The French novel by author Catherine Mavrikakis : Les derniers jours de Smokey Nelson
Catherine Mavrikakis dedicates her French novel “Les derniers jours de Smokey Nelson” to those “who die murdered by the governments of numerous States of America”. She also wishes to underline the work of “David R. Dow who, in Texas, tries to save them”. [my translation]
The author presents the faults of Middle America with, in the background, the sordid murders of of a family of four people in a motel, twenty years ago. Details of the crime are only incidental in the novel.
The crime is the opportunity for the author to present the very different lives of the people who were directly impacted by the drama. Through the personal history of these people are expressed the fear and the imbalances of the Americans. Catherine Mavrikakis has an original way of presenting the injustices lived because of a different skin color. She also skillfully develops on religious habits, mental illness, drug and alcool abuse, lack of education and extreme gaps in wealth among American citizens.
Another theme presented in the novel is the fear of their own government by many Americans who see it as a potential enemy and against which one must protect himself using firearms if necessary. An American citizen, like Timothy McVeigh, becomes a terrorist as he is so absolutely sure of “ the conspiracy of the State against his beliefs” [my translation].
Backcover of the book: Les derniers jours de Smokey Nelson, by Catherine Mavrikakis
The novel also addresses the difference of treatment between Blacks and Whites in front of justice. This really is not a surprise. There are far more Blacks in jail than there are Whites, and far more that end up in the death row too.
The inequality of treatment between Blacks and Whites is also raised by the author when she brings back to memory the damages caused by the Katrina hurricane and the questions surrounding the destruction of the dams protecting the different neighborhoods.
Rumours are that some dams were volontarily destroyed in order to control the trajectory of the flooding. The will to protect wealthy neighborhoods, mostly inhabited by Whites, would have caused the destruction and flooding of the Lower Ninth Ward district, where a majority of Blacks were living. It is up to the reader to determine whether a further research is justified.
Some sections in the novel marvelously summerize the contradictions present in the religious discourse. On numerous occasions the reader witnesses a God proned to bragging, in front of which humans must prosternate in order to celebrate “His Glory”. A God approving the use of violence and justifying radical actions in order to win over a Satan who, sometimes, takes the liberty to take a break. This short absence is always an occasion not missed by God to fully shine.
At the end of the book, the death row inmate, after having taken a last hearty meal, reflects on the pertinence of meeting a priest before being executed. He has this snarky remark: [my translation] “A pastor is like a steak, at the last moment, it can’t be refused”.
The way Mexico is treated by Donald Trump’s government is not politically astute. Because of a disagreement on illegal immigration between the two countries, the American President has deemed necessary to solve the problem in the public arena by using statements that make the Mexicans lose face on the world stage. When a country’s government loses face, it is a sure recipe to stall negotiations and escalate political tensions. Saying to the Mexicans that they will pay for a wall that forbids them to enter in United States is reckless.
The economic input of Mexicans in United States
The American economic growth has always relied on a good proportion of workers accepting low salaries and poor working conditions, especially when they are considered illegal workers and come from Mexico and Central America. To eliminate that manpower and force the employers to double if not triple the salaries will only help increase the price of American products and risk a decrease in competitiveness. This will also impoverish Mexico and increase the inequalities between the two countries, since many “illegal workers” send money to their family abroad.
A wall that will be inefficient in controlling the influx of drugs into the United States
While generating endless tensions between land owners, political parties and countries, the wall will also require tremendous expenses that will in the end not really help to slow down the importation of drugs into the USA. Why? 95% of the containers coming in from Europe and Asia are not inspected in depth due to lack of human resources and material, as much as for the desire to expedite commercial operations. Time is money. So there are still important holes in the screening process. The book “Ninety percent of everything”, by author Rose George, develops on that very subject:
There is no easy way of stopping the importation of drugs in America or any other country. The importation of drugs will continue until the most serious gaps have been filled, and that means efficiently controlling what is inside the containers. This is where the billions of dollars have to be invested, not in the construction of a wall…
For more articles on geopolitics on my web site, click on the following link : Geopolitics
Trump’s political slogan “Make America great again” does not make any sense when analyzed against the nominee’s words and actions.
You cannot make America great again if your political platform does not present a clear plan of action for the American population. Formulas like “Look at this crowd!”, “We’re going to build a wall” and “I would have liked to punch him in the face” are not promises for a brighter future.
You cannot make America great again if your economic ideas involve isolating America from its long lasting commercial partners. America created 255,000 jobs in the sole month of July (2016). For a country that, according to Trump, loses everything to its commercial partners, it sounds somewhat contradictory. A populist platform will not help the American population grow up and understand how business thrives.
You cannot make America great again by building up tensions between ethnic groups within the United States.
You cannot make America great again by constantly lying. Numerous declarations by Trump have been found untrue.
You cannot make America great again if the few general proposals you put forward contradict each other. Trump promises to lower the American deficit ($23 trillion dollars) and, at the same time, repeats that he will spend billions and billions of dollars to refurbish and bring the military capacity back to what it used to be. This is totally contradictory. It implies that the American population will pay for the new expenses while having to deal with serious cuts in the nation’s budget. Since the rich American does not want to contribute more than he actually does, and that the poor American is already almost unable to survive, it implies that a disappearing middle class will foot the bill. This will not make America great again but instead create the worst internal crisis ever in the United States.
You cannot make America great again by being rude, bullying, insulting and mocking whoever does not agree with you. That attitude does not help to build a greater America.
You cannot make America great again by being condescending towards prisoners of war. While some Americans where being made prisoners of war, Donald Trump was enjoying a comfortable living in the security of his home.
You cannot make America great again by lowering the political debate to a level never seen before.
