Tag: Quebec City

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Photography Photos of Quebec

Old Quebec in winter.

Old Quebec, winter 2023.
Old Quebec, winter 2023.

The Old Quebec in winter is always exciting to photograph. The continually changing weather presents new opportunities that must be seized. Moreover, for the same weather system, each hour that passes also offers a different luminosity. The photographer is spoilt for choice.

For the picture above, taken with a Canon 5DSr, I positioned myself in a place that is normally off-limits during winter. That’s why you can only see my footprints in the snow. But hey! The risk was minimal and the angle of view perfect to capture the Château Frontenac.

The street lamp emits a light that needs to be corrected in the camera. Instead of “AWB”, select “tungsten”. This adjustment allows you to reflect exactly what you see, rather than ending up with tones that are too contrasty. HDR photography allows for some correction of large contrasts in brightness.

The lights on the roof of the Chateau Frontenac illuminate the snow falling around the building. This snow makes for interesting sky tones, even though the blue hour has long since passed.

In terms of the photographic composition, the low wall and fence serve as the entry point into the photo. The lamp post is located at a point respecting the rule of thirds. The building on the right blocks the view and invites the eye to continue its exploration to the left of the photo, which leads the viewer to the Chateau Frontenac.

The photo below, taken a few minutes later, uses the stairs as an entry point into the photo to quickly lead the eye to the Château Frontenac. In this case, a vertical format lends itself better to the scene.

The Château Frontenac, winter 2023.
The Château Frontenac, winter 2023.

The snow on the railings and steps adds an alternating black and white effect. Otherwise, everything would be quite dark and we would lose a little interest. A nearby street lamp provides enough ambient light to illuminate the scene; however, I was careful not to include the light source directly in the photo, as it distracts the viewer from the main subject.

In winter as well as in summer, I use a tripod to reduce camera shake and improve resolution in low light conditions.

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

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

From Domaine Cataraqui to Old Quebec

Stairs of the Cataraqui Domain in HDR in autumn
Stairs of the Cataraqui Domain in HDR in autumn

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.
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.
A section of the Château Frontenac, in Old Québec.
Price building and houses in Old Quebec 2022
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).

Have a good walk!

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

Categories
Photos of Quebec

Mosaiculture of Québec City 2022

Giraffe in the Mosaïcultures de Québec 2022
Giraffe in the Mosaïcultures de Québec 2022

The exhibition of Mosaïculture of Québec City 2022, entitled “Once upon a time…the Earth“, ends in a few days, after having been a great success throughout the summer.

Two elephants at the Mosaïcultures de Québec 2022
Two elephants at the Mosaïcultures de Québec 2022

More than six million plants were used to build 200 animals and insects in the Bois-de-Coulonge, not to mention the flowers along the way to further enhance the tour.

Four zebras at the Mosaïcultures Québec 2022
Four zebras at the Mosaïcultures Québec 2022

In a few months, hundreds of thousands of visitors will have walked through the circuit of 90 minutes to visit the largest edition of mosaiculture since its creation in 2000 in Montreal. In Québec City, more than 80% of the works were exposed for the first time.

A beekeeper and his bees at the Mosaïcultures de Québec 2022
A beekeeper and his bees at the Mosaïcultures de Québec 2022

The site had to be prepared nine months in advance. As intensive watering became mandatory, Québec City temporarily modified its watering regulations, explaining that it was an exhibition and not a horticultural production.

The man who plants a tree at the Mosaïcultures de Québec 2022
The man who plants a tree at the Mosaïcultures de Québec 2022

Above, a shepherd plants a tree in a place that seems to be very unfertile, indicating at the same time the need not to give up when it comes to saving the planet.

These Québec 2022 mosaicultures will have been another major tourist attraction for Québec City, after a cascade of other summer events. In fact, there have been times when so many tourist activities overlapped at the same time, that residents and tourists had to make choices. A spectacular rebound from a pandemic that forced people to make sacrifices for two years!

