Montreal International Fireworks Competition - Switzerland

Another Saturday night in Montreal means another Saturday night of fireworks.  Up this week was Switzerland, who was being represented by the Sugym Fireworks Company, who were making their second appearance at the competition.  It was also a chance for me to try out a new shooting location.  This one is located down at the Old Port of Montreal.  I went there last year for some photographs, but this time instead of using the walkway that leads to the old clock tower, I went down closer to where the artificial beach is.  I think it's a pretty cool spot.  You get a nice view of the fireworks, a good view of the bridge, and the clock tower on the right adds another little landmark to the photograph.  My only disappointment was that instead of the clock tower being illuminated as usual, there was some kind of light show being displayed upon it.  That kind of frustrated me at certain points of the evening.  The light show did provide some interesting effects of the walls of the tower, but sometimes simplicity is best, and I would have liked for some regular lighting on atleast one of my photographs.  That aside, I think that the photographs you see here on the page are rather cool, and the first one is probably my favourite that I have so far taken this year.  The theme of of the presentation was e-motions, inspired by emoticons which are those little smiley face things you see while reading things on the internet.  Something like this, :-) for example.  They even managed to make a few such faces appear in the sky, though with long exposure photography, they still come off looking like streaks of light.  The first photograph was taken at f/9, 13sec, ISO 100 at 43mm and the second photograph was taken at f/10, 10sec, ISO 100 at 43mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took during the show.

f/10, 25sec, ISO 100 at 43mm

f/10, 8sec, ISO 100 at 43mm

f/10, 30sec, ISO 100 at 43mm

f/18, 20sec, ISO 100 at 38mm

Hard to believe, but the fireworks competition is already half over.  Or you could go the more positive route and say that there is still half to go.  Either way, if you're a fan get out there to see them.  Though clouds and humidity have caused a little bit of a problem for me this year, the shows are still spectacular to see.

Summer Swim

It's hot outside.  Miserably hot and humid.  A combination that I hate more than anything.  If you happen to be one of the unlucky folks who don't have air-conditioning, then the next best option would be to do as this little guy and find a nice body of water to hide in.  I found this little guy hiding in a small pond while on vacation in Tadoussac a few years back.  I had been trying to take a photograph of the pond when my spider-sense, or in this case my frog-sense, kicked in and told me to look down.  That's when I noticed the frog looking up at me with a big smile on his face.  Don't believe me?  Then check out the second photograph.  I took the photograph of just the frog after I had noticed him in the water.  I knelt down on the walking path very slowly so that I wouldn't scare him away. I'm sure that there may be some non-believers out there, but I'm pretty sure that he is smiling for the camera.  He sure looks pretty comfortable in that water, something I'm sure that the others out there among us who have been enduring this heat and humidity would smile if they were up to their neck in cool water as well.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/320sec, ISO 100 at 70mm and the second photograph was taken at f/6.3, 1/100sec, ISO 100 at 70mm.  With the first photograph, I was just trying to photograph the reeds that were coming out of the water.  I used a large aperture to blur out some of the front of the photograph because I thought it would look more interesting.  With the second photograph, I used a slightly smaller aperture since I wasn't really close to the frog and wanted to make sure that all of his face would be in focus. On that note, I'm off to huddle next to my magical cold air machine.  I hope that all of you out there are able to find a cool pond of your own.  Also, don't forget to smile if someone happens to photograph you while you are swimming in it.

Montreal International Fireworks Competition - Canada

My Lovely Assistant is quick to remind me that often during the walk home from a fireworks exhibition I'm often a little down as I feel that I've not a good job of capturing the display that took place in the sky.  This time, it was a little bit of the opposite.  I was quite happy with my shots, especially considering that they took place during a very overcast night where low winds and humidity caused the smoke to move out of the way more slowly than usual.  It was only after I got home that I noticed I wouldn't be able to properly crop the photographs as I had wanted.  I used this location once before a few years ago.  Part of the fun for me is getting the metal superstructure of the bridge into the shots with the fireworks exploding over it.  My plan was to keep the superstructure in the top, right hand corner, and let the fireworks fill the rest of the space.  I thought I had positioned myself properly, but I think I was a little bit to far to the right.  To compensate, I ended up moving the fireworks more to the right of my photographs, or leaving a bit more sky that I would have wanted in the photographs where I kept the fireworks on the left.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 5sec, ISO 100 at 28mm and the second photograph was taken at f/13, 8sec, ISO 100 at 28mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took during the show.