You cannot make America great again by considering that dictatorship is synonymous of strong leadership. Under this angle, Hitler would be a great leader and we all know the consequences of his actions. Give the presidency to a gigantic and uncontrolled ego and the Americans, as well as the rest of the world, will pay the price.
You cannot make America great again by ridiculing Mexico, an extremely important neighbour. This country is a major commercial partner of the United States and has also a fantastic culture, for whoever is curious enough to open a book and read about it. But it takes curiosity and the feeling that there are other important people around the world than oneself.
You cannot make America great again if the republican vice-president and president nominees contradict each other about very serious matters on national TV, and if the vice-president nominee finds himself unable to defend the presidential nominee’s positions.
You cannot make America great again if the republican presidential nominee does not understand the consequences of being a populist nationalist. The Germans went through that in the past. I have included a video that is worth taking the time to listen to:
Let’s just hope that the current resentment from having received over one million refugees in Germany in a very short time frame will not help the extreme right to gain momentum and repeat the mistakes of the past.
You cannot make America great again by governing on fear. That does not make for a great future. You then have a population who needs several guns per person in order to be able to sleep at night.
You cannot make America great again if you continue to push for the population to be armed like no other country in the world. The shootings among Americans places the country in the top most violent country in the world. You can make America greater by reducing the number of guns in circulation and increasing the control on who can acquire guns.
You cannot make America great again if you do not understand, as a President, what is really going on in Syria in 2016. Summing it up to a simplistic description only adds to the confusion. In Syria, there are war crimes being perpetrated. The civil population and hospitals are deliberately targeted to protect and improve strategic military positions.
You cannot make America great again by stating that Hillary Clinton will be sent to jail if you are elected as President of the United States. This is done under authoritarian regimes around the world, and certainly is not a promise that will help the United States increase its credibility in the free world.
You cannot make America great again by destabilizing your NATO allies, or saying that you would use the nuclear bomb against Europe if necessary.
You cannot make America great again by promising that you will put forward tax reforms that will hurt your own businesses. Somebody who has fought to keep his hotels and casinos alive will not suddenly change his mind if elected President and start putting in place measures that will endanger what he has taken so much time to protect. It is nonsense. The person who is well positioned to modify a tax code that could hurt companies is someone who does not himself own the targeted companies.
You cannot make America great again by electing somebody who hates very frequent briefings. Being President of the United States requires being available, interested and able to listen to the frequent daily briefings. You must have the personality to cope with them, even if you would like to be somewhere else.
You cannot make America great again by staying silent on how to realistically lower the difference in revenues between Americans. I am not talking about equality between revenues, but lowering the extremes between the rich and the poor. This would certainly help to bring the American dream back to life, lower the social tensions and crime rate and give more sense to the theme “Make America great again…”. But I guess we are not there yet…
The 2016 televised political debates on CNN between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump put forward the topic of racism in the United States. Chicago was specifically mentioned as it detains the national record for violent deaths. The book “Histoire de Chicago” allows, among other subjects, to better understand what feeds social inequalities between Blacks and Whites since the creation of Chicago.
The reader understands that it is not the cultural deficiencies that are at the base of the problems but an institutionalized racism and the economic choices of the different municipal administrations.
The city grew set against a background in which the color of a person’s skin determined the type of work that he or she was allowed to occupy. Eventually, even urban planning was designed so that Blacks and Whites would be separated: the artificial walls created by the construction of the Dan Ryan Expressway or the Dearborn Park are in themselves good examples.
In 2016, the polls show a strong support for the Unites States republican candidate Donald Trump. Trump knows Chicago very well and he had his “Trump Tower” built there.
The republican candidate takes over in his political platform some of the elements that have made the popularity and success of the Daley family who ruled over Chicago for decades: the exploitation of fear between ethnical groups to build and maintain a political power, the idea of building a wall and the use of torture as a simplistic solution to complex problems.
This populism attracts a certain class of American electors who are easily scared by the differences between people and cultures.
The book “Histoire de Chicago” is very much a reflection of what is happening today and the authors do no fear to raise delicate political subjects.
Cover of the book “Histoire de Chicago” by Andrew Diamond and Pap Ndiaye
Chicago
Chicago became a territory of the United States with the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Subsequently, natives progressively lost their lands through different manoeuvers, among them the signature of contracts while they were drunk. Around 1830, when the Indians were definitely gone, the speculative fever started.
Railways
Starting around 1860, Chicago organized itself to become the main hub for the most important railway companies of the United States. The city grew very quickly. Passengers, livestock, cereals and other merchandise had to transit through Chicago. The city depended on the train to grow, and the railway companies depended on Chicago to be profitable.
The rapid growth of Chicago’s population was essentially the driver of migration from Europe (Irish, Germans, Polish and Italians). The evolving and often violent relationships between Chicago’s ethnic groups is well explained in the book.
Retail stores
Just before 1900, the Chicago population witnessed the creation of the first retail stores in which a customer could order through a catalogue and use credit. New categories of employees and managers were added to the working population and helped shape the middle class.
Black immigration in Chicago
Around 1910, there was an important increase in the Black immigration coming from southern United States. Chicago was an abolitionist city. This does not mean that it was favoring racial equality but that it was against slavery. In fact, Chicago progressively became the most segregated city in the United States.
Blacks were massively arriving from southern United States, not only for economic reasons but also to get away from the slavery, racial violence and segregation that was the norm in multiple states. Although far from ideal, the situation in Chicago was better than in the south of the country.
