Transat Québec Saint-Malo 2024 and the Château Frontenac
Above, a view of Cap Diamant and the Château Frontenac as the Transat Québec Saint-Malo 2024 gets underway. You can see the water jets and the Volendam, a cruise ship anchored at the Port of Quebec.
La Boulangère Bio sailboat on the St.Lawrence River during the Transat Québec St-Malo en 2024
The photo above shows the sailboat La Boulangère Bio on the St. Lawrence River off Île d’Orléans. Skipper Amélie Grassi is originally from France, more specifically La Rochelle. She achieves excellent results in most of the races she takes part in.
In the background is the 150 MW Massif du Sud wind farm, which supplies electricity to Hydro-Québec.
The Atlas Ocean Racing sailboat during the Transat Québec St-Malo 2024
This photo shows the Atlas Ocean Racing sailboat during the Transat Quebec Saint-Malo as it passes near Île d’Orléans near Quebec City. Skipper Gilles Barbot is a French Canadian of Breton origin who now lives in Montreal. All crew members are Canadian, from the province of Quebec.
The Transat Québec Saint-Malo 2024 observed from Île d’Orléans.
Curious onlookers set up here and there along the south shore of Île d’Orléans to watch the sailboats that left Quebec City an hour ago.
Rotor clouds and lenticular clouds over the St.Lawrence River during the Transat Québec Saint-Malo 2024.
Off Île d’Orléans, lenticular clouds and a small rotor cloud are visible. They are formed by strong wind aloft that is crossing the mountain range north of the St. Lawrence River.
P.S. After many days of racing, the results are now known. It is the Atlas Ocean Racing‘s team that arrived first in St-Malo, France.
The Martinique Tchalian sailboat and the Volendam during the Transat Québec Saint-Malo 2024
Above, the sailboat Martinique Tchalian in the Transat Québec Saint-Malo 2024. Piloted by Jean-Yves Aglae, Jean-Marie Hervé and Moane Mangattale, the boat is off Île d’Orléans as the cruise ship Volendam approaches on its way to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
The Martinique Tchalian sailboat between the Alerce and the Frankopan during the Transat Québec Saint-Malo 2024.
Above, the Martinique Tchalian is in the area of Berthier-sur-Mer, near two ships, the Alerce (on the left in the photo) and the Frankopan. In this section of the St. Lawrence River, the channel is narrow, and ships must use it to sail upstream to the Great Lakes.
The Alerce is a bulk carrier heading for the Port of Quebec, from the Port of Jorf Lasfar (MA JFL) in Morocco. The Frankopan tanker left the Port of Sainte Victoire in Quebec (CA SVD) a few hours ago, and is heading for the Port of Houston in the USA (US HOU).
Fishing in the Jacques-Cartier national park in Spring in Québec.
A fisherman sits quietly in the river of the Jacques-Cartier national park casting his line, while his companion watches from the shore. Here, everyone has as much space as they want to enjoy their hobby.
Some photographers use Photoshop’s “dehaze” function to keep the background sharp to infinity. I prefer to retain the natural feel of the scene. The violet-blue landscape visible at the top of the shot helps to capture the distance.
Forest in the Jacques-Cartier national park in Spring in Québec 2024.
People prepare for their outing in the huge ancestral canoe known as a rabaska. In the foreground, but no longer visible in the photo, was originally a group of vacationers launching an inflatable raft. But all these people were distracting from the main subject. Tight framing eliminated this obstacle.
Nature in the Jacques-Cartier National Park in Québec.
I use the frame-within-a-frame technique to present the multicolored reflections of the river in the photo above. There’s blue, orange and green, outlined by two vertical trunks on either side of the photo and an oblique branch at the top.
I use the same technique in the shot below, but in a less obvious way, as the frame in the foreground remains blurred. Attention is immediately drawn to the canoeists who are just finishing their trip and getting ready to dock.
Canoeing on the Jacques-Cartier river in Québec 2024
Spring in the Parc National de la Jacques-Cartier in Québec.
Normally, a 3:2 or 4:3 ratio is used to display in vertical mode. But the 16:9 aspect ratio of the photo above shows both the reverberations in the water and a significant portion of the landscape. So, whatever the conventions and what makes purists happy, we use what does justice to our first impression.
What caught my eye in this scene? The very wide range of green tones, the alternation of light and shade in the landscape and the reflections, the roundness of the deciduous trees and the tips of the conifers, the atmosphere of the place and, last but not least, the human presence. All this can be seen in a fraction of a second, and the shot is taken before the canoe enters the shaded area on the left.
