The Sun Sets On 2020

I usually begin this yearly post by saying how it was an exciting and eventful year spent behind my camera.  But, lets be honest, the only word that is clean that I can use to describe this year is crappy.  Granted, 2019 was going to be tough for me to follow up on, but nobody could have predicted the disaster that 2020 has turned into.  There were still a couple highlights.  I managed to photograph a few concerts before everything came to a crashing halt, including my first paid concert shoot (merci beaucoup Baby Boomers Band).  I once again got a few photographs onto CTV Montreal and into the La Presse + newspaper.  I often mention that I have enough photographs in the archives to go an entire year without taking any new ones, and I nearly ended up going that route.  All of those photos in the archives came in handy at time, but they just don't replace the thrill of shooting something fresh and new.  I miss my concerts, fireworks and special events.  Luckily, all of the bad was countered by one giant good.  Back in January My Lovely Assistant and I welcomed The Heir Apparent into our lives.  Though you haven't seen much of her here on the old blog, I assure you that she was my favourite subject this year.  You could say that this year was a roller coaster of emotion.  Luckily, I had just the photographs on hand for such an occasion.  These were taken on an early Autumn day while the La Ronde amusement park was still open.  I was hoping to capture a sunset against the city, but the sun wasn't co-operating.  Before leaving, I noticed that the roller-coaster was running and I had a clear view of the people on the ride.  A quick snap on the way up, and another snap on the way down.  The first photograph was taken at f/5.6, 1/800sec, ISO 400 at 200mm and the second photograph was taken at f/5.6 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 200mm.  A good representation of what was certainly a year full of ups and downs.  Here's to hoping that 2021 has more ups as we could certainly use some.

Christmas Dessert

Some traditions have managed to remain over the course of this miserable year. Christmas itself may not have been done as usual, but My Lovely Assistant still put her talents to use and baked a marvelous dessert.  It was sad that we weren't able to share it with anyone, but it was also great that we didn't because it meant more for Your Friendly Neighbourhood Photographer.  This is always one of the more stressful photographs I take because My Lovely Assistant does such a great job making her Christmas desserts, which was a double chocolate and pear yule log for those of you wondering, that I don't want to screw up the shot.  We lit up the Christmas tree, turned off the kitchen lights and bounced some flash off of the ceiling while taking the photograph at f/5, 1.6sec, ISO 100 at 50mm.  1.6 seconds for the photograph, but it was eaten at a much faster speed.  I hope that all of you out there had just as tasty a dessert for your big day.

Jolly Saint Nick

Though it doesn't really feel like it with everything that is going on, it is Christmas time and all of the good little girls and boys are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus.  The Heir Apparent isn't yet of the age where she can share that anticipation, but seeing her leaves me feeling excited about Christmas' to come.  Since her arrival, I see things through different eyes and am reminded of things from my own childhood.  The excitement of Christmas Eve, knowing that in the morning would be so many surprises waiting for us under the tree.  That same knowledge making it almost impossible to sleep.  That promise of gifts to come is a little different this year.  It's not the gifts of the morning after that I looking forward to, but something a little more long term.  The best gift that I, and probably several of you out there, are hoping for is to be able to go back to they way things were very soon.  Like all of you, I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss my brother and I miss my Mom & Dad.  There has been some positive news over the last few days, and hopefully Jolly Saint Nick can pull off another Christmas miracle and we'll all be able to see each other safely again soon.  This photograph, taken at f/4, 2sec, ISO 100 at 50mm, kind of represents that to me.  I had seen Santa sitting in our tree and he was pointing towards all of the colourful lights and decorations around him.  Times may be tough now, but he is showing the way.  Good times will be coming, Santa will deliver once more.  I hope all of you out there have a Merry Christmas.

Stay Puffed

We're on the home stretch towards Christmas which means that it is time for my sweet tooth to be spoiled.  This years batch of tasty treats have already begun to leave the oven, but first we need to take a trip through the archives for one of my favourite snacks from years gone by.  This was the first time that My Lovely Assistant had tried to make marshmallows and she went all out  This batch was made with some raspberries which gave them a nice reddish colour.  I used a black background to make sure that the red stood out and a strategically placed toothpick helped the stack of three to stay in place.  The photograph was taken at f/7.1, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 70mm with some flash bounced off of the ceiling to help bring out the colour.  They were quite tasty and My Lovely Assistants treats are always a highlight of the season.  The only good thing about this pandemic, it means that I don't have to share with the rest of the family.  Their loss, my gain.