The First World War considerably reduced the number of immigrants coming from Europe. This created a serious problem for a city that was benefiting from numerous military contracts and needed a very high number of employees in its manufacturing companies. This also favored the “great migration”, which is to say “the spectacular intensification of the Afro-American migration towards the North-East and Middle West major urban centers […]” (p.143)
Chicago’s slaughterhouses
Chicago was renowned for the very high number of its slaughterhouses, in particular its pork slaughterhouses. The smell and pollution created by this activity was terrible. Chemical laboratories allowed for the commercial use of all parts of an animal. The writer Georges Duhamel wrote in his book that in Chicago “nothing leaves the slaughterhouse but the squeal” (p.63).
Black workers did not have the right to work in the Chicago steel industry and had to limit themselves to slaughterhouses where they were hired as manual workers. They had no access to qualified jobs.
The Second World War
During the Second World War, Chicago was competing with other major American cities to obtain huge military contracts. The city did not manage its efforts to show it supported the American government. Chicago eventually received billions of dollars for the construction of tanks, tractors, torpedoes, bombs and aircrafts (among them the B-29 bomber aircraft).
To compensate for the lack of manpower, since a lot of men enrolled as volunteers and had gone to war, women massively entered the workforce. Employers saw an opportunity to maximize their profits by reducing the salaries of working women, which corresponded only to 65% of the men’s salary for the same work. This represents the way women were thanked for their effort and collaboration.
Transformation of the Chicago economy
A United Airlines Boeing B747 is taxiing over the expressway at the Chicago O’Hare international airport (on aviation postcard)
Chicago experienced a profound transformation during the ‘70 s. The closure of the slaughterhouses in 1971, and the diminishing demand for steel mills products signalled the end of the industrial era. It was followed by an opening on the international and the development of a new economy based on specialized services like finance, real estate, insurance, marketing, publicity and legal services.
The Chicago mayor, Richard M. Daley, fostered the establishment of a new socio-professional class of creators in the city (design, arts, music, etc.) by considering it like another “ethnic group” who needed privileged space to express itself.
The development of housing estates and complexes during the ‘60s and ‘70 s
During the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Chicago landscape was profoundly modified. Huge housing estates and complexes were built (Magnificent Mile, Sandburgh Village, Marina City, Lake Point Tower, Dearborn Park) where the White population lived, in the north part of the city. The Chicago Tribune said of Dearborn Park that it was “a fortress reserved for Whites and aimed at protecting the financial district against the Blacks”.
The Daley administration had to fight against urban sprawling and consequently favored the construction of skyscrapers to maintain the presence of Whites in the central area while receiving more property taxes. Two stock exchange institutions were created, the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The creation of those two institutions as well as of the complexes did not do anything to change the dynamic between the Whites and the Blacks.
The racial segregation
Although Martin Luther King was a dominant figure in the fight for the civil rights of the Blacks in the United States, the authors underline that the black population of Chicago had not waited for a leader to promote their rights as they had already started to mobilize themselves years before.
Martin Luther King’s ideas on the integration of Blacks did not receive the support of everyone in the black community, especially the Chicago black politicians who benefited from a special treatment from the Daley machine, which favored the status quo.
Chicago’s mayor Richard M. Daley experienced much success. To stay in power, the Daley Machine “rested squarely on the continued separation and competition between communities”. (p.322-323) The separation between Blacks and Whites was planned and maintained. There was and there are still two Chicagos.
A highway, the Dan Ryan Expressway, was even positioned in such a way that it would create an artificial wall between the Daley’ s district, Bridgeport and the Black Belt: “This was the most massive obstacle that the city could build, other than a wall, to separate the white South Side from the Black Belt” (p.259).
The Daley Machine
We cannot talk about Chicago without underlining the importance of the Daley family and its political machine: “Through an authoritarian control of the “machine”, Richard J. Daley and his son Richard M. Daley, each one in his own style, dominated the Chicago political scene for forty-three years, between 1955 and 2011.
During that period which saw the development and the subsequent decline of modern civil rights, the ghettoization of huge parts of the West Side and South Side, a massive immigration wave from Latin America and the transformation of the city from an industrial giant to a world-class global services economy center, Chicago barely knew one legitimate municipal election or one real debate at the municipal council” (p.16)
There was rampant corruption and secret budgets in the Daley administration. In total opaqueness, the City Hall diverted the funds reserved to disadvantaged neighbourhood and distributed it to the privileged ones.
“[…] While important businessmen, Mafiosi and others who had links with the Daley machine were getting richer, Blacks and Latinos in need were shot in the street or tortured in the precinct’s’ back rooms” (p.394)
Law firms and entrepreneurs gave huge sums of money in exchange for important contracts. The Daley Machine was never short of money.
Beechcraft N35 Bonanza N545T in flight during the years when the Daley family was reigning over Chicago (on aviation postcard)
Racial tensions and repression policies under Mayor Daley
“By the 1930s, Chicago had become, according to the historian Frank Donner “the national capital for police repression” (p.321)
The black migration that took place during the 1940s and 1950s scared the Chicago population that felt besieged. This increased racial tensions that were already present and maintained. It was easier to accept more policemen than social housing.
The muscled tactics of Mayor Daley were the most obvious during the 1968 Democrat Convention, when policemen and 7000 National Guard soldiers “went down hard on the [crowd of 10,000 young protesters] in an explosion of mindless violence” (p.315)
The exploitation of racial fears was quite successful. Daley was defending his policies by saying that “ most people are more worried about a black uproar than of a mayor that orders the use of lethal force to put an end to it and they recognized themselves far less in pacific protesters than in policemen that hit them with truncheons” (p.319).
Media propaganda and the Daley Machine’s police were efficient in convincing the Blacks to respect the established order. Torture was common in the zone 2’s precinct, in the South Side, between 1972 and 1991.
The expected arrival of a new black mayor, Harold Washington, during the 1980’s, increased the fear that everything would change in Chicago. Everything was done to undermine Washington’s candidacy, but he eventually won helped by the black vote.
