Pack Ice / La Banquise

The combined influences of the Saint Lawrence River tides, its current and the local weather result in an ever-changing composition of snow and ice.

Each year Paulette and I snowshoe along its north shore with a group of friends and each year I go crazy taking pictures while trying to keep up with the group.

Here are two of my favourite panoramic shots taken under heavy gray clouds and very flat light. In Lightroom, I adjusted the white balance and added a little punch by increasing the overall contrast and darkening the blacks.

For a ten shot photo sequence click this link to my flickr album.

Click here to go to my first posting of Photos Afoot on the same subject.

Late Fall Beauty

Our friends Denis and Judy live in Randboro, a small hamlet near Sawyerville, by Cookshire and twenty minutes from Lennoxville in the  beautiful Eastern Townships. Mid-morning on a day threatening rain, Denis took Paulette and me along the east fork of the Eaton River to show us some of the spots he returns to paint year-after-year, especially during spring breakup. This old sugar maple hangs on to the last of its intensely red leaves (October 17). By now the leaves have fallen and been carried off by the river.

Canon 7D, 15-85mm zoom at 15mm, 1/80 sec, f / 7.1, ISO 200, hand held

This photo is similar in composition to A.Y. Jackson's 1914 painting entitled the Red maple (which hangs in the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa)

Nénuphars de Glace (Ice Water Lilies)

A week ago Paulette, Michelle and I snowshoed from the Centre Le Refuge-St-Adolphe-Stoneham down along the Rivière des Hurons. In the picture below you can see a waterfall (les trois chutes) cascading into a open pool of water in the foreground. Pretty, yes?

A week later (December 27) we returned with Fiona and Pete, family friends and snowshoe neophytes, to see the same waterfall, this time with the most amazing ice water lilies bobbing/undulating at its foot. What caused them to form? Why are they circular? Why the different sizes? Happily I don't need answers to appreciate their beauty.

Check out Morten Prom's flickr page to see Oslo Fjord ice lilies.

Canon 7D, 15-85 mm lens at 15 mm, 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO 320

Charlevoix

November 7th we returned to standard time. Consequently our afternoon light disappears an hour early (sunset is just after 4 pm in Quebec City)! Ugh (definition - used to express disgust or horror - synonym is yuck or yecch)

However our late October walking in Charlevoix was marvelous (definition - wonderful, astonishing - antonym - rotten or Ugh). The sun shone and winds ranged from gale-force to calm. Temperature was near zero but very comfortable for climbing Mont du Lac-des-Cygnes, La Chouenne and Mont du Dôme.

In the large photo I'm shooting north as we climbed the tourist path up Mont du Lac-des-Cygnes. Picture center is Mont du Dôme that we tackled the next day and found more rugged with a scenic outlook to the south where you see Paulette, Karen and Lorne picnicking below.

Canon 7D at 22mm focal length, ISO 320, 1/1000 sec, f/ 10 ( I kept a fast shutter speed to freeze the walking action of my subjects. It wasn't necessary for shots of mountains that move very slowly even in Charlevoix)

Go to flickr to see a small Charlevoix album.

Cap Tourmente, Québec

November, dark and damp, is upon us. This picture from Cap Tourmente helps me hang on to the warm colours and temperatures of October.

Two times annually (and more) Paulette and I drive an hour downriver (NE compass bearing) to this Federal natural wildlife area where we commune with the snow geese ( Chen caerulescens atlantica ).

Their fall migration begins in September after breeding on Baffin Island and passes directly over Cap Tourmente where they feed (primarily on the rhizomes, or roots, of bulrushes) for three weeks in October before continuing south to their winter range along the Atlantic seaboard of the southern USA. The photo below shows a small sample of the 40,000 geese in the area on October 17.

A myriad of ducks, great blue herons and peregrine falcons feed in-and-about this small marsh (Marais de la Petite-Ferme) shown above.

Canon 7D with 70-200mm lens, focal length: 109 mm, ISO 640, 1/200sec (a little slow for hand holding a non-stabilized lens), f / 5.6. Taken at 4:30 pm

See my May 14th post for spring migration pictures.

Autumn Leaves Leave

By 3:45 pm on October 18 the sun was low in the sky. Paulette and Carole walked ahead of me as we returned from a brisk loop in the Parc naturel du mont Bélair. I asked them to advance slowly into the backlit scene as I adjusted my camera settings and composed this shot.

I love the red maple leaves carpeting the path and the transition from shadow in the foreground to the bright highlights in the background.

Taken in RAW I developed it using Lightroom 3: light cropping and straightening; lowered exposure, medium contrast curve; increased vibrance to highlight the reds; a little output sharpening and voila!

Canon 7D, 15-85 mm lens at 46 mm, ISO 200, 1/100 sec, f/5.6

Autumn Leaves

October 14, our walking group was heading north from the small rural town of Saint-Ubalde towards Rémi's chalet on Lac Émeraude. The weather was hovering between light rain and sunny passages. This gravel road undulates along the lake's north shore. The red leaves on the roadside and the warm tones in the middle distance invite you to walk up the next rise.

