Tag: Quebec City

Categories
Flight Simulation

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Approaching the Narita international airport, in Japan, with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.
Approaching the Narita international airport, in Japan, with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

The Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 is an extremely interesting product. Microsoft is taking advantage of the satellite imagery offered by Bing, which allows the flight simulation enthusiast to fly over the world almost like in the real life. With the addition of live weather and air traffic in real time, the immersion is incredible.

Flying over New York in the evening with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.
Flying over New York in the evening with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

To download the game’s 128 gigabytes using my current internet plan, it took fourteen hours. I still remember when I bought a hard drive that could hold 30 megabytes of data: it was a computer revolution!

Of course, the game requires an adaptation. We are far from the old FSX platform. It goes without saying that you need a high-performance computer. But a new and very positive aspect of this simulator is that you can now use an X-Box controller as an in-flight camera, with the addition of a rudder and a steering wheel for more reality. This camera offers incredible possibilities and the additional X-Box controller becomes essential.

The Zlin Savage Cub flying over the United States using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.
The Zlin Savage Cub flying over the United States using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

As with anything new, there are some glitches. Personally, I have been using the CH company products for flight simulation for many years and the new MSFS 2020 has had problems recognizing the functions of CH products. Many virtual flight enthousiasts have had the same problems. So here are the links below that allowed a neophyte like me to solve the problems.

A first video of interest is also available. Its author uses a slightly different method, but it is super easy to understand and allows you to acquire additional knowledge if you want to map your CH rudder and control column correctly.

A second video gives you access to the CH company products. There you will find the links that allow you to print a representation of your CH flight controls. This will allow you to find which number is associated with a specific command control. You can then remap the controls to your taste and keep a record of all the modifications you made.

Here are two other practical links for answers to various questions about X-Box and other subjects and CH products.

Aerial view of Quebec City using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.
Aerial view of Quebec City using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

In the screenshot above, you might recognize Quebec City, with the restaurant Le Concorde in the distance on the left, followed by the Edifice Marie-Guyart, a part of the Plains of Abraham, the Château Frontenac, the Price building and the lower town.

Have a good flight!

Click on the link for other flight simulation articles on my blog.

Categories
Environment Photography

Blue Jay in Autumn in Quebec City.

Blue Jay in a Russian Mountain Ash tree.
Blue Jay in a Russian Mountain Ash tree.

The picture above, taken with a Canon 5DS R full frame camera equipped with a Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS II USM telephoto lens was taken in the Fall morning in Quebec City, after a night with frost. The Russian Mountain Ash berries have not yet been eaten by all kinds of birds, so we can use them for our bird photography session before it is too late.

In anticipation of the cold winter days, I designed a retractable feeder to help the family of five blue jays which lives in the neighborhood. I thought it would take several days for them to get to grips with the new system, but in less than 24 hours, they were gleefully stuffing themselves.

Blue Jay eating peanuts
Blue Jay eating peanuts

The five blue jays each have a well-defined behavior. I have one who accepts to eat peanuts in my hands, but he mistakes my fingertips for the tip of a peanut. He pulls but nothing helps : the peanut does not follow. He probably suffers from myopia…

There is another who spends his time changing his mind; he chooses a peanut, then puts it back in the pot, then chooses another. After procrastinating and swapping the peanuts multiple times, he flies away. Another is an aerobatic ace; it arrives at high speed and catches peanuts in a fraction of a second without stopping. It rarely drops it.

Hermit Thrush in a Russian Mountain Ash.
Hermit Thrush in a Russian Mountain Ash.

During this time, the Hermit Thrush in the tree continues to taste the small red berries, indifferent to the activities of the blue jays.

Click on the link for other photos of Quebec City and île d’Orléans in Autumn on my blog.

Categories
Graphic novels and comics

Hostage

Hostage by Guy Delisle
Hostage by Guy Delisle

Guy Delisle took fifteen years to write this graphic novel. He tells the story of the kidnapping for ransom (K&R) in 1997 of a French citizen, Christophe André, while he was working for a medical NGO in the Caucasus region.

Faithful to his habits, this author born in Quebec City offers us a fascinating and humane narrative. A work that looks at a real life story often adds tension, when properly put together. This is what happens with the work of Guy Delisle. Hostage is a 428-page graphic novel that can be read in one sitting. As it often happens in dramatic events, humans discover an unsuspected character and strengths that enable them to cope with abuse, loneliness and stress.

Hostage by Guy Delisle interior page
Hostage by Guy Delisle interior page

The pace and the quality of the drawings and the script make it easy for the reader to dive into the story and imagine themselves in the place of the captive. Would the decisions made by the hostage also have been made by the reader? Would he have used other means to deal with his captivity?

I discourage the reader from trying to discover the conclusion of this story before starting to read the book. Resist this temptation, the read is worth the effort!

Click on the link for other graphic novels and comics on my blog.

Title : Hostage.

