The Sun Sets On 2021

 

We've reached the end of another year living under The Plague.  It was supposed to be a year where we finally broke free of COVID, but not only has that not happened, but it seems to be back with a vengeance.  We had a bit of a reprieve over the Summer and Fall, but the Winter has seen a new variant bring the number of infections higher than ever.  Now, this is a photography blog, not a medical blog, and I am nowhere near smart enough to have any kind of medical opinion, so let's get down to the business at hand.  Our little yearly recap of what passed before the lens of my camera.  With everything being shut down for most of the first nine months of the year, I still managed to get some pretty cool shots despite rarely leaving my backyard.  A couple of photographs found their way back onto CTV News and also in La Presse +.  I managed to get back onto the field to photograph a couple of football games in the Fall when restrictions finally began to lift a bit and then, what I had waited 20 month to do again, I was able to photograph four concerts.  Those concerts look to be far away again as there are sure to not be any for the next little while as lock-downs and curfews are back in the immediate future.  It was a good year for insects, as a group of honeybees took a liking to the giant sunflowers that decorate our backyard.  The dragonflies and butterflies are still a little shy, though they continue to curiously fly around me when I'm outside.  Maybe 2022 will be the year I finally earn their trust.  The local blue jays and cardinals are also continuing to tease me as they fly over our yard to stop at one of the neighbours.  The Heir Apparent continues to be the most photographed subject in the house, despite those photographs not making their way here to the blog.  As for the year to come, who knows what is in store.  We'll start by hoping for another year of good health, and hopefully everything else will fall into place after that.  Which brings us to our final photograph of the year.  I took it from one of my favourite spots near where we used to live as it offers a great view of Montreal.  It was only after getting home and taking a closer look that I saw what looked like an angel in the sky.  Maybe it's just my eyes playing tricks on me, but a quick look in the top right hand corner of the photograph should reveal a white cloud that appears to be a winged angle looking over the city.  These days, we could all use a little angel looking over us.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/400sec, ISO 400 at 70mm and then cropped to give it that wide angle look.  To everyone who takes the time to stop here, read my words and look at my photographs, I thank you very much and wish all of you a happy and healthy 2022.  See you next year.

Chocolate Wave

Usually around this time of the year I share with you a little picture of what My Lovely Assistant created as a Christmas dessert for us.  However, since we're still living under The Plague, there were no Christmas parties this year.  So, the dessert for the three of us, while delicious, was a little smaller than usual.  Luckily, a few weeks before everything began to fall apart again, we celebrated my mother's birthday and My Lovely Assistant made a huge chocolate cake for the occasion.  I took a photograph of the top of the cake because I liked the textures of the chocolate waves and the decorations.  Since we could all use something sweet to wash the taste of 2021 out of our mouths, I'll share some of it with all of you.  The photograph was taken at f/16, 1/100sec, ISO 100 at 70mm with some flash bounced off of the ceiling to help bring out the colour.  Hopefully 2022 will taste as good as this cake did.

Christmas Cactus

A few years back, My Lovely Assistant got a Christmas cactus as a gift.  However, I think that its internal calendar must have been off by a little bit because it never would actually bloom at Christmas time.  Sometimes in November, sometimes in January, even in March one year, but never actually in December.  All hope appeared to be lost, until this year.  With Christmas just around the corner, our plant bloomed a few days ago, so I figured it would be an ideal time to take some photographs of it.  The petals are a soft and delicate white before streaking towards a solid pink tip.  I rotated the flower a little bit in order to get a clearer view of the inside, but also took a few shots from it's natural position.  There was lots of twisting and turning involved, but I managed to get the shots I was looking for without breaking the flower.  Due to 'The Plague', it will be another Christmas at home away from the family again, but at least we have a nice flower to look at.  No, it doesn't really compare, but in times like these, we try and find a little bit of positive where we can.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/125sec, ISO 400 at 60mm using a Macro lens.  Here are a few more photographs of our Christmas cactus.

f/6.3, 1/200sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm

f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm

f/6.3, 1/100sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm

The little flower doesn't really compare to being with my family, but it does at least succeed in putting a little smile on my face.  Something that hasn't come very easy over the last few days.  Merry Christmas to all, and I hope that there is a little bit of joy out there for everyone to share.

