Jazzfest Memories

June 30th, 2019 is certainly a date that will remain in my memory for a good many years.  It was the night that I found myself with a photo pass for the very prestigious Festival International de Jazz de Montréal.  It was easily the high point of my photographic year, and this year I had been hoping to grow that one day pass into something larger.  There is a saying about what happens to best-laid plans.  So, since there will be no new photographs this year, let us take a little trip down a musical memory lane with some unseen photographs from last year.  The first performance that I was able to photograph was Sasha Berliner and her vibraphone.  From there, it was a short walk to the Rio Tinto main stage to photograph Laila Biali.  After that, a quick walk down Ste. Catherine street to the MTelus for a set by La Force before ending my day at the Club Soda for an interesting performance by the duo of René Lussier & Robbie Kuster before the day came to an end with Montreal legends Voivod.  It was a hot day, but well worth the sweat as I spent the entire day hearing some great music, and getting some terrific shots.  The first photograph of Sasha Berliner was taken at f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 200mm.  To see the other shots that I took of her performance, follow this link.  Don't forget to also visit her website for more information about her and her music.  The second photograph of Laila Biali was taken at f/4, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm.  To see the other photographs that I took of her performance, feel free to follow the link.  Also, don't forget to visit her website for more information about her and her music.  Here are some shots of the other performances.

f/2.8, 1/320sec, ISO 4000 at 70mm

Follow this link to see the other photographs that I took of the performance

Follow this link to find out more about La Force and her music

f/2.8, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

Follow this link to see the other photographs that I took of the performance

Follow this link to find out more about René Lussier & Robbie Kuster and their music

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

Follow this link to see the other photographs that I took of their performance

Follow this link to find out more about Voivod and their music

What a terrific day it was.  Hopefully we can add a "...to be continued" to this update as I sure hope I'll get the chance to photograph the Jazzfest again in the future.  Though the event has been cancelled for 2020, don't forget to visit the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal website as they have been streaming performances from past editions for those out there in need of a little bit of music during this odd time.

Maybe Next Year

In a perfect world, tonight would have been the second night of fireworks in the annual L’International des Feux Loto-Quebec.  Sadly, it is but another of the many events that have been cancelled this year.  It was always a high point of the year for Your Friendly Neighbourhood Photographer and The Old Blog.  Luckily, over the years I have accumulated a rather large collection of photos that have not yet been seen.  As well, I usually take a few photographs from where I am before the fireworks actually begin.  Such as this one, taken from one of my favourite places just above Taschereau boulevard in Longueuil.  It not only provided a nice view of the fireworks, but also an opportunity to capture some nice light streaks from the passing cars before the actual show began.  It also allowed me to see that the reputation of reckless drivers we have is well deserved.  You can see some of them in action by following some of the red streaks of light.  This shot was taken at f/16, 30sec, ISO 100 at 32mm.  Hopefully I'll find my way back up there again next year.

Back To The Drawing Board

A few month back while digging through the archives I found a photograph that I had given the 'Photoshop' treatment to.  While continuing my search, I ended up finding two others that had gotten a similar make-over.  Since there was no large outcry on how they were terrible or anything, I figured I'd release the other two here before they disappeared into the vast area of my hard drive once again.

I took these photographs a few years back when My Lovely Assistant and I were biking back home from visiting the World Press Photo exhibit in Montreal.  We stopped on the Pont de la Concorde that connects Montreal to Île Sainte-Hélène as the sun was beginning to set and I was hoping to get some panorama style photographs of the old port area of Montreal and the Jacques Cartier Bridge.

These photographs are kind of dated by the fact that the bridge doesn't have all of the lights that were installed a couple of years ago.  As the sun was going down, I grabbed the old Montreal shots first because I already had a bunch of the bridge. The sky was also a little more red over the city.  Once home, I cropped them to 12" x 6" and then used a watercolour filter on both images.