There were several left-wing political movements which all had their own objectives and were unable to unite under the same progressist banner. This provided the necessary margin of manoeuver to the Daley Machine, who worked in cooperation with the federal authorities to organize the state repression.
Back cover of the book “Histoire de Chicago”
Social problems in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
During the 1995 heat wave, 739 persons died in Chicago. The social precarity helped increase the number of deaths, but it was easier to determine that the victims were responsible of their fate.
The Blacks and Latinos believed, and still do, that the problems related to their school system and neighbourhoods come from some cultural deficiencies, but in trying to understand the real nature of their problems, they overlook the ongoing racism and economic choices of the different city administrations since the creation of the city.
“The 1980 census showed that ten out of sixteen of the poorest neighbourhoods in United States were in Chicago, in the Black Belt, of course”(p.334)
In 2002, Chicago was the American murder capital, with 647 victims. In 2008-2009, the city held the record of students killed in public schools which were gang related.
Today, there are two Chicagos
Today, Chicago benefits from well-defined ethnic neighbourhoods that attract tourists in search of diversity. However, the sustained racial segregation policies have isolated the black neighbourhoods and in 2016 Chicago still has the sad reputation of being the murder capital of the United States.
“The Chicago situation looks more and more like a science-fiction scenario. While part of the city has an economic capacity that sets it among the five first in the world, the other part is frozen in an austerity situation that could very well become irreversible” (p.443)
A Bombardier CL-415 water bomber, property of the Government of Quebec, is being prepared for its flight towards Fort McMurray, May 2016
Quebec’s CL-415s helping out in Fort McMurray
On May 5th, 2016, according to what had been announced by the Government of Quebec, four CL-415s took off from the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport (CYQB) heading to Fort McMurray, Alberta, to help in the fight against widespread forest fires in that province. It is the worst natural disaster that Canada has known in its history.
Preparing flight crews and aircrafts for such a long cross-country trip naturally demands much coordination from the SOPFEU (Society for the protection of forests against fires). Once they will have landed at the Fort McMurray airport, the pilots of those CL-415s will be under the direct command of the Albertan authorities in charge of fighting the wildfires, since the latter are best positioned to know exactly what the local needs are.
I figure that the flight service specialists (FSS) of the Nav Canada flight information center (FIC) in Edmonton must have quite busy days with the increased aerial activity associated with the numerous fires…
Crew members are walking towards the Government of Quebec CL-415; they will soon be airborne and heading to Fort McMurray in Alberta, to fight the forest fires (2016)
The picture above shows crew members heading towards their assigned aircraft. Once they start working in the Fort McMurray region, they will not only have to directly fight the forest fires but also head to sectors that have not yet been touched by fire and water the area thoroughly to prevent new wildfires.
A Government of Quebec CL-415 number 245 is taxiing at the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport to take-off towards Fort McMurray, in Alberta, to help fight the out of control forest fires in that province during May 2016.
Taking pictures of propeller-driven aircrafts
A Bombardier CL-415 water bomber takes off from the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport heading to Fort McMurray, in Alberta, to help fight the forest fires (2016)
It is a bit touchy to photograph propeller-driven aircrafts while making sure that there is a sensation of movement. In a natural reflex to want to avoid blurred pictures, the photographer uses a shutter speed that corresponds to the focal used for the shot. In the case of the picture above, the focal was 400mm. But if a shutter speed of 1/400 had been used, the propellers would have been totally immobilized and the aircraft would have looked like its climbing while not using its engines.
It was necessary to reduce the speed to 1/160, thus increasing the risk of obtaining a blurred picture. In order to get both image sharpness and moving propellers visual effect, the photographer has to follow exactly the movement of the aircraft with the camera so that it looks totally immobile in the viewfinder. This asks for a bit of practice but allows for more realistic photos.
The CL-415 in a black and white photo
Black and white photo of a Bombardier CL-415 (C-GQBG) flying over Quebec City in 2015
The government of Canada helping out Alberta’s citizens
The government of Canada, under Justin Trudeau, has promised to match the amounts of money offered by all Canadians to the Red Cross society toward helping the Fort McMurray population.
Obviously, its contribution will not stop there (in fact, far from it), but the message is for the whole Canadian population to contribute generously to support the efforts of the Red Cross. It is already estimated that the material damages will reach at least nine billion dollars and that numerous years will be required to rebuild everything. The Liberal Party of Canada had built its political campaign around the need to invest for the renewal of infrastructures. With the Fort McMurray fires, there will be plenty of new unplanned expenses ahead.
More than 1,400 firemen are fighting the wildfires. So few, there has been very few lives lost, although “very few” is always too much. The crisis is, according to everyone, well managed by the government of Alberta.
At the time of writing, there was still no rain forecasted for days to come and the drought was also extending to the southern half of Saskatchewan and part of Manitoba. The winds were expected to increase, which would mean that even more resources would be needed in the near future to bring those wildfires under control.
It seems to me that the government of many Canadian provinces would benefit in acquiring new water bombers like the CL-415 to give them an increased margin of manoeuver that would allow them to react more quickly, if we take into account the tendency for the ever growing number and size of forest fires. In the picture below, the government of Quebec CL-415 number 247 is just airborne from Quebec to Fort McMurray.
A Bombardier CL-415 C-GQBK airborne from the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport heading to Fort McMurray, Alberta, in May 2016
The CL-215s will not head to Fort McMurray
While several CL-415s are leaving for Alberta, few water bombers, like the two Canadair CL-215s shown below, stay at the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport in case of forest fires in the province and also to be used for the seasonal rehearsal needed for every pilot before they are dispatched across the province of Quebec.
Two Canadair CL-215 water bombers parked at the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport in May 2016.
