Tag: St-Jean street

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Photos of Quebec

McWilliam Street in Old Quebec at night.

Corner of Saint-Stanilas and Saint-Jean streets in Old Québec in the evening Summer 2024.
Corner of Saint-Stanilas and Saint-Jean streets in Old Québec in the evening Summer 2024.

The photo above shows an evening view of the intersection between rue Saint-Stanislas and rue Saint-Jean in Old Quebec. For several months a year, a section of rue Saint-Jean is reserved for pedestrians only. This attracts many tourists. Just behind this popular street is McWilliam Street, with a radically different feel, especially late at night.

The McWilliam street behind the Cochon Dingue restaurant in Québec City.
The McWilliam street behind the Cochon Dingue restaurant in Québec City.

To produce an HDR effect of the location, I plan to stack five photos. I set up the tripod and begin the session. Just as I’m about to finish, a door suddenly opens. A man steps out and lights a cigarette.

I need to capture this very brief moment when the individual is just a stealthy shadow in motion with the intense fluorescent lighting in the background. In this rather dark alleyway, this could generate an interesting effect.

The smoker asks me what I’m doing. It’s an employee on break working for the popular Cochon Dingue restaurant on Rue St-Jean. What a contrast between the modern façade and the back of the same building on McWilliam Street.

At home, HDR processing begins. But it’s impossible to use all five shots together as planned initially. The software combines a closed and an open door at the same time. The result is a kind of butchered wicket door, with almost no light filtering through.

I abandon the idea of an HDR montage and fall back on the single photo where the man is standing in front of the door. I wasn’t counting on this presence, but it adds a touch of humanity to a scene that’s still not very inviting.

Life often presents photography enthusiasts with unexpected opportunities. It’s all about being flexible and capturing the moment, even if it’s not part of the initial planning. Click on the link for more photos of Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in Summer on my blog.

Categories
Photos of Quebec

Young woman in the night in Quebec City.

Young woman in the night in Quebec City.
Young woman in the night in Quebec City.

In photography, it’s not just planning that makes for interesting results. Luck also plays an important role. But you need to get out frequently, in all kinds of light and weather conditions. The photo above is a good example of it.

I’m in a district of Old Quebec that is shunned by tourists late at night, because it’s less well lit. The location is close to Rue St-Jean, a popular thoroughfare lined with restaurants and other businesses. The contrast in traffic is striking.

I visited the area to try my luck with HDR photography. The photo session being over, I am preparing to head home quietly as nighttime falls.

Suddenly, a woman on a bicycle stops under a lamppost. The scene, with its plants, old bricks, neon sign and play of shadows, looks promising. But a quick reaction is needed, because with so little light, even the slightest movement will result in a blurred picture. Fortunately, the woman consults her cell phone, which immobilizes her for a few seconds.

HDR photography is out of the question here. She’ll never be still long enough in this subdued light for me to take multiple pics with different apertures. I snap twice, quickly. The young woman puts her phone away and disappears from the scene. There’s only one quality shot, the other being too blurred.

This photo session shows me once again the importance of getting out frequently to try one’s luck. Combined with an acceptable reaction time and the right equipment for working in low light, you’re likely to come home with one of life’s unexpected gifts.

Click on the link for more summer photos of Quebec City and Île d’Orléans on my blog.

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Photos of Quebec

Shop on rue St-Jean in Quebec City

On the St-Jean street, the Magasin Général P L Blouin in Quebec City.
On the St-Jean street, the Magasin Général P L Blouin in Quebec City.

The photo shows a partial view of the window of Magasin Général P. L. Blouin Enr on rue St-Jean in Old Quebec. This store sells all kinds of traditional items and souvenirs in French and English, popular with tourists and locals alike. Digital image processing applied a pseudo HDR effect to bring out details and reflections.

Click on the link for more photos of Quebec City and Île d’Orléans during Spring on my blog.

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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.

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Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

June 24th in Quebec City.

Tonight, the weather is too nice to stay at home. Thousands of people are already walking in the streets of Old Quebec on this day of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, the national holiday of Quebecers.

The fontaine de Tourny in Quebec City on June 24th 2022.
The fontaine de Tourny in Quebec City on June 24th 2022.

People are positioning themselves early around the Tourny Fountain and on the Parliament grounds in anticipation of a multimedia show whose images will be projected on the façade of the National Assembly.

The Grande-Allée in Quebec City on June 24th 2022.
The Grande-Allée in Quebec City on June 24th 2022.

Once the show is over, it’s the rush to Old Quebec or the restaurants of the Grande-Allée. The photo above was taken from the top of the St. Louis Gate.

North sector of Quebec City Summer 2022.
North sector of Quebec City Summer 2022.

I love this view of the northern sector of Quebec City in the late evening. Normally, a filter would be needed to neutralize the intense light generated by a setting sun. But tonight, the clouds act as a natural attenuator and the sensor of the Canon 5DSr camera can do its job well.

The last picture below is of St-Jean Street, in Old Quebec, in the late evening of June 24, 2022. This street is being revitalized and new businesses and restaurants have recently settled there. During the summer, a section of the street is reserved to pedestrians and the strollers have access to many terraces.

St-Jean street in Old Quebec Summer 2022.
St-Jean street in Old Quebec Summer 2022.

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

Categories
Photos of Canada Photos of Quebec

Photography in the rain in Old Quebec.

Two Quebec pubs on the St-Jean street, in Old Quebec.
Two Quebec pubs on the St-Jean street, in Old Quebec.

Photography under the rain often allows for fairly decent results, even if it is a bit less comfortable for the photographer.

In the picture above, I first considered a close-up plan of the St-Alexandre English pub (Pub St-Alexandre ) and of the Chez Murphy’s Irish pub (Pub Chez Murphy’s) on St-Jean street, in Old Quebec. Both pubs belong to the same owner; this is an excellent way to curb the eventual competition.

I then waited for pedestrians holding colorful umbrellas to show up in front of the pubs. That took some time since today’s fashion is all in for black: black cars, black clothing, black hats and …. black umbrellas!

Water reflections on the sidewalk and an appropriate light completed the scenery.

For other pictures of Quebec City, click on the following links of my blog :

Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in Autumn
Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in Winter
Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in Spring
Quebec City and Île d’Orléans in Summer