The first photograph was taken at f/18, 3/10sec, ISO 1600 at 42mm and the second photograph was taken at f/16, 5sec, ISO 1600 at 28mm.  Not quite sure why I was shooting at ISO 1600 since I obviously had a tripod with me.  Back in the day I used to have the bad habit of not resetting my ISO after raising it for a photo.  Luckily, I seem to have learned that lesson as it hasn't happened very much since.  I guess these drawings are fun, but I still prefer to do as little as possible in Photoshop.  It's much more fun to shoot than to edit.

Family Flowers

I guess you could say that I'm a creature of habit.  Lots of my updates here on The Old Blog tend to follow a yearly pattern.  Usually on Father's Day, we head out to visit my parents and I take photographs of the flowers I had given her for Mother's Day.  However, a little problem with a virus you may have heard about meant that Mom didn't end up getting her usually gift.  So, since I am a creature of habit, and I believe in keeping things in the family, I dug into my archives and found these Day Lilies that I had taken one year while visiting my brother.  I snapped them off in a couple of different angles to accentuate their reaching parts and pollen, to try an find an angle I had not yet used before.  It's always fun to play with flowers, especially Day Lilies which are among my favourites.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/125sec, ISO 400 at 60mm.  Here is another.

f/4, 1/30sec, ISO 100 at 60mm

There may not have been any fresh flower photographs this year, but we did end up getting together as a family for the first time in months.  It was great to see everyone, hopefully we can get back to our usual habits for next year.

Solitary Sunset

Since moving the head office, I have spent a good chunk of my time trying to find a nice spot to photograph my sunsets. I was spoiled at the previous location as I had easy access to two bridges and the downtown core of Montreal to use as accessories to my sunset shots.  No such luck where I am now.  While the bridges are still within driving distance, I was hoping to find something a little closer.  I took a little ride out to the Saint-Hubert airport to take a little look around.  The sun was setting next to the tower and the sky was a nice orange, so I snapped away.  As an added bonus, those of you with sharp eyes might notice the lone air-traffic controller inside the tower.  The very definition of social distancing.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 200mm.  It's not quite as impressive as a sharp bridge, but it's a start.

A Day At The Races

Today would have been the F-1 Montreal Grand-Prix, but it's become the latest on the long list of events that have been either rescheduled or delayed.  To make up for the missed action, I dug out a couple of toy cars and staged a Grand-Prix in my backyard.  In order to create the illusion of speed, I parked two other cars on top of a table.  I used some candle holders to create a fake race barrier and tied some fishing wire to the F-1 racer.  My Lovely Assistant then pulled on the wire, and I panned the camera while shooting the action.  This little trick gives off the illusion of the car moving by blurring the background.  You can see the rims of the tires aren't frozen, this gets done by using a slow shutter speed.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/80sec, ISO 100 at 70mm.  My Lovely Assistant would have you believe that she pulled that string for over 30minutes, but it's not quite true.  It surely wasn't more than 25.  Regardless, our little racer took the checked flag at the inaugural Head Office Grand Prix.

Looking In Her Eyes

There has been lots of baby photography taking place at the head office these days.  The Heir Apparent has proven to be quite a willing model to sit before my camera.  While there may be the odd photograph of her that may appear here from time to time, the majority of those pictures will remain private.  However, I have become quite enamored with photographing her eyes.  I may be a little biased, but I find them to be rather amazing.  Her baby blues have a nice white pattern that really stands out, and I could spend hours looking into them.  While staring, I also take a photograph of them from time to time.  This particular one was taken at f/2.8, 1/80sec, ISO 800 at 60mm.  Take a little look and you might see a little bit of me in there too.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have some eyes that I need to stare into.