Global warming
Some people can say that global warming is not responsible for the increasing number of extended wildfires. They might be right, but I prefer to adopt a wider view than only what is going on in Alberta. Heat transfer between the north and south are now more extreme in order to equalize the temperatures around the globe. All means to reduce the difference in temperatures between the equator and the poles are at work and this causes increasing problems to particular regions.
The Kamloops region in British-Columbia, when numerous forest fires were raging 2014.
A powerful El Nino phenomenon, repetitive Omega blocks, the air circulation in different cells (Hadley, Ferrell, polar, Walker) all participate in the heat exchange. At a more reduced scale, we also regularly hear of cold and warm fronts in the meteorological forecasts.
It is certainly not local warm fronts that are responsible for the fact that a thinner layer of permafrost is unable to ensure the stability of Arctic runways anymore. Nor are fronts responsible for the fact that houses on stilts do not have a stable foundation anymore. Many heat records have been established these past years in northern Canada. There will certainly be large amounts of money to spend to rebuild the Nordic infrastructures.
Brush fires as soon as April in Alberta
This year, as soon as April, there were widespread brush fires in a region as north as Fort McMurray in Alberta because winter has not brought much snow to humidify the land during Spring. I thus wondered what would happen once in July. Albertans did not need to wait that long to get the answer.
Western Canada forest after a fire (2014)
The modelization of climatic changes indicates that, in the Fort McMurray region, the forest fire season is already fifteen days longer that it used to be. More heat might favor more droughts. But an increase in temperature also favors the development of thunderstorms and with them comes lighting that will start up new fires.
One thing is sure: insurance companies will not lose time with the different theories on global warming. The reinsurers (those who insure the insurance companies) have the obligation to limit their losses to stay afloat and premiums will quickly increase to answer to the thousands of claims following an increasing number of natural disasters.
Photos of the local air traffic in Quebec, just after the CL-415s departed to Fort McMurray
FedEx ATR 72-202F C-FTAR and Air Canada Express Bombardier DHC-8-Q-402NG (C-GIJZ) at the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport in May 2016
At the Quebec airport, between the take offs of the four Bombardier CL-415 towards Fort McMurray, I was able to take few pictures of the local air traffic. In the photo above, it is possible to see a FedEx ATR 72 (C-FTAR) taxiing toward the ramp after a landing runway 06. An Air Canada Express Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q-400) (C-GIJZ) was also being towed for is imminent departure.
ATAC’s Hawker Hunter N339AX
Being in luck, I was able to capture a Hawker Hunter (N339AX) belonging to the American company ATAC, just airborne from Quebec. As for any military jet, it is difficult to ignore them on take-off: the reactor’s noise is there to remind you of their presence…
A Hawker Hunter belonging to the american company ATAC is airborne from the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport (CYQB), May 2016
A Hawker Hunter, from the american company ATAC, is airborne from the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport (CYQB) in May 2016
The pictures above have been taken with a Canon 5D MKII camera, equipped with a telephoto lens Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS II USM with a polarizing filter and a Canon Extender EF 2X III which brought the focal length to 400 mm. Even then, more cropping was necessary to enlarge the aircraft since I was quite far away from the runway.
Wishing to ensure that the image was sharp (a blurred picture is more probable with a 400 mm focal length while the photographer attempts to follow a fast flying jet), I adjusted the shutter speed to 1/1600 and made sure that the automatic focus was set on AI servo.
I now realized that a slower speed could have worked a bit better since it would have allowed showing a blurred forest in the background while keeping the aircraft sharp. But it is not often that you have the opportunity to see a Hawker Hunter in flight these days and I played safe with the shutter speed. The ideal shot will be for another day…
CL-415s and CL-215s together in Quebec (2012 photo)
CL-415 and CL-215 water bombers belonging to the Gouvernment of Quebec. Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport (CYQB) 2012
A last picture, taken few years ago, during autumn 2012, shows numerous water bombers CL-415 and CL-215 parked at the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport (CYQB). During the off- season, the water bombers are brought back to Quebec City from the different bases were they have been in operation during summertime.
For other articles on aviation and photography, click on the following link: Aviation photography
Livre de photographie: “The new street photographer’s manifesto” par Tanya Nagar
Tanya Nagar is an award-winning photographer from London. Her book, “The new street photographer’s manifesto” is perfect for those who aim to improve their street photography techniques. The present article is not a comprehensive critic of her book but an overview of what a reader will find. I also highlighted some tips in photography that will help to improve the street photographer’s performance.
Tanya’s manifesto not only contains technical advices helping a photographer to improve his shots but also some tips to avoid common mistakes. Subjects include: timing, composition, shooting portraits, framing and juxtaposition, perspective and angles, the choice between landscape and portrait, depth of field, shutter speed, exposure, night photography, rule of thirds, etc.
The book’s content is divided in six categories: 1. Street Photography 2. Where & What to Shoot 3. Seize the Moment 4. Equipment 5. Digital Processing 6. Showcase.
1. Street photography requires the ability to seize a life moment with precision and timing. It is about candid shots and does not have to include humans, as long as it fixes a moment in life. It certainly can include animals (in fact, animals are a very popular subject).
2. It is best if you use a light, discrete camera (even an I-Phone). Walking with a huge camera with big lenses makes you look like a professional photographer and people will see you coming. The trick is to avoid drawing attention. Coughing while clicking drowns out the sound of the camera. You might also think of “shooting from the hip” or “shooting blind”. Those techniques are explained in the book and can be mastered with a bit of practice.
3. It takes a bit of courage to photograph situations that include people since you never know what to expect when you raise your camera. Respect the different cultures and personal space and don’t be afraid to smile and explain what you are doing. If somebody refuses to be photographed, move on, don’t dwell on the situation.
4. In order to gain experience and a feeling of security at taking pictures of people on the street, start with protests or parades.
