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
Trees with autumn colors in Ottawa in 2015
Autumn colors on an Ottawa street in 2015
Jogging session early morning in Ottawa
Autumn scenery in Ottawa 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
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
Artwork located in Ottawa, Canada
Peacekeeping Monument (Reconciliation), located in Ottawa, Canada
Ottawa Parliament in autumn
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On October 22nd 2015, in Ottawa, a ceremonial service commemorated the anniversary of the attacks that killed two Canadian soldiers in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Ottawa: Warrant officer Patrick Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo. Both families were present at the ceremony.
Policemen on motorcycles in Ottawa, on October 22nd 2015, ahead of the ceremony honoring Corporal Nathan Cirillo and Warrant officer Patrick Vincent
As one could expected, major security measures were put in place. View of the ceremony was partly blocked by all kind of obstacles and the crowd was held at a good distance by fences and an army of policemen.
Part of the crowd standing near the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
I was nonetheless lucky enough to find one of the few spots that provided a direct view on the ceremony and the dignitaries.
Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau and Stephen Harper shake hands during the ceremony in honor of Nathan Cirillo and Patrick Vincent held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
Using a Canon 70-200mm f2.8L II USM equipped with an extender, and benefiting from an ideal random positioning of the multiple secret service agents, policemen, soldiers and officers of all kinds, few other photos were made possible.
A first handshake was visible between Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and the incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper, under the eyes of Justin Trudeau’s wife Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau.
First handshake between the new Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and the incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the National War Memorial of Canada in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
Few dignitaries who were present at the ceremony: The Ottawa mayor, Jim Watson, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau, Justin Trudeau, Laureen and Stephen Harper.
Jim Watson, Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau and Justin Trudeau, Laureen and Stephen Harper at the National War Memorial in Ottawa in 2015
On several occasions, Justin Trudeau and Laureen Harper were able to exchange a few words.
The new Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and Laureen Harper in Ottawa, October 22nd 2015
Four CF-18s flew over the crowd, at good speed. I was lucky enough to take a picture of one of them. For those photographers who could be interested, the camera speed was 1/8000 sec, the focal length 400mm and aperture 5.6.
One of four F-18s over the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper then raised and walk toward the National War Memorial in order to lay a wreath on behalf of the people of Canada.
Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
On the left of the picture below, it is possible to see some of the Corporal Nathan Cirillo’s family members.
Nathan Cirillo family members are sitting behind Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper in Ottawa, October 22nd 2015
A second handshake, more assertive this time, was exchanged between Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper.
Second handshake between the new Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau and the incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 2015
Comforting words were pronounced by a few people, among them the Governor General of Canada and the military chaplain.
The military chaplain at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
The Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, and his wife are shown leaving at the end of the ceremony.
The Governor General of Canada, David Johnston, and his wife at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
A serious handshake was exchanged between the Ottawa Mayor, Jim Watson, and the Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau. Justin Trudeau’s both hands covering Jim Watson’s was certainly a sign that real cooperation could be expected.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson and Justin Trudeau in Ottawa 2015
Soldiers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, of which Nathan Cirillo belonged, did a march- about under high protection. A commemorative plaque was unveiled at the National War Memorial in honor of Cpl Nathan Cirillo and the same will be done next year for Warrant officer Patrick Vincent.
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Parade in Ottawa, October 22nd 2015
Unveiling a commemorative plaque in honor of Cpl Nathan Cirillo in Ottawa on October 22nd 2015
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Luck was certainly needed to be able to catch the arrival in Ottawa of Justin Trudeau as the new Prime Minister-designate of Canada, after the historical Liberal Party win of October 2015.
Like it often happens after a long photography session, there is a last minute opportunity that allows some totally unexpected shots.
Just as I finished packing my Canon 5D MKII and camera equipment, I saw a policeman on a motorcycle who was blocking the traffic on Wellington street. He was giving way to the Liberal Party campaign bus.
The Liberal Party campaign bus with the new Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau on board arrives in Ottawa on October 20th 2015.
Estimating that the new Prime Minister-designate of Canada was on board, I took the chance to run back to the Ottawa Parliament. Climbing the stairs two by two, I arrived at the same time as the bus. A Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS II USM was quickly installed to make sure that the photos would be in a wide enough format.
Numerous policemen were taking care of security but I was able to get close enough since there was only twenty or thirty people present, the arrival of a Prime Minister being held secret for obvious security reasons. Few seconds only were needed before Justin Trudeau got out of the bus and turned around to salute the crowd.
The new Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau arrives at the Ottawa Parliament on October 20th 2015
He then climbed few stairs, turned around again and showed the thumb up sign.
The new Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau as he prepared to enter the Ottawa Parliament on October 20th 2015
It was only the second time in the history of Canada that a political party ranking third won an election while forming at the same time a majority government, and the first time that a father and his son had been elected Prime Minister of Canada.