Bark At The Moon

Since moving the Head Office, I've been searching for a good spot to take sunset photographs.  I've yet to find one to my liking, though I have taken a few sunset photographs that just haven't appeared on The Old Blog just yet.  I need to keep some photographs in the archives for whatever little disaster the world is waiting to surprise us with next.  What I have found though, is a nice view of the moon.  This past Friday was a Full Moon with a penumbral lunar eclipse, which happens when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, casting a slightly darker shadow.   Sadly, the effects weren't really visible in North America, but that is okay because I was treated to a different kind of show.  There was a storm moving in that ended up hitting over night, but it caused a good number of clouds to pass before the Moon.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 1/4sec, ISO 100 at 200mm.  Here are a couple more shots of the Moon and the passing clouds.

f/16, 1/6sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/16, 1/6sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

f/16, 1/6sec, ISO 100 at 200mm

With that, the rain quickly arrived and it was time to pack up and go home.  I thought that the clouds made some nice patterns in the sky.  Now, to keep looking for a spot to grab some sunsets.

Bread For Belle Mom

Time goes by fast.  Time flies and sometimes photos get buried in the archives because of it. These photos got buried last year, but for a different reason.  This loaf of pistachio bread was the creation of My Lovely Assistant.  As usual, I always try and grab a quick photograph of her creations before we eat them.  Quick being a relative term.  We had brought the loaf of bread over to her Mom's house, where we were going to share the tasty treat.  I wasn't happy with the assortment of backgrounds that I was trying and was about to give up when Belle Mom suggested that I try using the wall of her house.  We cleared a shelf, put the bread on a cutting board and I snapped away.  On our next visit, Belle Mom asked why she hadn't seen the photo on the blog yet.  As was usually the case, other photos ended up getting shown, and I had photographed a concert a few days later, so the bread ended up sliding down the list.  But, I promised her it would be up very soon.  Then, the unthinkable happened.  On June 4th, Belle Mom passed away.  It's been a year, and I still can't believe that it has happened.  For a long time, I couldn't bring myself to look at these shots, knowing how much she had wanted to see them, but never got to.  So, in the form of a little tribute, here is that loaf of bread, and Belle Mom's wall.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 51mm with some bounced flash.  The second photograph was taken at f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 34mm with some flash as well.  Here is a bonus 'making of' photo I took of the pistachios before the found their way into the bread.

f/7.1, 1/200sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

I'm hoping that they have WI-FI in that big place up in the sky so that she can finally see the photograph of the bread and her wall.  I'm sorry that it took so long.

Having Fun At Work

It is often said that when you find something you truly enjoy, it never gets seen as being work.  I think I can agree with that statement.  Last year on June 1st, I had one of my busiest days, but it didn't feel like work at all.  My day began with a family photo-shoot for a friend around 1:00PM.  After spending some time there, I rushed home, quickly edited the photos and was then off to Greenfield Park to shoot the concerts of their annual  South Shore Montreal Ribfest.  First on the stage was Travis Cormier, a recent finalist on the popular television show La Voix.  Up next was local jazz legend Dawn Tyler Watson, who was performing with a group of local musicians known as Roots.  After that, My Lovely Assistant and I rushed over to Saint-Lambert to photograph the headlining act of the Festival Classica, the Classica Rocks performance.  Last year, under the guidance of Simon Fournier, the Festival Classica Orchestra performed a selection of popular disco and R&B songs with Saturday Night Fever as the theme.  Joining them up on stage for the musical party was vocalist Élizabeth Blouin-Brathwaite.  It was a terrific evening of music and fun.  Something that we could use a little bit of this year.  Since neither of those events will be happening this year, here are a couple of new photographs from both shows.  The first photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm and the second photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm. Here are a couple more photographs from the evening.

f/2.8, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 200mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 1600 at 100mm

Don't forget to follow the links above to find out more about the events, the mentioned artist and their music.  To see the other photographs I took that night, you can find the Travis Cormier photographs by following this link, the Dawn Tyler Watson & Roots photographs by following this link and the Saturday Night Fever photographs by following this link.