If you are only interested in Chiara and Olivier pictures, there will be none in this post – so you can skip :-), but they are both doing great.
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 24-70mm f2.8 – 1/1250s at f/3.5 ISO 200 – Driving along the Saint Lawrence River north of Quebec, the river it’s so large you can barely see the other side. And plenty a houses with awesome views along the road …
Once a year we try to spend a few days both of us on our own to recharge and relax. This year, taking the opportunity of a business trip we spent 10 days in Montreal, Quebec and the surroundings.
It is clearly not the best period to visit the region, it’s mid-season, with most of the summer activities not started and the winter ones finished. If we have been able to experience the fastest spring-nature-changing with some amazing summer temperatures, the colours are nowhere close to what people can experience during autumn, nor as dramatic as the winter with frozen rivers and lakes.
If this was not enough as an excuse for some under-par photography, I have been particularly lazy – preferring sleeping in rather than waking up to capture morning lake, or staying at the bar chatting in the evening rather than catching sunset. But well, we needed to rest – so one can’t have it all, and for this we did really relax and enjoy quiet time ! We also travelled light, only one travel zoom lens 24-70mm 2.8 and a couple of prime we did not used (except for the butterflies).
Anyway – here are a few pictures which are making the top – although not enough for a photobook …
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 24-70mm f2.8 – 3 Exposures, merged in HDR Efex 2, the straightened in Lightroom beta 5 – Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal. There is a charge on entry, but really breath-taking interior.
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 100mm f2.8 – 1/800s at f/4 ISO 200 – Courtesy of our hosts in Montreal Michel and Orchidee, a visit to a butterflies show and a football match (no pictures worth sharing)
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 24-70mm f2.8 – Various exposures – An amazing hotel and perfect weather, probably the highlight of the trip. Excellent restaurants and a relaxing day trip to l’ile d’Orleans helped for a memorable 3 days.
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 24-70mm f2.8 – 1/1250s at f/3.5 ISO 200 – Black and White image of the Montmorency Falls just outside Quebec.
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 24-70mm f2.8 – HDR Image at f/9 ISO 200 – Half frozen lakes were all over the place during our road trip north of Quebec. Our current desktop background on the computer !
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 24-70mm f2.8 – Various exposures – Quick selection of country side photography north of Quebec in spring. As one can see, trees are still without colours, snow is mostly gone so we are left with Photoshop to create some impact
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 24-70mm f2.8 – 1/40s at f/6.3 ISO 200 – Last stop of our trip, Manor Hovey was a delightful retreat east of Montreal. This picture is also special because it’s the only day I woke up for morning photography …
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 24-70mm f2.8 – 1/1600s at f/6.3 ISO 200 – During our last days we experiences nature rebirth, under a very warm weather we could see the leafs growing almost day by day. A few days before this picture was taken, there was no green at all !
Canon EOS 5D Mk III – 24-70mm f2.8 – 1/2500s at f/3.5 ISO 200 – Old tractors on exposition in a winery where we stopped for some last minute shopping.