Frozen Fireworks

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, tonight is the beginning of another of my favourite events in this plague filled year.  The annual Fire on Ice fireworks displays would have begun this evening at 8:00PM sharp, precisely at the very moment that I am writing these words.  Since public gatherings are no longer permitted, that pretty much meant that this annual event that would usually drawn hundreds of people down to the Old Port of Montreal got cancelled.  With that in mind, I dug into the archives and pulled out a shot from one of the shows that took place last year.  It was taken at f/16, 20sec, ISO 100 at 57mm from the frozen shores of the Saint-Lawrence river.  This would have been a perfect night for some fireworks.  Not that cold or windy.  Hopefully things will take a turn for the better and we can get back to our old habits next year.  Even if those habits include freezing our bits and pieces next to a frozen river on a cold December night.  If you'd like to see a few more of these shots, click on the '2019' on the right hand side of the page and then the month of December for a few more posts like this one.

Goody Gumdrops

Some holiday fun from a few years ago.  We had all gathered with My Lovely Assistant's family up North and the much anticipated evening event was the building of gingerbread houses.  The little nieces and nephews were really looking forward to building their tasty village and I'm never one to refuse to take photographs of colourful treats.  I lined up the giant gumballs on the roof of the gingerbread house, and the little bits of coloured sugar added grab your attention too.  We could all use a little fun these days, so maybe it would be a good idea to go out and build a gingerbread house of your own.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 59mm with some flash bounced off of the ceiling to put a little shine on the gumdrops.  Sadly, the building didn't have a long life as it was devoured shortly after construction came to an end.  I don't know if they offer insurance for that kind of thing.

Musical Memories

We're in the home stretch of this miserable year, so it seems like a good time to roll out another of my Musical Memories series.  I've been trying to fill the void of not having any concerts to shoot this year by going back in time to the shows that I shot last year.  This concert actually took place last September, but the date coincided with one of the actually live outdoor shows I was able to shoot this year.  So, it got bumped to December where there were no anniversaries to commemorate.  This particular show took place at the Petit Campus in Montreal and was headlined by Southern rockers Nashville Pussy, for whom the term 'sex drugs & rock 'n' roll must have been created for.  Opening for them on this night was local hardcore band, The Vulgar Deli and also the rock and roll comedy of Don Jamieson.  The first photograph was from The Vulgar Deli performance and was taken at f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 44mm.  Here are some other photographs from the show.

 

f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

 f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

It was another in a series of great musical nights from 2019. If you'd like to go back in time, you can visit the photographs I took of The Vulgar Deli, Don Jamieson and Nashville Pussy by following the respective links.  Don't forget to visit the websites of The Vulgar Deli, Don Jamieson and Nashville Pussy to find out more about them and their comedy and music.

Heavenly Flakes

We had ourselves a little dusting of snow today, so I thought it would be a good time to go through the archives for a little snowy shot.  I then discovered that I don't have all that many snow shots to choose from. I guess that my camera doesn't go out as often in the snow as I had thought.  This shot camera from a snowy walk through the Old Port of Montreal a few years ago.  Unlike the wet flakes we got today, the snow that morning was more fluffy and you can pick out some of the flakes on the needles of the pine tree.  I didn't have the macro lens with me that day, but was able to get nice and close in order to pick those flakes out of the mass of snow.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/1000sec, ISO 100 at 54mm. Since this is only the beginning of our snowy season, I'll try and make a point to bring the camera out for our little walks with The Heir Apparent.

Little Stinger

This photograph is a little bit out of season, but it's for a good reason.  Today is my Mom's Birthday, and instead of having a nice lunch with everyone, the clan and I are at home as 'The Plague' has left us under house arrest.  I can live with being under confinement just fine on most days, but today stings.  I guess that's why I chose this photograph.  The flower came from a mixed flower pot we gave my Mom for Mother's Day a few years back, the little guy with the stinger enjoying the fresh pollen just happened to by flying by.  The photograph was taken at f/5, 1/160sec, ISO 800 at 60mm while using a Macro lens.  Hope you have a Happy Birthday, Mom.  And a Happy Birthday to anyone else out there who has missed out on a family celebration due to 'The Plague'.  Happier days are around the corner.