Snowblind

 

The snow finally arrived, and not a moment to soon as we are only a few days way from Christmas.  Someone who was happy to see the snow was our little reindeer who calls the front yard home.  There are actually two of them on our lawn, both expertly crafted by My Lovely Assistant, but this little guy was perfectly positioned with our little cedar right behind.  I waited for the storm to end and the afternoon sun was just in the right place.  There was still a little dusting of snow falling from the sky, though it doesn't really show up in the small size being used here.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/160sec, ISO 100 at 120mm.  I then sent it off to CTV Montreal Weather Specialist Lori Graham who liked it enough to air it during the evening newscast.  I kept that information to myself in order to see the surprised reaction of My Lovely Assistant and The Heir Apparent when they saw our front yard friend on the television.  It was worth the secrecy. Thanks very much again to Lori Graham and the CTV Montreal crew.

Cowansville Colours

Winter seems to be slow in arriving this year.  There is a little dusting of snow falling as I type, but it will all be gone by morning as the temperature will rise.  So, I guess this will allow me to skip backwards a bit and revisit some the Fall sights.  This photograph was taken during a Thanksgiving visit with the parents.  The leaves were already a nice shade of red so I headed down towards the railway tracks to capture some of the seasonal colours.  The photograph was taken at f/2.8, 1/640sec, ISO 400 at 70mm.  We're stuck in that dull grey zone between Fall and a Winter Wonderland, so we might as well enjoy a little more colour.

Tenille Townes At L'Astral

Sometimes you just get drawn to something without really knowing why.  To be perfectly honest, I don’t follow very much Country music.  My lasting impression of the genre is spinning a vinyl record at my grand-parents home and listening to The Oak Ridge Boys singing about meeting up with Elvira at The Hungry House Café.  Gidy up, indeed.  However, in recent years a whole new generation of Country music stars have hit the scene and Montreal has suddenly found itself as being Nashville North, with a large local group of Country artists and a summer festival that attracts many big names from all over North America.  One of those new generation stars is Tenille Townes, who was playing at L’Astral this past Sunday night.  Had I been following, I would have known that she had a terrific album, The Lemonade Stand, which was released last year.  I would have also know that she has already won several prestigious awards, such as the Canadian Country Music Award for Songwriter and Female Artist of the Year in 2019 and 2020, was nominated for a couple of Juno Awards in 2020 before winning a Juno this year for Country Album of the Year as well as another Canadian Country Music Award for Female Artist of the Year.  Yet, I knew none of this but was still oddly drawn to advertisements for her concert for reasons I couldn’t understand.  So, I sent off a request for a photo pass to the show, arrived early because bad weather had been planned and was then allowed to enter for the VIP Meet & Greet Session.  It was then that I had my ‘Aha’ moment.  As she was answering questions from her fans, she mentioned how one of her greatest supporters had been her grandparents, who she always called Mémère and Pépère.  That’s when the goose bumps began to rise on my arms as we called my Grandparents on my Mother’s side the exact same thing.  Though Pépère passed away when I was only 5, Mémère was always interested in what we were up to.  She sadly passed away before I really took up photography, but had the same free spirit as Tenille described her own grandmother as having, someone who enjoyed life and still went out dancing on a regular basis.  I’m not the most spiritual person out there, but there had to be some reason why I had become so obsessed with going to that show, and I’d like to think that it was some Grandmotherly persuasion being sprinkled about.  We’ve done a lot of talking, but still haven’t actually mentioned the music.  The concert was terrific.  Her songs all seem to be rooted in some kind of personal story, which gives then an authentic feeling of coming straight from the heart.  The crowd was toe tapping and swaying away through her set and even getting a little rowdy as she broke into a cover of a Joan Jett song before sending everyone home happy after an encore.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 5000 at 33mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/50sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm.  The third photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm and the fourth photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/50sec, ISO 10000 at 70mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took of her performance.

f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/50sec, ISO 5000 at 28mm

f/2.8, 1/125sec, ISO 12800 at 185mm

f/3.2, 1/50sec, ISO 5000 at 33mm

f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

If you’d like to find out more about Tenille Townes and her music, you can do so by following the link to her website.  If you’d like to see the photographs of Brittany Kennell, who played earlier in the evening, you can do so by following this link.  A big thank you to Crystal Dishmon of Shopkeeper Management for getting me a photo pass for the show.  It was an evening full of warmth, enough to make one forget the winter storm that was beginning to blow outside.  Thank for sending me Mémère.