f/13, 6sec, ISO 100 at 28mm

f/13, 6sec, ISO 100 at 28mm

f/13, 1sec, ISO 100 at 28mm

f/13, 10sec, ISO 100 at 28mm

It was Canada's turn to light up the sky and the fireworks were handled by Big Bang Fireworks, a company from Calgary with 18 years of experience, but making their first appearance here in Montreal.  I'm sure that the photographs are fine, but in my head there is still that tinge of disappointment over having missed the composition I was looking for.  I might try to redeem myself at this location before the competition comes to an end.

Montreal International Fireworks Competition - Chile

The 32rd Edition of the Montreal International Fireworks Competition brought much colour and noise to the skies over the Greater Montreal area last night.  This was the second show of the competition, and was handled by the Pirotencia Spa company, specifically their Chilean branch.  Mother Nature had been threatening a sky show of her own as thunderstorms had been in the forecast for much of the evening, but they never materialized.  Since the threat of rain was hovering, I stayed close to home for these photographs, choosing to shoot from a spot in Saint-Lambert's Seaway Park.  It's a spot I like as the park runs along a busy highway right across from the fireworks.  As a result, I get a light show in the sky from the fireworks and also a bonus show at the bottom of the screen from the light trails left behind from the passing cars.  Sometimes, a squad of police cars, there to make sure that traffic keeps moving, pass at the same time and makes for a crazy mix of colours along the roadway.  Though the rain did finally hold off, a little more wind would have been welcomed.  The smoke from the exploding fireworks would linger a little longer than than I would have liked, smoking out some of the fireworks.  I ended up having an accurate trigger finger on this night and came home with, in my own not so humble opinion, several cool photographs.  The first one was taken at f/10, 10sec, ISO 100 at 50mm and the second photograph was taken at f/10, 8sec, ISO 100 at 50mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took of the show.

 f/10, 6sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

f/13, 8 sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

 

f/13, 10sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

 

f/13, 8 sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

f/13, 6sec, ISO 100 at 50mm

 

I generally try to keep these fireworks themed updates limited to six shots, but after several hours of trying to cut down on my list, I made it to seven and could decide on which last photograph wasn't going to make the cut.  So, since this is my blog, I suppose that it is okay for me to break my own rules.  It also means that my archives just grew in size.  Maybe I'll have an all fireworks themed month some time in the future.

Kevin Bazinet at Greenfield Park

As mentioned a few days ago during the photo update of Patrick Lehman in concert, back on Canada Day, My Lovely Assistant and I headed over to Greenfield Park after the clouds parted and the sun began to dry up the rain that had fallen from the sky.  We arrived a little late for Kevin Bazinet's set, but still in time to hear most of it.  His claim to fame was winning the 2015 Reality Series, La Voix.  He played a little mix of cover songs and some of his own originals as well and the crowd was really enjoying the performance.  Myself, I came equiped with my telephoto lens as the crowd was a little bit bigger at this point of the evening and I couldn't really get as close to the stage as I would have liked. I still ended up with some nice photographs of the show.  There isn't much more to add that wasn't said in the first update, so let's get to the photographs.  The first one was taken at f/4.5, 1/200sec, ISO 800 at 200mm.  Here are a few more.

f/5.6, 1/100sec, ISO 1600 at 200mm

f/5, 1/125sec, ISO 800 at 170mm

f/4, 1/80sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/5, 1/80sec, ISO 800 at 168mm

f/5, 1/160sec, ISO 1600 at 130mm

f/5, 1/125sec, ISO 1600 at 200mm

f/5, 1/160sec, ISO 1600 at 200mm

f/3.5, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 200mm

f/4.5, 1/250sec, ISO 800 at 135mm

I was happy to get some photographs of the background musicians as they appeared to be having a great time during the concert.  It was tough to get some god shots of them as they were kind of bunched together behind a keyboard, but I managed to shuffle around a little bit to get a better view of them.  A short fireworks presentation was scheduled to happen next.  As I already mentioned, I wasn't there with photographing fireworks on my mind, but I still managed to get a little something, which I'll save for a future update.