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Medical evacuation aircraft HS-125 C-FSEN Valentine Lupien of the Quebec Government, around 1986.
During the eighties, while I was working as a flight service specialist (FSS) at the Transport Canada flight service station in Rouyn-Noranda (CYUY), I received a phone call from a Val-d’Or air traffic controller. He told me that there was a problem with the type K ARCAL. The ARCAL allows a pilot to remotely activate the runway lights.
Normally, the pilot can choose between three intensities: low, medium and high. But it now seemed that for an extended period, the ARCAL’s low intensity would not be serviceable. The controller told me to issue aNOTAM stating that nobody could use the ARCAL for an indefinite period.
I did not agree with that request. An ARCAL system that was left available would facilitate a pilot’s life by allowing him to choose between the remaining intensities during the approach, or on takeoff. The pilots of the Quebec Government HS125 in charge of medical evacuations during night time would certainly appreciate.
I told the controller that I did not know of any approved procedures relating to an ARCAL type K system failure and that I did not see why I would consider totally unserviceable a system in which only one intensity out of three was posing a problem.
He replied that those were the written procedures that could be found in the control tower and that I had to call his manager if I wanted to see them. How was it possible that official procedures pertinent to a system installed on many airports across Canada, with or without a control tower, could only be found in selected control towers? This was unthinkable.
Through my manager, I asked to receive a copy of those procedures. But it now seemed that those procedures were not in the Val-d’Or control tower but in the Montreal regional office. I tried to get them from that office, but nobody could find anything on the subject.
It was now obvious that those procedures never existed. The funny thing is that all the stakeholders were defending, one level at a time, the existence of those fictive procedures, for all kinds of reasons.
During those years, there was a program called “Incentive Award”, encouraging an employee to present new ideas that would improve the efficiency of the public service. If a proposition was accepted by the highest management levels, a certificate accompanied with a small amount of money would be sent to the employee by the Deputy Minister at Transport Canada. Realizing I would not obtain satisfaction from the regional management, I used the “Incentive Award” program to present my proposition.
One year later, I received a call from somebody who told me he was working at the national level, in Ottawa. He implied that my suggestion would not be accepted.
I told him that I paid, like other Canadians, to get the ARCAL system installed and that, as long as one intensity would remain serviceable, the ARCAL would have to be available to pilots. I made sure he understood that I could not care if he felt comfortable with the idea or not. He was advised that if he maintained his view on the subject, he would have to justify his action to the Canadian public and to the Minister of Transport, who, at the time, was Benoît Bouchard.
Two months later, I received a check and a letter from the Deputy Minister of Transport Canada thanking me for my suggestion that was improving the efficiency of public service. Fourteen months were needed to make the transition from fictive to official procedures that now apply to all Canadian airports equipped with this type of remote control of runway lights.
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Facing a field of flowers, a photographer has to choose among many possibilities. Here are just a few:
1) He can choose a really beautiful flower and make it the sole point of attraction. In that case, he must decide if the background will be free of any distractions.
A rose from the English Garden in Geneva, 2013.
2) He can profit from a blurred background that is of a color dramatically opposed to the color of the chosen flower.
A tulip in the Bois-de-Coulonge, Québec City.
3) He might favor an overhead or a low angle shot. As this choice of the angle of view does not apply only to flowers, I found in my archives a low angle shot of a pear tree located in St-Nicolas, Québec. Here it is, so that you can see what kind of effect can be obtained.
Pears from Saint-Nicolas, Québec.
4) He can decide to show many flowers on the same picture, considering the interesting impact produced by all the color dots.
A field of flowers in Saint-Nicolas, Québec.
5) He might also use the flowers as accessories to direct the eye of the viewer to another point of interest like, for example, a building with special architectural characteristics.
Industrielle Alliance building, Quebec City, 2012
Flowers as accessories to improve a beautiful landscape in the background.
Sunflowers on Île d’Orléans
Photo of a part of Banff downtown, Alberta, Canada 2014
The flowers and the bumblebee are two interesting subjects; they complement each other in this picture. It would be hard for me to decide which one I prefer.
Bumblebee on a flower in the Parc du Bois-de-Coulonge, Québec City
Unless there is no other possibility, it is better to avoid shooting flowers under full sun as there will be considerable reflection on their petals. If you have no choice, use a polarizing filter, well adjusted, to reduce the undesirable effects of direct sunlight.
The ideal day to get out and take pictures of flowers is a day without wind, where there is a bright light but dimmed by an overcast sky.
The quality of colors and contrasts will be maximized if the pictures are taken during the morning or at the end of the afternoon.