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

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

The Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec 2022

Cyclists turning for côte Gilmour in Quebec City in 2022
Cyclists turning for côte Gilmour in Quebec City in 2022

An interesting vantage point to photograph the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec is at the intersection of Grande-Allée and the avenue leading to the famous Gilmour hill. The cyclists are riding at high speed and must brake hard before making a sharp left turn to begin the descent to the portion that will take them along the St. Lawrence River. There are no obstructions for the photographer at this point.

2022 Quebec City Grand Prix Cycliste
2022 Quebec City Grand Prix Cycliste

To capture the effect of the cyclists’ movement, the shutter speed must not be set too fast, preferably between 1/125 and 1/160. Otherwise, everything looks immobile, even the wheel spokes.

Quebec City Grand Prix Cycliste in 2022
Quebec City Grand Prix Cycliste in 2022

Positioning yourself immediately after the curve allows you to capture a long line of bicycles. You can focus on the cyclists on the right in the viewfinder and leave the line of cyclists around the curve out of focus. To do this, make sure that the chosen aperture will blur the background. It is also important to follow the movement of the cyclists with the camera. If you stand still, all the riders will be out of focus, as the shutter speed is too slow for the high speed of these riders.

Cyclists racing on Grande-Allée in Quebec City 2022
Cyclists racing on Grande-Allée in Quebec City 2022

An occasional close-up obtained through cropping allows us to see details that we would otherwise miss. In the case of the photo above, it is clear that not only is the rider in the front relaxed, but he has also recently crashed, with his right arm still in recovery. Sometimes we also see the result of deformities in the knees of cyclists following numerous surgeries.

Quebec City Grand Prix Cycliste 2022
Quebec City Grand Prix Cycliste 2022

The cyclists want to maintain their position in this tightly packed group that must maneuver in a small space. With a telephoto lens, one can see the facial expressions change as they approach the turn for the Gilmour hill. Note the concentration on the faces of the cyclists in the foreground…

Grand Prix Cycliste in Quebec City in 2022
Grand Prix Cycliste in Quebec City in 2022

Following moving cyclists with a camera remains a difficult art to master. Several pictures are taken before a successful one is achieved. Fortunately, film photography is behind us and we don’t worry as much about missed shots. The important thing is to have fun and try to get a little better with each photo session!

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

Categories
Street photography

Street photography: the delivery man.

On his knees he could have carried on more box in the grocery store.
On his knees he could have carried on more box in the grocery store.

The deliveryman above avoids unnecessary trips by carrying a stack of boxes so high that he can barely fit through the door of the St-Olivier grocery store in the St-Jean-Baptiste neighborhood in Quebec City. He could have added another box to the pile, but he would have had to enter the establishment on his knees. We don’t ask for that much…

Scenes like this feed street photography, which requires the photographer to be ready to capture ephemeral situations. The time allowed to camera settings is reduced to a minimum. Sometimes a photo is taken without looking through the viewfinder, hoping to have captured the essential.

This is the case of the scene above. I had just parked in the area and was getting out of the car with the camera still in the bottom of my backpack. Across the street, a delivery man was walking with a stack of boxes taller than him. In a few seconds he would be in the establishment, if the stack didn’t collapse after catching the top of the door frame.

To capture the scene and gain speed, I pulled the camera out of the bag with its preset settings adjusted for street photography and shoot without taking the time to make sure the subject was captured.

Just looking through the viewfinder to frame perfectly would have taken a few extra seconds and been enough to ruin the scene, as in the absence of the delivery man, only the man holding the door would have appeared in the photo. And it is obvious that he is not the main subject. He is very kind to hold the door (it’s the least he can do), but apart from the fact that he seems to have a white support stocking on his left leg (because of the sun), he was the secondary subject from the beginning…

Click on the link for more street photography on my blog.

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

Pope Francis in Old Quebec.

Motorcycle policemen lead the convoy bringing the Pope to Old Quebec in 2022.
Motorcycle policemen lead the convoy bringing the Pope to Old Quebec in 2022.

If you don’t have privileged access, the main difficulty in photographing the arrival of Pope Francis in Old Quebec in 2022 lies in the vague and sometimes contradictory information offered to journalists in an obvious effort to protect the itinerary of the head of state.

You also have to deal with the strong police presence and the barriers that open and close according to the mood of the moment, blocking bicycles and pedestrians long before the Pope has crossed the Saint-Louis gate. As a photographer, you don’t want to find yourself suddenly stuck in a place of no interest.