32nd Edition Of L'International des Feux Loto-Québec Begins

Back when I was a youngster, one of my favourite shows on television was The Dukes of Hazzard.  While I may not have 'been in trouble with the law since the day I was born', my photography has managed to get me into a few meetings with the local law enforcement officials.  Before my Mom gets bent out of shape, no pepper spray, batons or handcuffs were involved and no arrests were made.  Saturday marked the opening of the 32nd edition of L'International des Feux Loto-Québec.  Over the last four years of the blog, July has pretty much been dominated by photographs of fireworks as I really love photographing them. This year, weather and law enforcement permitting, things should be no different.  It was nice and cool, an appreciated treat for July, so I decided to drag My Lovely Assistant and myself for a bike ride over to the Pont De La Concorde to photograph the pretty explosions in the sky.  It's a location that I've used over the last two years and one that I really enjoy.  However, it will now be noted that my photographs taken from the bridge last year will be the last ones, unless some municipal laws and regulations change.  We were delayed getting the to bridge as a boat was passing through the Saint Lawrence Seaway, meaning there was a delay over at the Victoria Bridge as we waited for the deck to lower.  Regardless, we got to the Pont De La Concorde with about 30 minutes to spare before showtime.  I opened up my tripod and began to get my camera ready when, from the corner of my eye, I noticed a police car with its light on make a quick u-turn and head right for us.  The car stopped right next to me and the officer inside made it quite clear that there had been a change in the rules concerning the bridge and people were no longer allowed to remain still.  We had to ciruculate.  Now, had this been a structure where traffic would be flying by, I suppose I would understand, but there is a large concrete barrier between the traffic and the bicycle path and sidewalk.  For what it's worth, the cop was very nice about everything, to the point where even I felt like he knew what he was saying was silly.  With time running and my options suddenly very limited, I decided we should make a run for Parc de la Cité-du-Havre.  I last shot there a few years back, but was afraid that due to the time, I wouldn't be able to get a spot near the railing in order to get a clear shot of the fireworks.  Luckily, I managed to squeeze myself into a spot with about ten minutes to go and was able to shoot away.  The first photograph was taken at f/16, 10sec, ISO 100 at 68mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/16, 13sec, ISO 10 at 68mm and the third photograph was taken at f/11, 13sec, ISO 100 at 68mm.  Here are a couple more photographs that I took during the show.

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

f/11, 6sec, ISO 100 at 68mm

f/16, 30sec, ISO 100 at 68mm

The fireworks were handled by Feu d'artifice Apogée and was themed 'Our Heroes'.  The soundtrack featured pieces of music from Star Wars, Superman and other 'hero' themed movie soundtracks, as well as some pieces from video games such as Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros.  As for my latest run in with the police, much like those Duke boys, someday the mountain might get me but the law never will.

Patrick Lehman in Greenfield Park

The rain almost kept us away, but the clouds clear from the sky at the very last minute so My Lovely Assistant and I made a quick car ride to Greenfield Park in order to take in the Canada Day festivities. By the time we got there, only two bands remained to play and a fireworks display was scheduled.  I decided to forego the fireworks and left my tripod at home, choosing to focus on the music.  The final musical performance was handled by Parick Lehman, a local artist from Montreal who was a nominated for a Juno in 2016 in the Best Soul/R&B Recording category.  His show was a collection of classic rock (Creedence Clearwater Revival & Fleetwood Mac), R&B (Stevie Wonder) and some of his own original songs as well.  Though the crowd had thinned out midway through his set, it wasn't due to the performers.  Less people actually made things a little easier for me as I was able to walk around the site a little bit more, free to shoot from almost anywhere I would have wanted. I had come equipped with my telephoto lens since I thought I would be stuck a little distance from the stage, which was the case, but I spent lots of time near the soundboard as I was having my best results from that spot.  The first photograph was taken at f/4, 1/250sec, ISO 800 at 142mm and the second photograph was taken at f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 800 at 140mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took during the performance.

f/5.6, 1/400sec, ISO 3200 at 190mm

f/2.8, 1/100sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 800 at 135mm

f/5.6, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 200mm

f/4, 1/80sec, ISO 800 at 200mm

f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 800 at 150mm

f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 190mm

f/4. 1/200sec, ISO 800 at 115mm

It was a cool evening with a bit of a breeze, which was kind of handy because it helped blow away some of the smoke that would at times overwhelm the stage.  I did take advantage of all of the smoke to try a silhouette style of shot, the fifth on on this page, though a little bit of Photoshop was used as well.  A fun night out.