Lost In Her Eye

You've all heard me profess my love of photographing certain things like sunset and fireworks, but the newest item that has shot to the top of my favourite things to photograph list is The Heir Apparent and her eyes.  I adore the colour and the details that are hidden in her little eyes.  They look ever better when the sun hits them just right.  This causes some little moments of tension between the two of us as a lunch time feeding can sometimes lead to an impromptu photo shoot.  Luckily, she tends to enjoy seeing the final product so things get smoothed over between the two of us rather quickly.  The photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/125sec, ISO 400 at 70mm between spoons of cereal and apple sauce.  It's been a crummy year, so I felt that I'd give my 100th update of the year to probably the best thing that happened to me this year.

Victorian Sunset

As mentioned in the last update, I spent five days going to a spot trying to get a nice sunset photograph.  It is said that patience is a virtue and here is the proof.  On the seventh day I finally got my sunset.  Those of you familiar with the geography would know that I was near the train tracks leading to the Victoria Bridge, my favourite of the bridges that lead to Montreal.  After five cloudy days, the sun was nice and bright this past Monday, so I headed out to the tracks.  When the sun was at the right spot, it reflected on the tracks creating some nice leading lines to the structure of the bridge.  I was hoping that the bridge would have been raised for the photograph, but after a week of waiting, I was just happy to have my sunset and orange sky.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/500sec, ISO 400 at 160mm.  A little serious note to end things, please be sure to be careful when photographing near train tracks.  I took a few more shots while I was there, so maybe we'll see a couple more here in the future.

Powdered Sunset

Things don't always end up going as planned.  Regular visitors may have noticed it has been a little while since the last update.  I had found a cool spot for a nice sunset photograph, but then we went and had five days of clouds.  Then on the sixth day, when the sun finally did come out, I ended up getting stuck at a train crossing and missed the sunset.  Since I had sunsets on my head, and I have recently been missing the relative ease I had with sunsets at our old location, I went and dug one out of the archives.  I took this photograph from the staircases that lead to the bicycle path of the Jacques Cartier Bridge.  A simple little walk down the street that I really miss.  I like these powdery autumn sunsets.  The clouds are less puffy, but do a much better job of showing off the light of the setting sun.  The photograph was taken at f/6.3, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 70mm.  Hopefully Mother Nature will be more accommodating this week, though it is currently snowing which will make my site a little less accessible.  Oh well, Spring is only a few months away.

Curved Colour

We've had a series of rather grey days here in the neighbourhood, so I thought that some of you out there on the internets might like a little dose of colour.  Back when the leaves began to fall, I was keeping my eyes peeled for a bright red leaf with a bit of a curve to it.  While out for a walk with The Heir Apparent, this one caught my eye.  It was exactly what I was looking for.  After bringing it home, I took one of my frames off of the wall and placed the leaf on the black backboard behind it.  I then bounced some flash off the wall in order to get the red to really stand out and also to get the tips looking nice and crisp and makes the veins more visible.  The photograph was taken at f/6.3, 1/160sec, ISO 100 at 60mm.  That little peak hole under the curve of the leaf is the effect I was looking for and I liked the shadows created by the flash.  A fun little home project.

Late Arrivals

One thing that I have noticed during my many walks with The Heir Apparent is that there is an abundance of pigeons that have claimed the area around the highway overpass as their own.  Many of them congregate around the light pole just before the overpass where they watch all of the cars, and baby strollers, that pass by.  While out on one of our walks, I had my camera with me and decided to hang around a little bit as there were lots of comings and goings happening.  I waited for the pole to be almost full and shot as the final arrivals came in looking for a spot.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/200sec, ISO 400 at 70mm, and yes, we do end up walking just a little bit faster when it happens that we need to pass underneath that light pole.  The roof on the stroller goes up too, no need for any surprises from above.

