Sailboat and cruise ship Volendam on the St.Lawrence Seaway near Île d’Orléans during the Transat Québec St-Malo 2024.
Marine traffic off Quebec City was blocked in anticipation of the departure of the Transat Québec Saint-Malo 2024. As soon as the sailboats got a head start, cargo and cruise ships summarized their operations on the St. Lawrence River. Pictured above is the Volendam rounding Île d’Orléans near Quebec City. It is heading for Charlottetown, capital of Prince Edward Island in Canada.
Its captain appears to put a little pressure on the captain of the sailing vessel ahead, but this is in fact an optical illusion caused by compressed perspective. In fact, I took the photo when the ship was still a long way off. I brought the subject closer using a Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS II USM lens, followed by a major crop from a 50.6 megapixel photo.
A “pilote du St-Laurent” leaves the Quebec harbour and heads towards the Explora 1 cruise ship in 2023.
As the St. Lawrence River is a fairly difficult waterway to navigate, Canadian law obliges the captains of certain large vessels to accept local pilots, who are fully conversant with the particularities of the seaway, on board for the riskiest journeys.
Once the Quebec pilot has helped the Explora 1 captain, the ship continues on its way to Quebec City, rounding the Île d’Orléans, as shown in the photo below. After playing its role as a sea cab, the little boat belonging to the St. Lawrence Pilots pulls away from the ship and returns to the Bassin Louise in the Port of Québec.
The Explora 1 cruise ship sails around île d’Orléans and a “pilote du Saint-Laurent” comes back to the Québec harbour in 2023.
Returning to Quebec harbour after a change of pilot in the Explora 1 cruise ship. 2023.
Serena Melani, “the first woman in the world to steer a cruise ship out of a shipyard“, ensures a smooth approach for the Explora 1 to Pier 30 in the Port of Québec. This brand-new vessel completed its sea trials in April 2023, and Quebec City is among the first destinations scheduled for 2023.
The Explora 1 approaching Quebec City with Mont St-Anne in the background 2023
Every captain would love to dock at the popular Pier 22, as it offers a perfect view of the Château Frontenac. But on this fine October day, the Norwegian Sky is already occupying the spot.
The Norwegian Sky cruise ship docked in Quebec City.
The Norwegian Joy cruise ship docked at pier 22 in Quebec City in 2023.
The Norwegian Joy cruise ship, which weighs close to 168,000 tons, is one of the biggest ships to dock in Old Quebec in autumn.
Le navire de croisière Norwegian Joy amarré à Québec à l’automne 2023.
It can accommodate 3,852 passengers and, for onboard service, there are 1,851 crew members – almost one employee for every two holidaymakers. The ship was built in 2017. Despite its young age, it benefited from renovations in 2020.
Sliding down the tube on the Norwegian Joy cruise ship
In the photo above, you can see a transparent tube raised above the upper deck in the top left-hand corner. With an enlarged photo, you’ll see that people are sliding down this water slide upside down. The shot below will help you get a better look at the guy in the red and blue swimsuit speeding by. The camera’s shutter speed had to be set to 1/2000 to avoid motion blur.
Sliding down the tube on the Norwegian Joy cruise ship 2023
That day, I was only carrying a Canon EF 11-24 mm f/4 USM zoom lens. I had to crop the photo a little to enlarge it, but you can still see the scene quite well. Part of the tube gives the sportsman the impression of suddenly plunging to the ground, as the installation protrudes over the sides of the ship.
Looking for dangerous goods on the Norwegian Sky cruise ship in Quebec City
While people are enjoying themselves on the upper deck, a whole team is busy refueling the ship and ensuring its safety. In the photo above, a dog can even be seen going around the pallets to detect any dangerous or illicit products.
The Norwegian Joy cruise ship in Québec.
Here’s a final photo of the Norwegian Joy, taken from inside a recently built cedar gangway near Quay 22 in the Port of Quebec. The sun filtering through the rungs provides a beautiful play of light, all captured by a Canon EF 11-24 mm f/4 USM zoom lens set to 11 mm. The effect is further enhanced by the pseudo HDR mode offered by digital processing software.
The cruise ship Mein Schiff 6 docked in Quebec City in 2023.
Autumn in Quebec City heralds the arrival of cruise ships in large numbers. Some days see the arrival and departure of as many as five ships. All these passengers disembark by the thousands in Old Quebec and delight the merchants. For the first time in Quebec City, the liner Mein Schiff 6 was recently seen moored at Quay 22 in the Port of Quebec.
The Mein Schiff 6 cruise ship docked in Quebec City in 2023.
The inscription “Mein Schiff” on the side means “my boat” in German. Note the obligatory capitalization of the common noun “Schiff” in this language. Common nouns are written in lower case in English. There’s also the word “Wohlfüllen” on the side, evoking something like “feeling of well-being“.
This cruise ship from Europe has 15 decks and can accommodate 2,517 passengers. More than 1,000 employees provide onboard service. For this trip to Quebec City, it carries mainly Germans. The company supplying the liner in Quebec City is called Hapag Lloyd. It has an international reputation and is also German-owned.
Hapag Lloyd and the Mein Schiff 6 in the Quebec harbour in 2023.
Hapag Lloyd also owns container ships and cargo planes. I was working in Iqaluit (airport code CYFB and formerly known as Frobisher Bay), Baffin Island, when I spotted a brand-new Boeing 737 in the company colors. It was arriving from Boeing Field (KBFI) and passing through Canada for customs clearance and fuel before continuing on to Germany.
