cold, contrasts with a brighter background with an uncertain sky. On the right-hand side of the photo, the tension eases and the blue sky and sun appear.

Street photography at the "station de la Plage" 2023
Street photography at the “station de la Plage” 2023

This image is what is known as “street photography“. Chance has placed this person in the right place with the right dress and the right umbrella. She is wearing a horizontally lined dress and holding an obliquely lined umbrella in front of the vertically lined fence of the “station de la Plage” in Quebec City. The gray sky avoids distractions and focuses attention on the main subject.

For this last photo, I didn’t have my full-frame camera, but a cell phone. The file was of inferior quality, so I had to improve the focus using photographic software with artificial intelligence capability.

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