Brittany Kennell At L'Astral

Singing and storytelling go well together.  Some of the best songs I can remember have their roots in stories, either true or imagined.  This is true for most genres, but it seems much more evident with Country music.  You can't help but follow the story as Loretta Lynn sings about the Coal Miner's Daughter, Johnny Cash relaying the tale of a Boy Named Sue or Kenny Rogers regaling letting us know about the Coward of the County.  Brittany Kennell, who our show starter this past Sunday at L'Astral in Montreal, has a career that reads like a story  Her story began here in Montreal, took a detour in Nashville for a couple of years and now continues back at home with the release of a new album and heaps of praise.  She was the first, and so far only, Canadian to ever appear on the popular American television show, The Voice and is now a leading voice in trying to turn Montreal into the Canadian home of Country music.  Her debut album, I Ain't A Saint, was released this past September and she seemed genuinely touched when the crowd would sing the lyrics along with her.  She's already been called the new Shania, which are some rather big cowboy boots to fill, but I certainly wouldn't bet against her.  Being a home town girl, you can't help but to root for Brittany Kennell to succeed, but it's all that much easier because she has the talent to back it up.  The first photograph was taken a f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 8000 at 50mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 8000 at 47mm.  Here are several more photographs that I took during her performance.

f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 5000 at 35mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 8000 at 57mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 8000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 8000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 8000 at 63mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 8000 at 57mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 8000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 8000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 8000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 8000 at 50mm

If you'd like to find out more about Brittany Kennell and her music, you can follow the link to her website.  To see the photographs that I took of Tenille Townes later that night, you can follow this link.  Everyone likes to hear a good song or story, and despite a few character building bumps along the way, it certainly looks like Brittany Kennell is on her way to a happily ever after.

Frédéric Dionne At Le Verre Bouteille

On Monday, I was invited to photograph a small concert in one of Montreal's hidden away music venues, Le Verre Bouteille.  I had never actually been there myself, but knew of it's reputation as a cozy little concert venue.  The opening act, Frédéric Dionne, has been playing music for a few years, but has only recently decided to go solo after having been in the band Les Jacks.  I actually already photographed him once in Greenfield Park as part of the Canada Day celebrations back in 2019.  I didn't figure that out until afterwards, but it was something of a 'small world' moment.  He played us a selection of his new songs that he has been working on and hopes to release an album shortly.  He sure seems to be on the right track as the crowd very much enjoyed what they heard.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.5, 1/80sec, ISO 32000 at 70mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took during his performance.

f/3.5, 1/80sec, ISO 32000 at 70mm

f/3.5, 1/60sec, ISO 32000 at 70mm

f/3.5, 1/160sec, ISO 10000 at 39mm

f/3.5, 1/100sec, ISO 32000 at 70mm

f/3.5, 1/60sec, ISO 20000 at 24mm

f/3.5, 1/60sec, ISO 20000 at 70mm

f/3.5, 1/80sec, ISO 20000 at 61mm

f/3.5, 1/50sec, ISO 16000 at 61mm

f/3.5, 1/80sec, ISO 32000 at 70mm

f/3.5, 1/80sec, ISO 32000 at 70mm

It was a nice acoustic set that helped warm up the crowd who was walking in from a cold early winter night.  To find out more about Frédéric Dionne and his music, you can visit his Facebook page by following the link.  You can also follow this link to see my photographs of Mountain Daisies who played afterwards.  Best of luck with the new music Frédéric, may your guitar and my camera cross paths again some day.

Mountain Daisies At Le Verre Bouteille

The headlining act of out little evening at Le Verre Bouteille was veteran Montreal Country music group, Mountain Daisies.  The core of the group, guitarist Carl Prévost and singer/violinist Ariane Ouellet have been together for nearly 20 years, dating back to their days in CEGEP.   However, as they explained, they are kind of experiencing a renaissance of sorts after having spent some time in Nashville to take in the scene down there.  Now back in town, they are preparing for the release of a new EP and decided to share some of their new songs at this event.  The whole event was put together by their management company, Agence Ranch, who were kind enough to invite me out to take photographs of the show.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.5, 1/125sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm.  Here are several more photographs of their performance.

f/3.5, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 35mm

f/3.5, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/3.5, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 33mm

f/3.5, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm

f/3.5, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

f/3.5, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 200mm

f/3.5, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 120mm

f/4, 1/320sec, ISO 12800 at 28mm

f/3.5 1/60sec, ISO 5000 at 70mm

f/3.5, 1/125sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

f/3.5, 1/160sec, ISO 5000 at 70mm

f/3.5, 1/100sec, ISO 5000 at 70mm

There is a certain thrill that comes with photographing concerts at some of the bigger venues in town, but this evening at Le Verre Bouteille had a certain feeling in intimacy that only a smaller venue can provide.  Almost like a family gathering where everyone is close and having a great time listening to some music.  A big thank you to Joelle Proulx of Agence Ranch who invited me to photograph the show.  If you'd like to see the photographs that I took of Frédéric Dionne, who opened the evening, you can do so by following this link.  If you'd like to find out more about Mountain Daisies and their music, you can do so by visiting their Facebook page.