Canon 7D with 15-85 mm zoom: 1/60 s, f/7.1, ISO 400, focal length 24 mm

La Traversée de Charlevoix

Late last October Paulette and I spent three days exploring several trails in the Pied-des-Monts sector of La Traversée de Charlevoix. We were invited by Jacques Breton and a group of friends to stay at La Marmotte, a chalet located at the end of Day 2 along the 105 km Traversée.

A Canadian Geograhic journalist, Dan Rubinstein, was in the area and wrote an article on his solo trek. He illustrated his piece using Jacques Breton's and my photos. Read his story entitled, Hiking La Traversée de Charlevoix.

The picture above is Refuge Boudreault under a delicate dusting of snow; one of the more rustic camps along the trail less than a kilometer from La Marmotte.

Thunderbirds

Instead of cursing the thunderous noise over Quebec City I decided to embrace it and even try to take pictures of it. I'm writing about the annual air show held at the Jean Lesage Airport, a scant five kilometres from home. I cycled up to the highest point over Highway 40 and starting tracking six speedy F-16C USAF fighter planes.

I shot off over 150 images in shutter priority (Tv) at 1/2000s, continuous auto focus and burst mode (8 frames per second) with a Canon 70-200 f4L lens . I didn't hear the noise of the highway or the planes until the show was over. Surprisingly I had a good time!

The shot above, where the jet seems to be tethered to the cloud by its contrails was the most peaceful of the bunch. Below, you see how closely they fly in formation.

Wild Spring Flowers

The Lady's slipper (above) and the Painted trillium share the same habitat along a hiking trail on the hills above Lac Beauport, a half-hour's drive north of Quebec City. Both are flashy, spectacular flowers and a pleasure to encounter during a forest walk. The trillium is easy to spot and to photograph since its very white petals marked with a red "V" face upward towards the sun and viewer. The lady's slipper is much more discrete, low to the ground and often hiding under taller plants. Photographing it requires some effort. Getting the camera down to its level (between 30 and 40 cm off the ground) and looking through the view finder is an athletic feat, especially with a heavy backpack. I knelt and crooked my neck to take this shot at f/8 and 1/80s hand held. My shotting buddy, Jean-Yves, suggested using Live View that would allow a lower camera position without the bent neck. Probably the best control and composition would be achieved by getting supine and using a tripod. Perhaps next time!

Wild Prune

I've been putting in a lot of kilometers along the Saint-Charles River this past week. Loaded down with heavy gear, we (three sweating friends and I) are preparing for a trek in the White Mountains (Mount Madison, Adams and Washington) in early June. Luckily Jean-Yves is a fellow photographer so, periodically, we took time to stop, admire and photograph ferns, flowering trees, straw lilies and other spring flora.

I think this is a wild plum tree blossom: flowers white with a pink tint, large and abundant, 3-5 in number; wide distribution across Canada having escaped from ornamental planting; grows in rich soils along rivers and on the margin of marshes.

I like the dark background contrasting with the bright white flower as well as circular arrangement of the surrounding unfurled pink petals.

Canon 7D, 15-85 lens set at 110 mm (35 mm equivalent), f/11, 1/400s, ISO 320, hand held

ENSEMBLE

This has been a week for walking the trail the runs across the city of Quebec along la rivière Saint-Charles: one four-hour training session in preparation for a trek in the White Mountains and one afternoon walking together with Richard, Mahdi and members of the association du Québec à Compostelle.

Richard and Mahdi are two of three exceptional pilgrims (one Christian, one Muslim and one Jewish) who walked from Jerusalem to Compostelle in Spain (11,000km) promoting fraternity and peace. Go to Pas de Paix for more information.

In their words (loosely translated); Walking, with free and inexhaustible energy, gives us time for encounter. It leads to solidarity between people and dissolves social differences. Walking goes beyond the superfluous and is the road to humility.

A fraternal moment between Richard Bois, André Doucet, a founding pilgrim of the Association du Québec à Compostelle, and Mahdi Alioui during a rest stop along the trail.

One of many stairways along the wooded Saint-Charles.

Fascinating Snow Geese

Snow Geese are endlessly fascinating. At high tide they move en masse to the fields adjacent to the St. Lawrence. Numbers swell as small groups of two or three glide overhead. Suddenly, they burst into the air, swirling in unison only to land in the next open area. When you watch long enough you begin to sense this explosive moment. I think a critical mass is reached and the geese erupt to release the pressure. I'd like to hear other explanations of this behaviour please.

I love spring time when each tree shows it individual shade of greenery. On April 12, during our last visit, grays and brown dominated a cool landscape.

Canon 7D, 70-200 f/4L lens adjusted to 110 mm, f/7.1, 1/2000s, ISO 400, focus set on Auto-Servo (continuous focus for following moving objects)

Park rangers estimated 42000 snow geese present on May 11. Below, you can see some of them feeding offshore along the tidal flats.