Champlain Bridge Sunset

The one thing I miss the most since we moved our head office one year ago is photographing sunsets next to the bridges of Montreal.  I was fortunate enough to live within walking distance of two of those bridges and longtime fans of the page will know that they have featured prominently in my photographs.  However, one bridge, or two in this case, that has so far escaped being featured here is the old Champlain Bridge and its new replacement, the Samuel de Champlain Bridge.  Knowing this, My Lovely Assistant decided that with the warm November weather we were experiencing, it was the perfect time to visit the new bridge.  The Samuel de Champlain Bridge has an awesome walking path that features a great view of downtown Montreal.  I had hoped to take my sunset photograph from up there, but it was terribly smoggy over the city and the view was not very nice at all.  Also, it was at that time that The Heir Apparent decided she didn't really want to be up on the bridge any longer so we made a u-turn about half-way across and made our way back.  The Heir Apparent must have been clued in to something, as once we got back on land, the sky over both bridges cleared out and the sun began to set.  It could be seen peeking through one of the concrete piers of the old bridge.  My only dilemma was that I couldn't decide which cropped version of the photograph I liked more, so they both get posted.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/125sec, ISO 100 at 50mm.  I didn't end up getting the skyline shot I was hoping for, but the bridge is fairly new and should be around for a few more years.  Or at least I and many tax payers certainly hope so.

Don't Forget Your Poppy

Remembrance Day, as with everything, is a little bit different this year.  There will be no big celebrations in any cities and missing from your local grocery or retail stores are the Veterans who would sit at a table to sell their Poppies and be more than happy to share a story or two with people who were willing to listen.  Remembrance Day has always been one of my favourite days.  From the ceremonies in High School, to attending the big outdoor events in Montreal and also to having some of those chats with the Veterans who would be stationed at my Day Job.  Over the year, those Veterans began to be replaced by other volunteers, but their sacrifices will never be forgotten.  To celebrate this year, I brought a couple of forgotten poppies out from the archives.  I photographed these from my Mom's garden all the way back in 2013, but wasn't happy with the way I had edited them.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 400 at 60mm and the second photograph was taken at f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 400 at 60mm.  Both were taken using a Macro lens for a little bit of added magnification.  Getting back to what I said at the beginning of this update, you probably noticed that the poppies are missing from the stores you visit this year.  If you would like to get a poppy and make a donation to support the cause, you can visit the Royal Canadian Legion website where you can find out how to buy a poppy over the internet.  It is a very worthwhile cause to support as we should never fail to remember the sacrifices made by those who made it possible to enjoy the freedom that we have today.

Fall Reflection

I must admit that as this year continues to move forward, I find myself suffering from a little bit of late in the year 'blahs'.  I'm not finding the usual inspiration for photographs at the moment and find myself digging through the archives far more than taking new shots.  In one respect, it is a good thing since I believe I may have said at one time that I probably had enough photographs for a years worth of updates.  I just didn't really think that I'd have that claim put to the test.  This photograph, taken at  f/7.1, 1/125sec, ISO 100 at 41mm, was taken during a Fall walk last year.  They say that the end of the year is a time for reflection, though that usually takes place closer to the end of the year.  I guess I just decided to start that a little bit earlier than usual.

Musical Memories

It's time for another trip back to a happier, musical time where concerts happened and I had the chance to photograph them.  It was one year ago that I found myself at the MTelus in Montreal for a triple bill featuring Sharp/Shock, Skinny Lister and headlined by The Interrupters.  This ended up being my final concert of 2019 but I had nothing but high hopes for the coming year as I had already lined up several contacts for 2020, until what everyone knows happened, ended up happening.  The show itself was terrific.  The venue was sold out for The Interrupters, who brought everyone together to listen to their unity music as singer Aimee Interrupter spent more time interacting with the fans in the audience than any other performer I have had the good fortune to photograph.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 63mm.  Here are a few more from the show.

 

f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 57mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 55mm

f/2.8, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

If you'd like to see the other photographs that I took that light, just follow the links.  The photographs of Sharp/Shock can be found at this link.  The photographs of Skinny Lister can be found at this link and the photographs of The Interrupters can be found at this link.  Don't forget to also click on the group name links to find out more about them and their music. What a great memory, what a great show.  I really enjoyed being able to photograph those concerts and hopefully when this thing gets straightened out I'll be able to jump right back into the pit.

Natural Spotlight

It's the spookiest night of the year, which is saying something in a year that has been relatively spooky all on its own.  To add to the spookiness, there will be a full moon tonight which is also the second full moon the month.  I stuck my head out the front door back on the 1st to see Full Moon #1.  I'd already taken a few moon shots this year, so I wanted to try something different.  I looked around for a couple of branches that were reaching out from our cedar and took the photograph at f/2.8, 1sec, ISO 100 at 125mm.  Part of the fun was looking at the photograph afterwards and noticing that the branches kind of formed little characters.  I can see a ice fisherman sitting on a log, a female singer belting out a high note and a little turtle.  Have I mentioned that I have a somewhat active imagination?  There will be another full moon out there tonight so if the plague is keeping you away from trick or treating, you can find a nice socially distanced place and try to find the man in the moon instead.