Author : Guy Delisle

Editions : Drawn & Quarterly (25 April 2017)

©2016 et 2017

ISBN-13 : 978-1770462793

Categories
Photography

The Hôtel Le Concorde and the Coronavirus.

In Quebec City, a few floors of the Hôtel Le Concorde receive patients recovering from the coronavirus.

Hôtel Le Concorde and the rooms reserved for patients who had to deal with the coronavirus.
Hôtel Le Concorde and the rooms reserved for patients who had to deal with the coronavirus.

Within seconds of taking this photo of the hotel, a Corona delivery truck appeared in front of the hotel. It was just a coincidence. But somebody was in need of the Mexican serum!

Hôtel Le Concorde and the Corona delivery truck.
Hôtel Le Concorde and the Corona delivery truck.

Speaking of coronavirus (COVID-19), I was recently at Costco and was wearing a protective mask. I heard some people near me say: “I don’t see why he’s wearing a mask, it doesn’t even protect him!” I tried to explain to them that I was wearing the mask to protect the people around me, but that did not convince anyone. It seems that taking selfless action to protect others is inconceivable. The purpose of wearing a mask is to protect the neighbors. And if the neighbors wear one too, they protect me. The more we wear the mask, the more we protect each other. We help each other. However, it seems to be a surprisingly difficult concept to grasp!

At the entrance of a huge garden store, a lady refused to rub her hands with gel. She said to the clerk: “No way am I putting liquid germicide on my hands, it’s not good for my health.”  The clerk was very nice and replied: “Okay, so come in with me and wash your hands inside with soap and water.” She had no choice because she would not have been allowed to shop. This is another example of a human behavior that is hard to understand. If she was so interested in her health, taking care of her weight situation would have been more sensible than to focus on a bit of liquid germicide.

Click on the link for other photos of Quebec City and île d’Orléans in Spring on my blog.

Categories
Street photography

The ideal access to school in Quebec City

The St-Louis-de-Gonzague school in Quebec City.
The St-Louis-de-Gonzague school in Quebec City.

By cropping very tightly a picture of the St-Louis-de-Gonzague school’s entrance, in Quebec City, it is possible to modify the access to the school.

To the right of the hole in the wall, you can see “Entrée des élèves”, which means “Entrance for students”. With this reinterpretation, the students are invited to leave school as soon as they arrive. At a time where the society promotes an alternative education and the environment, this is an ideal opportunity for the students!

For other street photos, click on:

Street photography

Categories
Street photography

The boy with the man’s face.

In Canada, we cannot take the picture of someone who is the main subject unless we have obtained her permission. This is even more important with a child, where the authorization of the parents is required. But in the case of the picture below, it is different: it is a child whose face seems to belong to somebody else!

The child with a man's face. Terrasse Dufferin, Quebec City.
The child with a man’s face. Terrasse Dufferin, Quebec City.

I took this picture and enlarged it in the camera to understand what I was seeing. I realized that the child was holding the image of an adult man directly in front of his face.

The child with a man's face (enlarged photo)
The child with a man’s face (enlarged photo)

There was a group of adults that were standing nearby. One of the man called the child, who rapidly stepped down from the statue. They told me that the picture held by the child represents the sensei of a karate club that came all the way from British-Columbia for a national competition of Shotokan style karate being held at Laval University in Quebec City. The mystery was solved!

For other street photos, click on:

Street photography

Categories
Street photography

Jeanne d’Arc and the snow geese

Jeanne d'Arc and the snow geese. Parc Jeanne d'Arc, Quebec City, 2017.
Jeanne d’Arc and the snow geese. Parc Jeanne d’Arc, Quebec City, 2017.

When someone wants to do street photography, he must continually ask himself: “What don’t I see, but that is there? What do I take for granted but that would deserve a different approach?”

While I was heading to Old Quebec, I walked by the Jeanne d’Arc park. This park is known for its beautiful flowers and its huge statue of Jeanne d’Arc. But how could I get the statue without the flowers?

I was looking left and right when I finally looked straight up to see, in the background, hundreds of snow geese flying at high altitude and enroute for the Arctic. I had to very rapidly find a way to photograph the statue and the snow geese.

A few seconds later, the tip of Jeanne d’Arc’s sword was pointing towards the snow geese, making a link between the two subjects.

On a more theoretical note, an abstract diagonal line crossed the photo, starting from the front of the horse and going through the rider, the tip of the sword and following the two lines of geese, ending in the upper right corner of the picture.

The picture was taken with a Canon 5DSR full frame camera equipped with a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM.

For other street photos, click on:

Street photography

Categories
Tragedy at sea

Rescue mission by a ferry in Quebec City, January 2018

Ferry in icy waters. Quebec City. Winter 2018.
Ferry in icy waters. Quebec City. Winter 2018.

So far, this winter has been especially cold in Quebec City. There have been several weeks where the temperature stayed below -20 C. The STQ ferries, property of the Government of Quebec, must navigate the ice covered St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec City.

Government of Quebec ferry in the icy St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec. Winter 2018.
Government of Quebec ferry in the icy St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec. Winter 2018.

