Montreal International Fireworks Competition - Finale des Étoile

All good things must come to and end.  That's pretty much the accepted way of thinking.  The latest good thing to come to an end was the annual L'International des Feux Loto-Québec.  Since it was the last show of the year, I decided to return to my favourite spot.  Sadly, many other people had the same idea.  Despite getting there almost two hours before the first explosion, I still had to settle on a spot next to a tree, which would prove to be a little frustrating later.  The early bird doesn't always get the worm.  You may notice several different photo sizes as you look through this little gallery.  That's because the tree I mentioned before had a couple of branches that ended up being just long enough to get into my shots.  So, I cropped around some of them, but also left the branches in a couple as well.  It makes kind of a diverse little collection.  The show was put on by the Panzera Fireworks and Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks companies.  Panzera was founded in Italy in 1929 and has been to Montreal twice.  Rozzi's Famous Fireworks was founded in Italy in 1895 and is currently run by a fourth generation of the Rozzi family based out of Ohio in the United States of America.  This was their sixth appearance in Montreal, having won the Silver Jupiter Award in 1992 and 2005.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 15sec, ISO 100 at 50mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/16, 20sec, ISO 100 at 50mm and the third at f/16, 8secm, ISO 100 at 50mm.  Here are some more photographs that I took of the show.

f/16, 20sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

f/16, 30sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

f/16, 25sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

f/16, 13sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

With that, my nights of exploding colours in the sky have come to an end.  Well, until the Fire On Ice fireworks in December. All good things come to an end, but there are always more good things that are on the horizon.

Christine Tassan Et Les Imposteures In Saint-Lambert

Back to Saint-Lambert for another in their summer series, Les jeudi de la place.  This week it was the jazz group Christine Tassan et les Imposteurs who took the stage at Parc du Village.  There was a special theme to the show.  It was July 25th, a day we call 'Noël des campeurs' or Christmas in July.  So, all of the songs they played were famous Christmas songs from around the World, but in their own jazzy style.  I thought it was pretty clever and entertaining.  The group has been together since 2003 and have played at big jazz festival all over the country and have released several CD's and they put on a terrific show.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 85mm.  Here are several more that I took during the performance.

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 150mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 168mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 88mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 35mm

Yes, there were quite a few photographs there, but when it comes to ensemble groups like this one, I try and grab at least one photo of every member.  Once past that, I try to throw in a couple of group shots.  The total goes up very quickly, especially when you're having fun.  To find out more about Christine Tassan et les Imposteurs, don't forget to visit their website.

Montreal International Fireworks Competition - Australia

The annual Montreal International Fireworks Competition is just about finished.  This was the final competition show and was put on by the Howard And Sons Pyrotechnics company from Australia.  They've been in the fireworks business since 1922 and this was their fourth visit to Montreal. They won a Silver Jupiter in 2008 and a Bronze Jupiter in 2011.  I decided to visit my favourite overpass that crosses Taschereau boulevard in Longueuil to photograph the explosions.  I've been going to this spot for about five years now after having discovered it in a photograph by Bernard Brault that appeared in the La Presse newspaper.  I got there nice and early after photographing the Sam Tucker concert in Greenfield Park (see the photographs my following the link) as my busy summer of photography continued.  What I like best about this site is all of the light streaks created by the passing cars.  It makes the bottom of the frame just as interesting as the fireworks up top.  The only draw back is that all of the photographs need to be vertical as horizontal leaves lots of emptiness in the shots.  That, and the near heart attack caused every time a truck passes underneath the overpass and my head is filled with images of my camera falling to the road below as the floor below me shakes.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 20sec, ISO 100 at 70mm.  Here are some more photographs that I took during the show.

f/16, 15sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/16, 30sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/16, 15sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/16, 15sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/16, 20sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/16, 30sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

The competition may be over but there is still one last show to see.  Head out to see it because there won't be any more until next year.