Sunday Service

 

It's been almost a year since My Lovely Assistant and I packed up the Head Office for a larger upgrade.  The previous head office found me within walking distance of two iconic local bridges and with a clear view of the skyscrapers of downtown Montreal.  The one thing near me that can stand next to those would be the Paroisse Saint-Hubert.  It's a large church that I first discovered last year while photographing some outdoor concerts that were taking place on the front steps.  I rediscovered the church during some of the morning walks I've been taking with The Heir Apparent.  With some of the leaves having already fallen, it offered a clearer view of the church.  After taking the photographs, I decided to look into the building a bit more and discovered that it was officially consecrated in 1859 after two years of construction.  The two men who were behind the project, Laurent Benoît and Moïse Vincent, along with their wives, Aglaë Vincent and Marie-Théophile Benoit, are buried in the two crypts of the Church.  Also, according to legend, it was Saint Lambert who baptized his protégé, Saint Hubert.  So, when the Saint-Hubert Church was officially opened, it was decided to be named after Saint Hubert, as the church in Saint-Lambert had been named after Saint Lambert just a few years prior, continuing the tradition of one following the other.  Interesting stuff.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 1/80sec, ISO 100 at 63mm.  Here are a couple more photographs.

f/16, 1/80sec, ISO 100 at 45mm

f/16, 1/80sec, ISO 100 at 31mm

f/16, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 28mm

A little bit of photography and a history lesson to go along with it. I was considering going back on another day to redo the second photograph with less cars, but with the weather we had this week, all of the leaves are already gone.  A project that will have to wait for next year, God willing.😇

Red Fall Leaves

 

Sometimes you're to busy looking for something that you fail to notice that it has been staring back at you the entire time.  Such has been the case with my hunt for some autumn colours this year.  I've been so busy lamenting the fact that I can't go out to the Country to see some of the Fall colours, that I failed to see this bright red bouquet staring right at me.  I went out for a walk with The Heir Apparent and made a stop for a sock check because some have had the bad habit of disappearing from her feet while we walk.  As I got back to moving, I immediately saw these red leaves sneaking over the black fence.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 44mm.  It's a good time of the year to go out for a walk.  There might be some nice colours like this waiting for you next door too.

The Maples Want More Sunlight

 

Since we're all under confinement, I've been trying to find some nice Autumn scenes around the new Head Office.  Last week we went out for a little family walk in Longueuil at Parc Michel-Chartrand.  There was a little bit less colour in the trees than I had hoped, but we walked by this little urban forest area with the sun shining high above the trees.  Some of them were already losing their leaves which remained on the ground as a colourful carpet.  There were still some on the branches too and I thought it looked like an nice autumn scene.  Since I'm the one holding the camera, I decided to snap away.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/640sec, ISO 100 at 24mm.  Hopefully the season is a bit more colourful where you are as I continue to look around for some colours here.

Watching The Water Fall

Our little socially distanced group went out for a little Autumn walk this past weekend.  We couldn't spend Thanksgiving with the family, so I was at least hoping to find some nice colours to grab some photographs of.  While I'm sure that the colours are nice and bright down by my parents, the effects haven't taken hold around here just yet.  So, with nothing to my liking in the trees, I looked to the water fountain instead.  To go along with the nice blue sky, there was a little breeze that was pushing a mist from the fountain through the air.  Had a little fun with the shutter speeds to try and catch the falling water in different forms.  A little bit of outdoor fun on a nice sunny day.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 1/125sec, ISO 100 at 70mm.  Here are a few more photographs.

f/5.6, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 41mm

f/5.6, 1/640sec, ISO 100 at 41mm

It's not the easiest of times to go out and do things, but if you can take advantage of a nice stroll through the park, go for it.  A little fresh air and sunshine is good for the morale.