Other aspects to consider are purely photographic, such as the ambient light and the distance from the subject at the time of the photo, which will influence the choice of equipment carried.

The official convoy arrives on Saint-Louis Street. It is important to know that in the afternoon, the sun crosses directly the axis of the Saint-Louis Street in its slow descent towards the west. If you position yourself along this street to take the picture, there is no physical obstacle, but you photograph against the light a convoy which passes at full speed. The camera sensor does not appreciate backlighting, because it has difficulty evaluating which light takes precedence. The choice of a straight line on Saint-Louis Street is therefore not very interesting.

The crowd greets Pope Francis on his arrival in Old Quebec in 2022.
The crowd greets Pope Francis on his arrival in Old Quebec in 2022.

The Pope’s driver sits on the left (at least in Canada). The Pope will therefore be on the right, whether forward or backward. If one stands in the Place d’Armes, one gives priority to the driver rather than to the Pontiff.

As the sun travels progressively from the axis of St. Louis Street to the west, the tall trees of the Place d’Armes will create a natural veil blocking the effects of backlighting. This will increase the chances of successful photos.

On St. Louis Street, the convoy is moving quickly in a long straight line. The chances of getting a good picture decrease. When the security cars reach the end of Saint-Louis, they have to brake because of a sharp curve near the Château Frontenac. If you position yourself immediately after the curve, the chances of getting an acceptable picture increase greatly.

As for photographic equipment, a camera lens that requires little light will help optimize shutter speed and depth of field, especially in the late afternoon. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens offers more flexibility.

A camera with a full-frame sensor will also allow the cropping necessary to magnify the photo without loss of quality. For the photos included in this article, the camera used was a Canon 5DSR.

The riskiest technique which therefore requires a little more experience is to take the picture of the head of state in his car in focus while leaving the outside blurred, to show that the car is moving fast. You follow the car with the camera’s viewer. The closer it gets to you, there is an obvious feeling of acceleration. It is thus necessary to increase the rotation of your body to adjust to the car’s relative speed change. The autofocus does its job as the vehicle approaches.

There is only a fraction of a second where you get a completely clear view of the head of state. A second too early and you only see a portion of the face with a piece of the car, a second too late and you get a three-quarter rear view. A continuous shooting mode becomes absolutely necessary.

Pope Francis arrives in Old Quebec on his trip to Canada in 2022.
Pope Francis arrives in Old Quebec on his trip to Canada in 2022.

An adequate shutter speed captures the face of the head of state accurately and keeps the background blurred. A shutter speed that is too fast makes the whole scene clear and sharp, and the photo loses its dynamism. Too slow a speed and the face lacks definition. There is only one chance to get it right.

So, those were a few ideas to remember if you want to photograph important events in Old Quebec. A prior knowledge of the terrain and of the sun’s position at specific times remains essential if you want to increase your chances of success.

Enjoy your photography!

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

Categories
Flight Simulation

Short Landings in Flight Simulation with MSFS 2020

On approach for Île d'Orléans.
On approach for Île d’Orléans.

Today’s flight consists of two virtual short landings using the MSFS 2020 flight simulator (or as some call it, FS2020). We will be landing on Île d’Orléans and on the Battlefields Park.

First of all, I admit that the Cessna 170B’s windows are dirty. For realism, the designer Carenado left a little dirt here and there to show the wear and tear of this very old aircraft.

The picture above shows Île d’Orléans as seen from the Cessna. Since there is no landing strip but a golf club in the area, we will use the open fairways to land the aircraft. If there is a golfer on the course, I will open the window and yell, as is customary, “Fore!” (Falling Object Returning to Earth).

On final for Île d'Orléans
On final for Île d’Orléans

We are established on final for the small portion of open ground ahead. With 40 degrees of flaps, the stall speed is particularly low and the landing should not be too difficult.

On Île d'Orléans ready for take-off.
On Île d’Orléans ready for take-off.

Although the available strip was not very wide, it was long enough for the landing, the taxiing and the maneuvering to turn the aircraft 180 degrees for its take-off to Quebec City.