Sam Tucker In Greenfield Park

I found myself back in Greenfield Park last night for another concert in the park, organized by Longueuil est culture.  On stage was Sam Tucker, a singer who hails originally from England, but found himself in Gaspé a few years ago as part of a French Immersion program.  He liked it so much that he decided to stay.  His road to local fame came about while watching La Voix with some friends who convinced him that he should audition for the show.  That he did, and he ended up being a semi-finalist.  He released his first album, Aye Avast, in September of 2018 and he played several of his songs, as well as some of the cover songs that he sang while on La Voix.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 200mm.  Here are several more photographs that I took during his performance.

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 800 at 182mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 800 at 145mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/1600sec, ISO 800 at 130mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 165mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 1600 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 200mm

There was a larger crowd than last week which made it a little harder to move around, but I managd to find some spots here and there to grab my photographs.  To find out more about Sam Tucker and his music, don't forget to visit his website.

Montreal International Fireworks Competition - Canada

It's pretty hard to get me in a bad mood while photographing fireworks, especially during the International Des Feux Loto-Quebec, but such an occurrence took place this past Sunday.  The weather was miserably hot and humid all day so I thought I'd stay close to home and shoot some photographs from Seaway Park.  It doesn't offer the greatest view of the fireworks, but it allows me to take some nice wide angle style photographs of the explosions and the light streaks of the passing cars as they go down Route 132.  Things got off to a bad start when a couple of cars rear-ended each other minutes before the show was to start.  Over all of my years photographing the fireworks, I'd been amazed at how many near-accidents I had seen from my various vantage points, and it finally happened.  This caused a traffic line-up which ruined some of my early shots as the cars weren't moving, which meant I was getting shots of parked cars rather than light streaks.  Minutes later, the traffic let up, but when a passing patrol car stopped, right in my shooting line.  The cop finally left, only to be replaced by a tow truck.  I'd finally had enough and moved to another spot, only to be met with a mass of fireworks fans who were enjoying some of our Country's now legal smoking materials.  That was it, I had enough.  There were still another ten minutes to go, but I was as steamed as the weather and packed up my gear and headed for home.  As a result, there are several odd crops here and lots of annoying traffic cones, though I suppose those are now as much a part of Montreal as the fireworks themselves.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 20sec, ISO 100 at 50mm and the second photograph was taken at f/16, 13sec, ISO 100 at 50mm.  Here are some more of my photographs taken that night.

f/16, 20sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

f/16, 13sc, ISO 100 at 50mm

f/16, 25sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

f/16, 25sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

f/16, 30sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

All complaining aside, the show was very fun to watch.  It was the turn of the Home Team, Canada, to light up the sky.  Doing so was BEM Feux d’artifice from Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec.  They've been in the business for 50 years and this was their fourth appearance in the competition where they won a Bronze Jupiter back in 2005.  Sob story aside, it was another fine show as the competition is beginning to wind down.  Head out before it ends.

Smokin' Deville in Saint-Lambert

In what is rapidly turning into a summer of photographic action, my Thursday night was spent in downtown Saint-Lambert with My Lovely Assistant to take in some music.  On the Parc du Village stage as part of the 'Les Jeudi de la place' was Smokin' Deville.  Since 2014, they have been touring across Quebec, bringing the music of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley & The Comets and other early rock and roll legends to the masses.  They also throw in some own original songs which mix in nicely with the classics that they sing.  I've always been a fan of this music as it bring me back to my younger days...even if those songs were recorded several years before I was born.  Their swinging rockabilly style had me tapping my toes while I was shooting and the crowd enjoyed the show as well.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 800 at 59mm.  Here are several more photographs of their performance.

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 800 at 142mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/1250sec, ISO 800 at 182mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 800 at 168mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 1600 at 125mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 120mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 800 at 125mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 800 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 70mm

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 800 at 63mm

After rockin' around the clock for two days in a row, it was once again time to recharge the camera batteries.  Seems to be happening an awful lot this summer.  To find out more about Smokin' Deville be sure to visit their website.