5. It is a good thing to know the laws pertaining to photography of the country you are visiting. Police officers in some countries might be tempted to order you to delete a shot while they actually don’t have the right to. Often, a misunderstanding by police or security guards of anti-terrorism legislation leads to different interpretations and subsequently to abuse towards a photographer. Just make sure you stay up to date with the country’s regulations.
6. You might think of shooting from within your vehicle to obtain interesting results (while respecting the country’s laws).
7. Use graffitis, signs, graphical billboards, text and advertising logos.
8. Use contrasts like big versus small, light versus dark, rich versus poor, etc.
9. Bear attention to details and look for second degree interpretation of a situation.
10. Look for amusing, funny and unusual captures.
11. Make sure you master your camera in order to be quick when the perfect opportunity comes. Set most of the parameters of the camera before actually arriving on a scene (you already have an idea of the light intensity in the area and the ISO setting that will be required to obtain the speed you desire).
12. Be cautious when it comes to taking pictures of children. Societies change and authorization from the child’s parents is required almost every time.
13. “The only way to avoid missing a moment is by carrying your camera at all times”. Therefore, get something small and light.
Endos du livre de photographie “The new street photographer’s manifesto”
The book holds a section dedicated to multiple types of cameras: rangefinders, SLR and DSLR, four thirds and micro four thirds, medium format, point-and-shoot compact cameras, camera phones, toy and pinhole cameras. Their advantages and disadvantages are clearly explained.
The reader will also find some information about lenses (the best for street photography and what to avoid) and the effects obtained through the use of different type of films (colored, black and white, expired).
The fifth section of the book relates to digital processing and the basic image editing techniques like cropping, rotating, the use of the “Curves” command, as well as dodging and burning.
The final section, “Showcase”, presents many well-known street photographers from around the world, including few photos taken by each of them to allow the reader to have an overview of each photographer’s personal style and creativity. Presented in order are: Antonio Navarro Wijkmark, Brian Quentin Webb, Charlotte Gonzalez, Claire Atkinson, Danny Santos II, Felix Lupa, Ferhat Çelik, Mustafa Abdulaziz, Ronya Galka, Seamus Travers and Severin Koller.
This is certainly a very interesting and practical photography book that will help you avoid costly mistakes (missed photo opportunities or buying the wrong photography equipment) while helping you to improve your knowledge on street photography as much as the quality of your shots.
Here is a link towards Tanya Nagar’s website: Tanya Nagar
Here is some information aimed at helping tourists visiting Toronto, who like photography and aviation, and would think of booking one day during their visit to head to the Toronto Lester B. Pearson international airport (CYYZ) for a plane spotting photo session.
Initial planning
If you can, get a scanner or download an app on your cell phone to get real time information on air traffic around the airport: you will then know in advance the type and nationality of inbound or departing aircrafts.
Search for websites giving you access to Toronto airport VHF frequencies and program your scanner if you decided to get one.
Have a look at different plane spotting websites for the Toronto airport: there are many precious advices from experienced plane spotters that will prove useful in heading to the best spots and avoiding common mistakes.
Print two or three maps of secondary routes around the airport so that you can orient yourself when there is a change in runway use due to different winds or if you use a taxi ride to move around the airport: the driver will always ask you details on how to get there since those secondary routes are not a common destination for him (and chances are that he will not know where to go if you ask him to head to threshold of runway 05. Basically, he needs road names, not runway numbers).
Cessna 560XL S5-BAV Toronto 2016
British Airways Boeing 777-236 G-ZZZA in Toronto 2016
Before leaving your Toronto hotel
Before you leave the hotel, look at the Toronto weather forecast, among them the TAF, to know the wind pattern for the day. The Nav Canada site has everything you need to know and there is a possibility to choose between coded or plain aviation language.
Don’t forget to bring many snacks as well as a bottle of water since you will possibly be at a good distance from a restaurant for many hours, depending on which runway is in use. The same goes for additional batteries and memory cards for the camera.
Don’t forget the scanner, the cell phone (to call a taxi driver or get access to the arrivals and departures information) and all the photo equipment needed, as well as an abnormally high number of clothing layers necessary in case of winter photography: eight hours almost immobile outside in February calls for an appropriate preparation if you want to appreciate your experience. If you economize on clothing, it is certain that you will have to shorten your photography session.
I chose February for its very interesting light and not for its temperature! Most of the shots in this article were taken in only one day at the Toronto airport, between 10h30am and 18h30.
American Airlines MD-82 N482AA final 05 Toronto 2016
From the hotel to the airport
If you chose to stay at a downtown hotel in Toronto, the best way to get to the Toronto international airport is to use the UP Express train, from the Union Station on Front Street. Its use is very simple and departures are made every fifteen minutes. In February 2016, the cost was CDN $44.00 for a return trip to the airport, while a taxi ride cost $130.00.
UP Express Toronto 2016
The UP Express ride only takes 25 minutes and the train stops at Terminal 1.
It is preferable to avoid using your car around the Toronto international airport since some secondary roads are private and no stopping is allowed. You will take more time to look for police than to enjoy your plane spotting photography session.
Once you are at Terminal 1
Once you exit the UP Express at Terminal 1, get your scanner and monitor the ATIS frequency (120.825) to get the latest information on the runways in use for take offs and landings. For my photo session, the ATIS announced that runway 05 and 06L were in use, both for arrivals and departures. I took a taxi, showed the map with secondary roads to the driver and within few minutes I was where I needed to be and started the photo session.
Air Transat Airbus A-330 C-GTSN Toronto 2016
A preliminary internet search allowed to discover that heavies mostly arrive from Europe during the afternoon et that runway 05/23 is favored for Emirates Airline Airbus A-380 arrival. I thus decided to position myself near runway 05 instead of 06L.