Historic lodge in Spring in the Jacques-Cartier national park in Québec.
The photo above shows a historic chalet in Jacques-Cartier National Park in Spring. It’s no longer available for rent, but it’s a great asset for photography enthusiasts. At this location, paddleboarding is safe thanks to a very weak current.
Tourist attraction in the Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier in Québec.
On the same day and on the same river, but a few kilometers upstream, a group of people attempt their first descent in an inflatable boat on a rougher stretch of water.
The first group takes the plunge, while the second watches, waiting its turn and trying to learn from the others’ mistakes. Occasionally, paddlers get stuck on top of a flat rock flush with the water, and have to use their initiative to free themselves and continue their journey. Sometimes canoeists find themselves in the water, and Sépaq staff have to help them out.
Click on the links for more photos and other articles about the province of Quebec.
After all, it’s quite possible to have the right to photograph without having the right to publish. You also need to know the nuances between editorial and commercial distribution, as well as how to obtain written authorization where applicable.
There are also nuances between the privacy laws of the following two groups: the first made up of Quebec and France, and the second made up of the rest of Canada, the United States and the majority of Western countries.
In addition, a distinction must be made between the person who is the main subject of the photo and those who are merely incidental to it. The laws also change depending on whether the photo is taken from a public or private place. Finally, there are always exceptions to each category. As you can see, nothing is simple in this area…
The author uses case law to flesh out his points. He also discusses the limits of police and security officer powers, and what is legally permissible on Facebook and other social networks when it comes to disseminating an image.
He also elaborates on the difference between patrimonial, moral, integrity and authorship rights. He even expands on the changes to copyright before and after November 7, 2012. A section of the book tells you how to detect if your images are being used illegally, and how to request corrections and compensation.
Finally, Francis Vachon uses the last sections of his book to show us how to obtain photos legitimately, and sometimes free of charge. He also shows us how to protect ourselves from a lawsuit.
In short, a book full of vital information for the amateur and professional photographer, as well as for all social media users. Many of these users are full of good intentions, but can find themselves in trouble pretty quickly for inadvertent negligence.
Hiker entering the Jacques-Cartier National Park’s forest, Winter 2024.
The province of Québec offers in 2024 a free admission to Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier a few days a week. This means more visitors than ever before head for the park. Hikers seeking absolute peace and quiet should opt for the paid days.
Even so, if you look carefully, it’s always possible to spot a lone walker, as in the photo above. Most people take the marked trails for ease, but others, like the individual above, venture out on snowshoes near the Jacques-Cartier River, which is completely covered in snow at this time of year.
Jacques-Cartier National Park’s landscape, Winter 2024.
Approximately three kilometres from the Discovery and Services Chalet is a bridge. From here, the hiker can capture some very beautiful scenes. In winter, an interesting effect can be achieved by positioning yourself close to the banks.
November in the Jacques-Cartier National Park in Quebec, 2023
This scenery relaxes me so much, yet there are no spectacular elements. Rather, all the components are in perfect harmony: reflections in the water, some bluish snow here and there, brushes and a few leaning trees lit from the side by a soft late afternoon light. As the large trunks occupy the majority of the scene, I chose a vertical format for the photographic composition.
Photo of the Jacques-Cartier national park, Winter 2024.
Above, the landscape attracts the eye with its combination of horizontal, vertical and oblique lines, as well as its alternating black and white in the foreground. I positioned myself to include in the scene a large branch that enters the photo from the top right-hand corner.
The foreground features open water, snow-covered ice, pure ice and snow-covered ice again. In the middle ground, coniferous and deciduous trees. In the background, a forest revealing the snow on the mountain floor. I’ve left only a hint of sky, as the latter offers no particular interest on this cloudy February day, other than to add some white to complete the alternation of colours.
Students from Singapour visiting the Jacques-Cartier National Park during winter 2024
During my hike in the Jacques-Cartier National Park today, I met some French people, a Polish woman and seven students from Singapore. They are part of an exchange program with Canada and are currently studying at an Ontario university. They are taking advantage of their reading week to make a little trip to Quebec.
A group of students from Singapour on a trail in the Jacques-Cartier National Park winter 2024
You couldn’t ask for a better day for the long excursion they’ve planned. It was -13C early this morning, but a new air mass entered Quebec and by the time I took these photos, we’d already reached +1C with beautiful sunshine and almost no wind. But I reckon they’ll have much walking to do to complete their excursion before the park closes for the evening.