Aperture has a definite impact on the final result. With a wide aperture (smaller numbers like F2.8 or F4.0) you will get a sharp subject with everything blurred around it. This will make your flower stand out. With a small aperture (bigger numbers like F14, F16), both foreground and background will be sharper, with an even better result using a wide-angle lens. Your flower will lose a bit of its impact as all the elements in the picture will now shine. Below is a picture taken in Ontario, during the Ottawa Tulip Festival.
Macrophotography:
April 2012 on the Plains of Abraham: A bee makes its way out of a crocus.
1) Remove any dirt from the plant you want to capture and choose a plant whose petals are in perfect condition.
2) Use a tripod, a remote control release and the mirror lock-up (MLU) function for better results.
3) The camera should ideally be used with manual focus, for improved sharpness. In order to verify if the picture will be in focus, look at the LCD screen and enlarge the picture (5X or 10X). You will immediately see if a minor adjustment is needed to get a sharp photo or to improve the depth-of-field.
The histogram should be checked upon taking the picture to immediately compensate for the necessary amount of light.
You can use a flash to reduce aperture. You must adjust it so that it’s not shooting at full power otherwise there will be too much reflection and you will lose all the delicate nuances of colors and contrasts.
A method that will produce surprising results is called “zoom burst”. You slowly move the zoom of a lens on all its focal length while the shutter remains open during the process. You must select a speed that is slow enough to accommodate the full deflection of the zoom. You should know that many shots are normally needed before you get a satisfying image.
Every lens offers different possibilities:
1) The macro lens is useful if you wish to capture very precise details on the flower. To add an interesting effect, you can even spray the flower lightly with water so that a few droplets remain on the petals.
2) The wide-angle lens allows you to transform an image and give it an original perspective. The effect will be more important if you shoot the flower from a special angle like, for example, from the ground up. If you must lie on the ground, use a little carpet to keep yourself clean and dry. I bought a right-angle finder to ease the workload when shooting under complicated angles. This could be a potentially interesting addition to your equipment.
3) Finally, the telephoto allows you to pick a particular flower and, because of compressed perspective, offers you a background filled with multiple colors.
Let’s end this section with a mushroom picture. The same principles apply with regards to simplicity, settings and angles of views. I could have chosen to show only an oversize shot of a mushroom, or take only part of it, but I preferred an approach that would allow me to show the radically different shapes of the specimens found at the Laurentian Forestry Center in Québec.
Mushrooms around the Canadian Forestry Service building , Québec 2014.
A section of the front page of my newspaper “Le Moyen Terme”
Since the Quebec flight service stations were disseminated over a vast territory, the communications between the employees of each station were quite limited. It was difficult to obtain relevant information on staff transfers: such information was badly needed when came the time to choose the next transfer site.
How would an employee be able to insist that there is availability in Montreal if he did not have in front of him, during the “discussion”, such verified information? To correct the situation, once I was working at Rouyn-Noranda FSS, I decided to create my own newspaper, titled “Le Moyen Terme”.
The newspaper was distributed to every Quebec flight service stations, to the Transport Canada Training Institute in Cornwall, Ontario, to Montreal regional office and to Ottawa headquarters. Suddenly, the Quebec flight service specialists were having access to relevant information that was updated on a regular basis.
I had contributors from all over the province, and as the newspaper gained in credibility, even Ottawa managers started to provide me with some input. I financed the newspaper, wrote most of the articles and mailed a new edition every two months. I was indebted to nobody. This did not preclude the reception of a lawyer’s letter, but in such a controlled environment, that did not come as a surprise. I presented the letter to a well-known judge who took care of the matter for free. He closed the case in one swift move.
Each edition had ten to fifteen pages. It was typed using an old typewriter and mistakes were erased using correcting fluid. A small part of the content was meant to amuse the reader, but must of the information was of an editorial nature. The texts were generally received positively by the employees and that contributed to a regular exchange.
The “Facts and rumors” page of the “Le Moyen Terme” newspaper
The section that was possibly the least appreciated by the regional office was titled: “Where are they?” On that page, one could find the name of every employee working at a particular station, with its seniority. The details were now readily available to everybody. The information provided by the management could now be crosschecked by the staff. This possibly annoyed some managers who, until recently, had a relatively easy task in attributing respective postings.
Page “Où sont-ils?” (Where are they?) of my newspaper “Le Moyen Terme”
One day, I had to visit the Montreal Transport Canada regional office. A high ranking manager, aware of my visit, invited me in his office and ordered me to stop the production of the newspaper. I told him that it was out of question and that the newspaper was useful to many employees. My answer, at the time, did not make me friends in high places, but it was not my goal. The newspaper was produced for another two years. I decided to end this personal project when I had no more time to take care of it, busy with multiple university courses and a seven days a week working schedule in Iqaluit. Since I did not want to dilute or diminish the content or the quality of the newspaper I had created, I chose to stop its production.