There are two or three quite isolated spots around the airport that provide interesting point of views for aircraft photos but that can present security problems for a photographer working alone with expensive equipment. Experienced plane spotters suggest that you should be accompanied by friends if you decide to opt for those spots (see the “plane spotting” internet sites suggested at the beginning of this article).
Emirates A-380 final for Toronto (CYYZ)
Emirates A-380 on final for Toronto (CYYZ) 2016
Emirates A-380 on final 05 for Toronto (CYYZ) 2016
Technical advices
For precise photos of aircrafts in movement, I use the following parameters with my Canon 5D MKII camera:
1. Only the central AF Point of the auto focus system is selected and not the surrounding ones in order to avoid that the camera sets the focus on other objects than what I desire (trees, ILS structure, buildings).
2. The AI Servo setting is more efficient than the AI Focus or One Shot. The aircraft will be followed precisely.
3. If I want to include surrounding objects in the photo, I adjust the aperture to 7.1 or 8, instead of 11 or 13. I thus avoid increasing the ISO too much, which would affect the picture’s quality if it has to be enlarged with Photoshop.
Westjet Boeing 737-8CT C-GWSV Disneyland Livery in Toronto 2016
4. To take pictures of an approaching propeller powered aircraft, a speed adjusted to 1/125 is generally adequate. You must pivot according to the aircraft movement so that it looks like it is immobile in your viewfinder. The picture is easier to take when the aircraft is farther away but becomes more of a challenge when it gets closer and flies by you since you must constantly change your pivoting speed.
Porter Q-400 C-GLQD on final for Toronto Billy Bishop airport (CYTZ) 2016
Air Canada DHC-8-102 C-FGQK Toronto 2016
5. A shutter speed that is too high will immobilize the propeller of an aircraft and make it look like the engine is not working, which will take away realism.
6. Throughout the day, position yourself so as to have the sun behind you (if there is any sun!), unless you are looking for special effects.
Global 5000 GL5T C-GJET in Toronto 2016
7. A very high quality lens, like the Canon 50mm 1.4, allows for beautiful pictures during the evening since there is no compromise on ISO, as the lens does not need much light. The grain size stays relatively small.
Air Canada Boeing 777 final 05 Toronto 2016
8. I use a very low ISO if the photo includes an interesting but far away aircraft, in order to be able to crop the picture with Photoshop. Since I cannot compromise on the speed to avoid a blurred picture, it becomes obvious that it is the aperture that pays the price.
Air Canada Airbus A-330 final 06L Toronto 2016
9. If the situation allows it, add visual references other than clouds to get a bit more variety in your aircraft photo collection.
Air Canada Boeing 777 final runway 05 Toronto 2016
10. Try a black and white photo if the cloud formation is particularly interesting.
C-GQBG CL-415 and cirrus clouds on a black and white picture
11. RAW+JPEG files allow for important adjustments when necessary. A JPEG only photo gives you little leeway when you want to correct mistakes or during problematic lighting conditions.
12. Variable sky conditions and constant direction winds are preferable for your photo session since the runway in use will not be changed in the afternoon and your pictures will benefit from different light intensity and cloud formations.
13. If you want to take the aircraft in relation to the ILS poles and you are looking for a symmetrical photo, just move few inches to the right or left while the aircraft is approaching or going away from you. You will also want to avoid that the horizontal poles of the ILS cut the plane and make it difficult to see.
Westjet Boeing 737-800 final 05 Toronto 2016
14. Have fun experimenting, like taking a shot just above your head while including other objects for added interest.
On the ILS 05 for Toronto 2016
15. Instead of always showing the whole aircraft, try a close-up view.
Air Canada Boeing 787-9 C-FNOI in Toronto 2016
16. The close-up view might be such that even passengers of an aircraft on final will look at you while you immortalize them.
United Express on final at the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport.
17. Chances are that you will meet other enthusiast plane spotters in the same area as yours since they also prepared themselves for a successful photo session.
Westjet Boeing 737-800 C-FYPB in Toronto 2016
18. Since you are in Toronto, head to Toronto Harbour when you are back downtown. You will witness the air traffic surrounding the Toronto Billy Bishop airport (CYTZ), formerly known as Toronto Island, and possibly take some original shots.
Porter Q-400 C-GLQM and C-GLQB at Toronto CYTZ 2016
19. This is the photo equipment used for my Toronto airport plane spotting session: Canon 5D MKII camera and the following Canon lenses: EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM. No polarizer was used that day since I wanted to increase my margin of manoeuver with fast moving aircrafts under the February low intensity light.
Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300ER final 05 at Toronto 2016
American Eagle CRJ-701ER N523AE Toronto 2016
Aviation photography requires much planning for successful photos. But all your efforts will rapidly bear fruits once you are on site and you will not see time pass! Have a great plane spotting session and give me some news of your experience if you can!
Air Canada Boeing 767-375 (ER) C-FCAB in Toronto 2016
You can have access to other aircraft photos taken at Toronto through this link on my site: photo galleries/aviation only
For other articles on aviation and photography, click on the following link: Aviation photography
The hot air balloon C-FNHP is being inflated at the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu festival in 2012
The Nav Canada flight service specialists (FSS) working at the flight information center (FIC) at the Quebec Jean-Lesage international airport (CYQB) regularly receive telephone calls from hot air balloon pilots preparing their next flight. Actual and forecasted wind conditions are important, be it on the ground or in the air. But the FSS must also take into account the slightest possibility of a rain shower that would wet the balloon’s envelope, the variation in the convection according to the time of the day which would then affect the winds, the local effects, etc.
Although it is interesting to brief a hot air balloon pilot on the telephone, it is far better to witness their activity when getting ready for a flight. And the effect is even more striking when you position yourself in the middle of a field where more than a hundred hot air balloons lift altogether.
