Francis Degrandpré At Parc Empire

It's very early in the Summer concert series put together by the Ville de Longueuil and Longueuil est Culture, but this show was one I circled once the schedule came out.  I first saw Francis Degrandpré this past March at his homecoming party at the Théâtre Beanfield (formerly known as the Corona).  Feel free to follow the link to see those photographs.  It was an awesome show and I couldn't wait to see him perform again.  It turns out that I didn't end up having to wait that long.  Since last seeing him in March, he has been performing shows all over the Province, and the tour will continue well into the Fall and includes as spot at the upcoming Lasso Festival in August.  He has a great connection with the fans.  In a small outdoor setting, he was able to mingle a bit more during a regular show.  Selfies were taken with fans mid-performance, beverages were shared and at one point he invited all of the kids in attendance to join him up on the stage.  The Heir Apparent got up there with him, bringing her trusty wooden camera with her.  It was just a good time had by all.  Part of the new wave of Country artists that has taken Québec by storm, he still loves singing about his favourite things, hunting, fishing, being outdoors and having fun with his friends.  The last two were more than evident as the band was obviously having a blast up on the stage.  The crowd still loves to hear those songs as well as they mostly sang along with him all evening. From the opening notes to the final bows, it's a non-stop party that got what is a traditionally seated audience out of their lawn chairs to join in the fun.  His most recent album, Soir de quai was released last year and he has been performing almost non-stop since its release.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 59mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 320 at 30mm.  Here are several more photographs of the performance.

f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 640 at 125mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 320 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 320 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/2000sec, ISO 640 at 190mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 320 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 320 at 44mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 320 at 70mm

f/3.2 ,1/320sec, ISO 320 at 61mm

f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 640 at 102mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 320 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 640 at 110mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 320 44mm

f/2.8, 1/200sec, ISO 320 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 320 at 30mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 320 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 320 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/30sec, ISO 320 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 320 at 42mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 320 at 55mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 1600 at 61mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 320 at 63mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 59mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 63mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 57mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 55mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 320 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 27mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 320 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 30mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 57mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 1600 at 59mm

I guess I got a little carried away with my shutter finger at this one.  What can I say, it was lots of fun photographing all of the fun that was happening up on that stage.  It was contagious.  If you'd like to find out more about Francis Degrandpré and his music you can follow the link to his website.  Thanks to the Ville de Longueuil and Longueuil est Culture for putting the show together.  Their crew always does a terrific job.  As I mentioned earlier, Francis Degrandpré will be touring all over Québec this Summer, head on out to see him and his band for a guaranteed good time.

Seb & Jess At Parc St. Mark

As we enter the month of July, it means that there is a lot of music on the schedule.  The summer concert series put together by the Ville de Longueuil and Longueuil est Culture, kicked off this past Friday as classic rock duo Seb & Jess treated the crowd in Parc St. Mark to a rock and rolling good time.  In my opinion, it was they perfect group to handle the honours.  Musical trends come and go, but for me, there is nothing better than the roots of rock and roll.  Seb & Jess, Sébastien Plante of the popular rock group Les Respectables and his partner Jessyka Lapierre, first met in 2019 and began to make music together during the pandemic.  They tour together playing a mix of their original songs to go along with some toe-tapping hits from the past by the likes of Ray Charles, Etta James, The Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry.  He even busted out an old-fashioned cigar box guitar that was gifted to him for a couple of songs.  I'm glad that I was able to get a shot of that one because it is rather cool.  The whole clan came out for this one, and once again, The Heir Apparent joined me as I made my way through the crowd to take some of these shots, and up at the front of the stage as well.  We also found a little time to dance to some of the hits as the fact that she enjoys hearing this music and going to shows with me.  By the time the show wrapped up with a roaring version of Johnny B. Goode, we were sitting at the front and alternating between taking photographs, I with my camera and her with the cool wooden camera My Lovely Assistant crafted for her, and rocking out to the music.  It was a wonderful moment.  The Crown Prince has a little wooden camera of his own as well.  Maybe the three of us will be at the front of the crowd by the end of the Summer.  The first photograph was taken at f/5.6, 1/160sec, ISO 2000 at 67mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm.  Here are more photographs that I took of their performance.

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 44mm

f/5.6, 1/100sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/5.6, 1/125sec, ISO 2000 at 41mm

f/5.6, 1/125sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/5.6, 1/200sec, ISO 400 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/5.6, 1/160sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 400 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 2000 at 57mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 2000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 2000 at 67mm

If you'd like to find out more about Seb & Jess and their music, you can do so by following the link to their Facebook Page.  They have lots of dates booked for the Summer so head out to check them out nad as the great Bob Seger said, let the music soothe your soul.  Thanks to the Ville de Longueuil and Longueuil est Culture for putting the show together and their usual awesome techincal work.  There are lots more concerts to come this summer, weather permitting.  There's a little something scheduled for every taste so head on out and have some fun.

Looking For The Right Seed

As previously mentioned, a rained out Canada Day concert led to a visit with the Grandparents.  While there, I took a few moments to try and snap a woodpecker who was enjoying a snack at my Mom's bird feeder.  The feeder is in a well shaded area, so a high ISO needed to be used, which resulted in more noise that I generally like to have in my photos. The high ISO was necessary because I needed to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze my feathered friend while he was picking the seeds that he deemed to be tasty enough out of the feeder.  My Mom says that I am a little too picky when it comes to my photographs, so, here they are, just for her.  The first photograph was taken at f/9, 1/125sec, ISO 6400 at 200mm as was the second photograph just below.

There you go Mom, your Woodpecker made the page.  Now, if you could discuss matters with your Cardinal so that he might stick his head out for our next visit, it would be greatly appreciated.

A Little Colour

I was supposed to be photographing some concerts for Canada Day, but when they got rained out, a little change in plans was called for.  We decided to take The Heir Apparent and Crown Prince to see their Grandparents, and while there, I decided to take some shots of Grandma's flowers.  With The Heir Apparent, these little things were purchased back on Mother's Day because we both liked the colours.  So, with a few free seconds, I quickly snapped a shot of this little guy in all of his purple glory.  With all of the grey we've been experiencing so far this Summer, I thought that a little colour would be appreciated.  The photograph was taken at f/4, 1/200sec, ISO 400 at 70mm.  The flowers at the Head Office are starting to bloom, so we should be seeing some of them here soon.