(Note: the comic-book characters were created by Gotlib)
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After a proficiency check, I soon find myself flying a Cessna 170B (tail wheel) on a flight across Canada, from St -Jean-sur- Richelieu, Quebec, to Edmonton, Alberta. I am accompanied by the aircraft’s owner who has not yet completed his private pilot course. The 1952 Cessna flies well, but has absolutely no instruments for air navigation, not even a VOR nor ADF. And the era of the portable GPS is not yet upon us.
Fourteen 1:500,000 VFR charts, covering the planned flight, are folded, glued and numbered. I trace the expected flight path on each chart, with 10 miles landmarks. This will facilitate the monitoring of our progress, considering the absence of navigation equipment. The preparation now completed, the take off is done on a beautiful summer day of 1981.
1:500,000 VFR charts used for a flight toward Edmonton, Canada, in 1981
We do stopovers at Gatineau, North Bay, Sudbury and then fly along Lake Superior to Wawa.
Small break in Sudbury on a VFR flight to Edmonton in 1981
We fly around Lake Superior to our next stopovers, Thunder Bay and Fort Frances. Over large forested areas, with no major landmarks, the gyroscopic precession must be corrected frequently so as not to stray too far from the intended track. Sometimes when it facilitates navigation, we either follow a railway or main roads. There are some instances where the westerly winds are so strong that our ground speed is slower than a car on a highway.
From Fort Frances to Kenora in 1981, with a Cessna C170B
Our flight path follows a line that keeps us away from areas of high air traffic. I choose to fly north of Winnipeg terminal control area, thus avoiding frequent radio exchanges with air traffic control in a language I do not master. The underperforming radio would not be of any help at any rate. This option eventually means that we must fly over Lake Winnipeg, in its southern portion. We have enough altitude to be able to glide to the other side in case of an engine failure. Nonetheless, we realize that we are gradually loosing several thousand feet due to the cold air mass above the lake. This with maximum power applied. The unexpected descent eventually ends, but it is now impossible to have an engine failure without ditching in the lake…
The crossing of Lake Winnipeg with a Cessna C170B in 1981
Near Lundar, Manitoba, the aircraft’s old gauges indicate a significant loss of fuel. It is surprising since we refueled an hour ago. We must land the plane on the nearest runway, but the strong crosswinds exceed the capabilities of the aircraft. Nonetheless, an attempt is made with the result that only the left wheel accepts the contact with the runway. As soon as the right wheel also touches the ground, the aircraft becomes airborne again. A nearby field is selected to make a precautionary landing so that the fuel status can be verified. We fly at low altitude over the electrical wires and the cows in the adjacent field, and touch smoothly at a ground speed not exceeding 15 knots. A farmer witnesses the landing and arrives in his red pick-up to offer some help. The tanks are almost full, so the plane only needs few liters of gasoline. Once this is done, we take off westward. It appears that the old fuel gauges of this 1952 Cessna are now totally unreliable…
Landing in a field with a Cessna C170B in Lundar, Manitoba in 1981.
We leave Manitoba through Dauphin and enter Saskatchewan. If we were to experience an engine failure above such uniform fields, the risk of serious problems at landing would be virtually nonexistent.
Near Yorkton, Saskatchewan, in flight with a Cessna C170B in 1981
The weather is slowly deteriorating. We choose to land in Watson, Saskatchewan, on the nearest runway.
The runway surface consists of muddy earth and grass, and it’s delimited by small red wooden panels. As we touch the ground, the tires splash mud everywhere, including under the wings.
The Watson runway, Saskatchewan, in 1981
The King George motel in Watson, Saskatchewan in 1981
Finally, the weather improves and a takeoff is made toward North Battleford, the last stop before Edmonton. The sloping terrain forces us to fly lower and lower near Edmonton, under an overcast stratocumulus, limiting our ability to see a long time in advance the correct airport from the three available (international, civil , military ). Luckily, everything goes well in choosing the right airport and approach, but we cannot say the same with radio communications. The sound quality coming from the old speaker is awful and the English spoken by the air traffic controller too fast for us. The combination of these two factors causes the controller to repeat more than once his instructions until he finally decides to slow down and we can officially say: « Roger! »
After spending few days in Edmonton it is now time for the return flight to St-Jean. This proves to be much easier and faster because the westerly winds push the aircraft. Our ground speed is sometimes double what we had managed to get on our trip to Edmonton. The journey took us twenty-five hours to go and eighteen hours to come back.
Cessna C170B in flight over Canada, summer 1981.
Climbing to 9,500 feet on the return leg to St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, in 1981.
VFR “on top” with a Cessna C170B in 1981 over Canada
Over North Bay, Ontario, the weather is ideal. But we will have to land in Ottawa while waiting for thunderstorms to move away from Montreal and St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. After a total of forty- three-hours of flying time, the old Cessna 170B is landing back to St- Jean -sur- Richelieu.