A first group of hot air balloons are autorized to lift at the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu festival in 2012
Summer 2012. A beautiful day was expected in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Blue sky and calm winds were forecasted for the evening. There would certainly be photo opportunities (Canon 5D MKII).
The field where the balloons were being prepared was fenced, but there were here and there openings and it seemed possible to enter the area without attracting too much attention. I made an attempt and could rapidly live the frenzy associated with the preparation and launch of more than one hundred hot air balloons.
Rising hot air balloons in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu in 2012
The balloons progressively took shape and it became possible to see their designs and superb colours. Each team was taking care of the last details that ensure a synchronized launch when the signal would be given. The organizer eventually gave the go ahead signal and the hot air balloons all lifted up within a very short time span. This was a magnificent show!
Hot air ballons at the St-Jean-sur-Richelieu Festival in 2012
Visitors at the 2012 St-Jean-sur-Richelieu hot air balloons festival
Few years earlier, during summer 2005, a hot air balloon had flown over our house in Quebec City at about one hundred feet. This was not a normal situation to witness that balloon slowly lose altitude and get closer to electrical wires. I had taken my bike and followed the balloon since it became obvious that the pilot was trying to land, possibly short of propane gas.
The pilot did not have an easy task, flying low over the city streets, close to the wires and other obstacles. The passengers must have been wondering what would be the issue of that flight. Arriving near a school, the pilot had seen a small parking lot and tried to land there, avoiding the church steeple on the other side of the street.
We were few citizens to hang to the basket and immobilize it while the balloon’s envelope was slowly deflating. I was able to take a shot of that unusual balloon’s approach…
Hot air balloon landing on a Quebec City street in 2005
The Nav Canada flight information center (FIC) in Quebec City (CYQB) does not normally take calls from the general public since air traffic services are centered on the needs of pilots.
But a particularly urgent situation sometimes dictate a more flexible approach. I remember a telephone call we received on the 800 line, during a very hot summer day of 2007. A worker in charge of the installation of dynamite in a mine in the Abitibi region told the flight service specialist (FSS) that he was working for a big company and that an important blasting operation was to be undertaken soon. He was in the middle of the blasting site, having just completed the installation of the detonators and explosives on the whole area.
He was wondering if there could be something he did not know about the weather since there were very dark clouds coming his way. The flight information center FSS was aware of the meteorological situation in Abitibi, and it was certainly not appropriate for a blasting operation. The caller was told that gigantic thunderstorm cells were forming in his sector and that the lightning detectors were already recording hundreds of strikes.
His actual position, in the middle of detonators and dynamite, was certainly problematic, to say the least. Without asking anything else, he told us that he was getting out of the site quickly…
On July 1st 1990, few months after having been released from twenty-seven years in jail, the South African President Nelson Mandela stopped in Iqaluit, on Baffin Island in the Nunavut. It was 03:30 AM and the aircraft had just arrived from Detroit in United States. Mandela participated in a special event linked to the three big American car manufacturers where he was invited to deliver a keynote speech.
I figured that this trip to Detroit must have brought him found memories since, in his autobiography, he mentioned that the first car he saw in his youth was a big black luxury car that he later recognized to be a Ford V8.
After Detroit, the jet carrying the Mandela couple followed an orthodromic line around the planet for the return to South Africa. It meant that a stopover for refuel was mandatory and Iqaluit, in Canada’s arctic, was chosen.
In anticipation for the VIPs arrival, the Transport Canada flight service station and the airport installations had been secured by the RCMP. Before meeting the VIP’s, the Mandela couple took some time to walk toward a group of persons outside the airport terminal. They discussed for a while, each group separated by the airport fence.
As reported by historian Kenn Harper in Nunatsiaq News in 2008, the security staff tried to rapidly bring back the Mandela couple inside as there were VIP’s waiting for them. But Mandela answered: “There are no more important people in this town tonight than these folks who have come out to talk with me. I’ll be in when I’ve finished speaking with them.”
In his memoir, Conversations with Myself, he wrote: “What struck me so forcefully was how small the planet had become during my decades in prison; it was amazing to me that a teenaged Inuit living at the roof of the world could watch the release of a political prisoner on the southern tip of Africa.”
Nelson Mandela and his book “Conversations with Myself”, image extracted from www.nelsonmandela.org on January 5th 2016
As they entered the Transport Canada installations, Nelson and Winnie Mandela were greeted by several persons, among which Iqaluit’s Inuit chief. A ceremony was held in a room next to where I was working, one floor lower, under the flight service station (FSS) tower.
Around 04:00AM, I came down from the FSS tower to transmit an important message regarding the return flight. At the bottom of the stairs, positioned on the other side of the door, was a huge policeman blocking our staff from accessing the corridor.
I tapped lightly on the windowed door and showed him that I had an urgent message for Mandela’s entourage. He refused to budge. The smooth way not bearing any results, I used the necessary means to achieve success. This did not go without a bit of noise.
The policeman finally let me go through, knowing very well that all flight service specialists were screened for security on a regular basis. But looking at his facial expression, it is obvious that we were not friends anymore.
Obviously, all my attempts at opening the door disrupted the ceremony a bit. As I was delivering the message, I saw the Mandela couple sitting in a nearby room, few meters away, attending a traditional Inuit dance performance. Drawn by the noise in the corridor, Nelson Mandela diverted his attention and we looked at each other for a short moment.
What surprised me the most was to see this remarquable man sitting straight in his chair, like a young man in his prime, showing no signs of fatigue, despite a very busy day and such a late hour that would not allow him to rest before 0500AM. That night, I understood a bit more what involved the responsibilities of a head of State and all the energy required day after day to occupy the position.