The ferries Alphonse-Desjardins and Lomer-Gouin, carrying cars and passengers between the two cities, must sometimes completely cancel the service. On three occasions so far, a ferry stayed stuck while trying to cross the ice covered seaway. The passengers had to wait patiently up to four hours for a crossing that normally takes ten minutes.

The picture below was taken from Old Quebec. In the foreground stands the “Le Vendôme” restaurant, which has been for sale for years now. In the distance, a ferry makes its way through ice towards Quebec City.

Ferry approaching Quebec during the winter in 2018
Ferry approaching Quebec during the winter in 2018

Ocean’s tugboats are also working on the seaway, regardless of the temperature. The picture below shows one of those tugboats enroute to the Jean-Gaulin refinery to help an oil tanker.

Ocean's tugboat on the St. Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City. Winter 2018, by -20 C.
Ocean’s tugboat on the St. Lawrence Seaway near Quebec City. Winter 2018, by -20 C.

The pictures in this article were taken on January 7th 2018 with a Canon 5DSR equipped with a Canon EF 85 mm f/1.2L II USM. The temperature was -18 C.

The next day, a man who had fallen in the icy waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway was luckily spotted by one of the passengers who was standing on the Lomer-Gouin ferry heading to Quebec City. The man suffering from severe hypothermia was saved by the Government of Quebec STQ staff (Société des traversiers). Here is the link to TVA news (in French): Une personne tombe dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent à Québec.

The cold temperature and winds did not stop the Château Frontenac canoeists from training on the icy seaway in preparation for the Quebec Carnival competition. This year, the race will be held on February 4th. The Association des coureurs en canots à glace du Québec (Ice canoeists Association of Quebec) recently faced a tragedy went they lost one of their members in a training session during very harsh weather conditions.

Château Frontenac ice canoe team at work by -18 C on the St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec.
Château Frontenac ice canoe team at work by -18 C on the St. Lawrence Seaway between Lévis and Quebec.

Here is the link to Radio-Canada news (in French): http://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1072906/operation-sauvetage-embarcation-fleuve-saint-laurent

Categories
Street photography

Walking on the side of a wall in Old Quebec

Teens are defying gravity in Old Quebec
Teens are defying gravity in Old Quebec

These teens from Quebec City work hard at walking on the side of a stonewall near the St. Louis Gate in Old Quebec. Their efforts deserved a picture.

The picture was taken from far away, that is from a point located on the other side of the St.Louis street.That way, they did not realize that they were being photographed, which allowed them to stay natural. That is one of the principles of street photography.

Behind the people is Quebec City’s lower town. The city lights are visible since it was close to 9 PM when the picture was taken.

I was able to take a sharp picture from really far away only with the help of a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM telephoto lens mounted on a Canon 5DSR full frame camera that is equipped with a 50.6 megapixel sensor. Some significant cropping was then necessary to bring the action even closer to the viewer.

For other street photography pictures:

Street photography

Categories
Photography

The Quebec Bridge is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2017

The Quebec Bridge, the longest cantilever type bridge in the world, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017. For the occasion, several activities were organized in Quebec on  September 23rd 2017, culminating with fireworks near the bridge.

Reflections on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The 100th anniversary of the Quebec Bridge was celebrated with fireworks.
Reflections on the St. Lawrence Seaway. The 100th anniversary of the Quebec Bridge was celebrated with fireworks.

Several workers lost their live while attempting to build the bridge. A Wikipedia article resumes its history: The Quebec Bridge

In 2017, the safety issue was brought back in the news. This time it was about the lack of maintenance that favored an increasing amount of rust on the metallic structure.

The funds that would allow to paint the bridge on a regular basis seems hard to find. The bridge owner, the Canadian National Railway Company, and the different levels of government are attempting to find a solution that would be acceptable for all. This discussion has been going on for years. While the bridge holds on, everything is fine.

September 23rd 2017 celebration for the 100th anniversary of the Quebec Bridge.
September 23rd 2017 celebration for the 100th anniversary of the Quebec Bridge.

About the photography

During the fireworks several boats equipped with an additional lighting system approached the bridge.

It was impossible to get really sharp shots of the boats since they were constantly moving due to the strong current of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The fireworks lasted about thirty minutes and attracted a huge crowd, both along the St.Lawrence Seaway and on the higher grounds of both Lévis and Quebec City.

Fireworks for the 100th anniversary of the Quebec Bridge
Fireworks for the 100th anniversary of the Quebec Bridge

Frequent adjustments of the camera’s aperture and ISO were needed since it is always very demanding for a camera to deal with sudden burst of lights appearing in the darkness. It was necessary to limit the exposure time in order to avoid an accumulation of blurred light trails.

The Quebec Bridge is 100 years old in 2017
The Quebec Bridge is 100 years old in 2017

The pictures were taken with a Canon 5DSR full frame camera mounted on a tripod. A Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM was used to capture the fireworks.

Click on the link for other photos taken in Autumn on my blog.