Airborne from Île d'Orléans with a Cessna 170B
Airborne from Île d’Orléans with a Cessna 170B

Back in the air, direction Quebec City. The take-off on soft ground requires about 20 degrees of flaps.

Enroute towards Quebec City.
Enroute towards Quebec City.

Quebec City is in sight. In the Cessna C-170B I flew in 1981 across Canada from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu to Edmonton, Alberta, there was no modern navigation aid installed on board as in the photo above, where the GPS helps the pilot find his way. The flight was flown using 14 VFR charts and nothing more. (If you are interested, click to read more about real-life flying stories on my blog).

Hôtel le Concorde and its revolving restaurant, visible on the right.
Hôtel le Concorde and its revolving restaurant, visible on the right.

We are now above the Plains of Abraham. On the picture above, on the right, you can see the Hotel le Concorde and its revolving restaurant. We will possibly disturb the quiet atmosphere of the meal as we fly by…

The MNBAQ and the Battlefields Park are in sight.
The MNBAQ and the Battlefields Park are in sight.

Above, straight ahead, the gray buildings represent a portion of the Musée National des Beaux-Arts de Québec (MNBAQ). A little further on is the open area of the Battlefields Park. In 1928, Lindbergh landed on that field to bring badly needed medicine for his friend Floyd Bennett. Can we normally land on the Battlefields Park, in the heart of Quebec City? Of course not. But that’s the beauty of a flight simulation; you can do whatever you want!

Cessna 170B on the Battlefields Park in Québec City.
Cessna 170B on the Battlefields Park in Québec City.

Once landed, the aircraft is allowed to decelerate gradually and then turned 180 degrees for the next takeoff. When winds are light, there is no need to worry about the direction of the takeoff.

Aerial view of Battlefield Parks with the Cessna 170B under MSFS 2020.
Aerial view of Battlefield Parks with the Cessna 170B under MSFS 2020.

Above, an aerial view of the Battlefields Park, with the virtual Cessna C-170B ready to take off again.

Partial view of Quebec City in flight simulation with MSFS 2020
Partial view of Quebec City in flight simulation with MSFS 2020

One last picture, this time with some additional buildings. The realism of the virtual scene with FS2020 is amazing!

I hope you enjoyed these two short flights. Whether you use the short landing technique for the Battlefields Park is really up to you, as there is enough space for a normal landing. But it is good to practice landing in the shortest distance possible. You never know when your engine will quit!

You can click on the following link for other challenging virtual flights   on my blog.

Categories
Ship photography

The ship MSC Maria Pia in front of Quebec City.

The MSC Maria Pia vessel on the St.Lawrence Seaway by Quebec City.
The MSC Maria Pia vessel on the St.Lawrence Seaway by Quebec City.

Here is a last picture of the winter of 2022 before going into spring mode. We can see the MSC Maria Pia sailing through the ice on the St. Lawrence River between Quebec City and Lévis, with a temperature of -27C.

The container ship Maria Pia belongs to the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). It was built in 1997 and flies the Panama flag. The ship passed by the Quai des Cageux at just the right time, as the very soft light of a late afternoon winter day is always more conducive to photography.

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

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

The promenade Samuel-De Champlain in winter.

A part of the promenade Samuel-De Champlain in winter by -27C.
A part of the promenade Samuel-De Champlain in winter by -27C.

The photo above shows a portion of the promenade Samuel-De Champlain in Quebec City. People are walking under a temperature of -27 C, but the windchill factor is actually more like -40 C.

Where I was standing, a cliff was blocking the last sunrays. But a little further, the perfectly clear sky and the sun setting diretly in the axis of the St-Lawrence River allowed to obtain amazing color contrasts.

The promenade Samuel-De Champlain with the Adobe "Content Aware" function.
The promenade Samuel-De Champlain with the Adobe “Content Aware” function.

I used the first photo above to familiarize myself with Adobe CC 2022. The software’s “content aware fill ” feature allows you to quickly erase elements of a photo without it being too noticeable. So, I tried the experiment with the person in the foreground. In a few seconds, the lady disappeared without a trace. Artificial intelligence now plays an increasingly important role in the fast and efficient editing of images.

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

Categories
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.