Hapag Lloyd D-AHLO B737-4K5 in its delivery flight in 1989, from Boeing Field (KBFI) to Iqaluit, and then towards Germany. It is being refueled during difficult weather conditions. This type of aircraft did not experience much problem with the cold weather, but it was not the case with smaller business jets
The Mein Schiff 6’s next destination after leaving Quebec City is Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island.
Want to try an out-of-the-ordinary excursion in the Quebec City area? Here is an idea: if you have a car, start by parking (for free) in one of the spaces available at Domaine Cataraqui. The new staircase designed in 2022 in the forest behind the domain allows you to go from the heights of Sillery to the bottom of the cliff giving access to the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain (Note, however, that the Promenade is not maintained in winter). Walking from this point to the Petit-Champlain district in Old Quebec takes two hours, without hurrying. If you do it in the Autumn, you may even be able to see the cruise ships.
A section of the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, docked in the Québec City harbour in 2022.
The photo above shows a section of the Caribbean Princess cruise ship moored in the port of Quebec. When it comes to a floating hotel, this ship is a good example.
A section of the Château Frontenac, in Old Québec.
Price building and houses in Old Quebec 2022
You now have the option of staying in Old Quebec for as long as you wish, and then take St. Jean Street and walk a few minutes to Place d’Youville to take bus #25 which will bring you back comfortably on St-Louis Street, at a stop very close to the place where you parked your car initially.
You will have had a great day that allowed you to exercise, see the St. Lawrence Seaway and the beauties of Old Quebec. All this for the price of a bus ticket ($4.00).
Cruise ships in the Port of Quebec in the fall of 2022
Another great time for Quebec City merchants begins with the arrival of multiple cruise ships each fall. Not only do the thousands of tourists pour into Old Quebec and its Petit-Champlain neighborhood, but the ships must also be restocked in anticipation of the continuing voyage.
In terms of photography technique, the Promenade des Gouverneurs and its staircase act as an entry point to the center of the photo above. It is of course important to preserve some autumn colors, as they are so ephemeral. A wide-angle lens helps the photographic composition, but it certainly distorted the street lamps on the left of the photo, which had to be straightened with an image processing software. Finally, the rule of thirds worked perfectly here to highlight the magnificent view from the heights of Quebec City.
The Queen Mary 2 arrives in Québec City on September 29th 2022.
The Queen Mary 2 in the Quebec City harbour in 2022.
The chilean vessel Esmeralda and its crew during the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 in Quebec City.
In July 2017, the four masted Chilean sailboat Esmeralda arrived in Quebec City for the Tall Ships Regatta 2017. The arrival was quite spectacular, as the whole crew sang together for several minutes for the people standing along the pier.
In order to avoid any distraction, the full frame picture has been taken in the portrait mode and the cropping was tight enough to bring forward the crew members standing up high away on the masts.
The picture below offers another point of view of the sailboat masts but this time the importance is given to the colored chairs directly installed in water, allowing the tourists to cool down during a particularly hot summer day. The wide angle lens used for the shot was a Canon 14mm f/2.8L. Two diagonal lines created by the pool in the foreground progressively meet with each other in the distance, in front of the sailboat.
The vessel Esmeralda during the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 in Quebec City.
When the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 ended, several small boats approached the Esmeralda and other sailboats to slowly travel with them from Quebec City until they cleared île d’Orléans. In the picture below, you can see the cruise ship Maasdam, which has been repositioned to a new pier in the Port of Quebec in order to accomodate the sailboats.
The ship Maasdam and the vessel Esmeralda during the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 in Quebec City.
In the picture below, the sailboat Esmeralda his heading towards the north of île d’Orléans as the final parade is completed. On the left, you can see the Château Frontenac and, directly behind, the Hotel Le Concorde Québec, with in its upper ring a revolving restaurant offering a superb view of Quebec City. The hand held photo was taken from île d’Orléans with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM telephoto lens. This lens is equipped with an integrated stabilizer.
It would nonetheless have been quite difficult to succeed with such an important cropping without the performance of the 50.6 megapixel full frame sensor used in the Canon 5DSR. Considering the great distance over water that is present between the camera and the sailboat, it is possible that you notice a mirage effect, even with the small picture presented here.
The vessel Esmeralda in Quebec City during the Tall Ships Regatta 2017. In the background, the Château Frontenac and the hotel Le Concorde.
I thought the crew would use all of the sailboat’s sails once passed île d’Orléans, but it was not the case. The picture below was taken from the top of a wooden tower installed at the north east extremity of île d’Orléans, while the Esmeralda is still navigating using its engine.
Even without the sails, the photographic composition benefited from a yellow field, a merchant ship and a lively horizon line showing the Appalachian mountains. No tripods were used for the shot as the wooden tower was constantly moving. The telephoto lens used was a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM and a slight cropping was necessary.
An approximative rule of thirds is behind the composition of the photo : you can imagine three fictive horizontal lines dividing the frame. The sailboat also finds itself on one of the rule of thirds vertical line on the right.
The vessel Esmeralda, from Chile, sailing on the St. Lawrence Seaway after its departure from the Tall Ships Regatta 2017 in Quebec.
For other pictures of ships on my blog, click on the following link : Ship photography.