Musical Memories

It's time for another trip into the musical way-back machine to one of the concerts that I had the pleasure to photograph last year.  In this case it was an eardrum shattering night of rock and roll from Grand Magus, At The Gates, Arch Enemy and headlined by Amon Amarth live from the MTelus, though I still prefer to call it the Metropolis.  If you'd like to go back in time as well and enjoy some of the other photographs I took that night, just click on the links and you'll be magically transported back in time too.  A couple of things I remember from that evening, all four bands were great and by the end of Amon Amarth I sweating so much that you'd think it was a sweltering evening in July rather than October.  Hopefully things will progress in a positive way and I can have some more ear shattering sweating nights again soon.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/100sec, ISO 2000 at 50mm.  Here are a couple more photographs taken that night.

f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 30mm

f/2.8, 1/500 ISO 3200 at 24mm

They say that the concerts will come back one day, but until that day comes, at least I can go back in the photographic time machine and be transported back to the front of the stage.  If you'd like to find out a little more about Grand Magus, At The Gates, Arch Enemy or Amon Amarth and their music, you can follow those links to their respective websites.  Happy listening.

Autumn Snacking Spot

I know that most people think of warm weather under a hot sun as the ideal spot for having a picnic.  It's not quite an opinion that I share.  One of my favourite Fall activities is going apple picking with My Lovely Assistant, and this year The Heir Apparent was introduced to the activity.  Coming home with a bag full of delicious apples is an obvious plus, but equally as fun for me is the Fall treat of warm apple donuts, cooked on site and then eaten underneath a multi-colour tree with fallen leaves littering the ground.  To me, that is an ideal picnic spot.  The photograph was taken at f/8, 1/40sec, ISO 100 at 70mm and the warm apple donuts were provided by Verger Petit et Fils.  I'm not sure if the donuts are available this year, and the picnic table is probably out of bounds, but hopefully they'll both be there waiting for me in the very near future.

In The Red Zone

As of last week we took a step backwards in our continuing Covid saga as the area I am in became a red zone.  Not really good news at all, but the kind of news we've been dealing with since March.  As if in an attempt to really bring the point home, Mother Nature provided a bright red sunset just hours after the announcement was made.  It's not quite as colourful as a rainbow, but at least the red sunset was a little bit easier for morale than the earlier code red.  The photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 100 at 200mm.  There was a slight breeze that was causing the trees to sway and I caught  few of them at an angle.  I guess all that is left to do is grin and bear things for the next 28 days.  Oops, we're down to 23 days as of this writing.  Hopefully time will fly and things will take a turn for the better.

The Sound Of Silence

October is usually a musical month for Your Friendly Neighbourhood Photographer, but such will not be the case this year.  My little part of the world just got shut down again for another 28 days.  So, whatever little hope there may have been, and it was admittedly very small anyway, is pretty much gone.  I usually like to celebrate 'Rocktober' here on The Old Blog, so I had been going through some older photos looking for something cool from the archives.  That's when I came upon this shot that I took earlier this year.  The photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm.  It was a triple-bill of bands at the Théâtre Corona. Blackguard, The Agonist and Epica (follow the links to see the photographs).  Before the show began, one of the roadies set the microphone down on the elevated platform, waiting to be grabbed by the Blackguard singer.  I thought it seemed like an interesting little picture at the time, though it seems to take on a little more meaning now.

Marjolaine Morasse & Élie Dupuis At Parc St-Mark

The pandemic rolls on, but luckily there is still some live music taking place out there.  Every Sunday during the month of September, Marjolaine Morasse and Élie Dupuis have been putting on some open air concerts in local parks, with some added promotion from Longueuil Est Culture.  They've titled the show 'Les Pianos Rassembleurs' in an effort to bring people closer together, though still socially distanced, and have a good time.  Together, they played a selection of their own songs and a couple of covers to a very appreciative Longueuil crowd.  I think the best way to describe the show would be to use their own words.  It's two friends around a piano mixing their musical universes to provide a unique open air moment.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/320sec ISO 100 at 200mm.  Here are several more photographs of the performance.

f/4, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 135mm

f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 100 at 135mm

 f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 100 at 180mm

f/4, 1/160sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 100 at 135mm

f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/4, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/4, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 130mm

f/4, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/4, 1/400sec, ISO 100 at 175mm

f/4, 1/800sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

The sun was shining, the temperature wasn't overly warm and even The Heir Apparent was swinging and swaying in the distant grass.  I miss being able to get right up next to the stage to shoot these shows, but that's why telephoto lenses were created.  Have to keep a safe distance.  You can follow the links to find out more about Marjolaine Morasse and Élie Dupuis and their music.  If you live around Longueuil, don't forget to check out the Longueuil Est Culture site for some interesting events.  You might come across Your Friendly Neighbourhood Photographer at one of them some day.