Birds on a window at the Jacques-Cartier National Park winter 2024
Bird decorations are glued to the windows of the Discovery and Service Center at KM 10. I attempted a photo from inside the building, while including the forest in the background.
The graphic novel “Super canon” from Philippe Girard.
With “Super canon— Le marchand d’armes qui visait les étoiles”, writer Philippe Girard offers us a high quality graphic novel, as much for the scenario as for the drawings and colour choices. For this work, he benefited from an author residency in Liège. He certainly enjoyed his experience in Belgium much more than his writer’s residency in Poland, where he had to fend for himself because the hosts hadn’t respected the scheduled introductions and appointments. At the time, he used his misfortune to produce a very interesting graphic novel entitled “Le Starzec — un mois à Cracovie”.
Graphic novel “Le Starzec – Un mois à Cracovie” by Philippe Girard.
“Super Canon” is based on a true story, that of Canadian engineer Gerald Vincent Bull. Of course, it’s impossible to retrace this man’s life step by step, so the author has created a character named Doctor Gerry.
On reading the book, we realize the incredible talent of Gerald Bull, the scientist who revolutionized ballistics. We bear witness to his chequered destiny, tormented as he was between his youthful dreams and his boundless ambitions.
To balance his research budgets and keep his company afloat, he gradually transformed himself into an arms dealer. He offers his service to multiple states, including Canada, the United States, Israel, Iraq, Iran, China. In the process, he becomes the object of constant surveillance by many agencies and accumulates enemies.
A page from the graphic novel “Super Canon” by Philippe Girard.
We’re dealing with a genius who has purposely blocked any critical thinking about his weapons of destruction. He dreams of a powerful cannon to send satellites into space, but the intelligence agencies of other countries hold very different plans for his invention.
He naively believes that he will be able to serve several masters with divergent interests, without this causing him the slightest problem. It borders on childish reasoning, on wilful blindness in the pursuit of the high life.
My only reservation regarding the content concerns the first page of the story. I find an ambiguity about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction (box 5, page 3). This was indeed the initial fear raised by the United States, but repeated follow-ups by UN inspectors had shown that Saddam Hussein had no such weapons. The invasion of Iraq couldn’t be justified on such a basis. The invasion went ahead anyway, and none of these supposed armaments were found in Iraq. I would have liked the UN’s conclusions to have been mentioned. This would have allowed to establish the book’s scenario on a basis that left no room for doubt.
A page from the graphic novel “Super canon”.
Otherwise, one thing’s for sure: you’ll enjoy this extremely well-crafted graphic novel.
I appreciate Erik Orsenna for his erudition, his Cartesian thinking, his poetry and his ability to find the detail that will amuse the reader while informing him. In his book, the author tackles with equal comfort a wide variety of themes relating to history, religion, philosophy, the environment, climate change, renewable energy, pure science, politics and economics.
Being first and foremost a man of the field, he quickly recognized the need to develop and maintain political contacts in many countries in order to facilitate his travels in areas often considered problematic. The reader benefits from this privileged access.
In “La Terre a soif“, he presents us with portraits of thirty-three rivers around the world. The list is not exhaustive, of course, because after years of travel and observation, he was pressed by the publisher to produce his book. I know that if it were up to him, he would still be on the road accumulating information, each more interesting than the other.
Here are some of the rivers discussed in this book: Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Loire, Nil, Congo, Ganges, Mekong, Colorado and even Panama’s two rivers. The smallest of the rivers mentions in the book flows in Brittany, France and is called Trieux, while the largest is the Amazon in Brazil.
With some of the more powerful countries like China, or Israel and a few others, negotiating for the equitable administration of a river is difficult. The dams built by a powerful country reduce the flow downstream and the smaller surrounding countries make do with what is left. Water harvesting also dries up land over long distances, affecting agricultural production.
Navigation on waterways must also adapt to the reduced flow. One example is the Panama Canal: [DeepL translation]: “ The lack of water is the great fear of Panama. We remember that the heart of the canal is the great Gatún Lake. If it were to dry up, the ships would run into rocks and sand: they would no longer be able to transport their cargo from one sea to the other. Trucks would have to take over”. (p.252)
In contrast, the author shows that there are ways to administrate a major river so that it benefits the riparian countries. He cites the management of the St. Lawrence River by the United States and Canada as an example.
Contrary to what one might think when it comes to the environment and water scarcity, not everything in this book is negative. On the contrary, Erik Orsenna has understood that the reader is tired of alarmist statements. The author has therefore designed a very well-balanced book where it is possible to make the reader’s thoughts evolve without the latter feeling the need to take an antidepressant at each chapter.
