July 27 2012

Italy has participated more than 20 times at the Montreal International Firework Competition. The team this time was Vaccalluzzo S.R.L who recently came first in a competition held in the Czech Republic. And the display tonight with the theme, The Prophet Tales of Khalil Gibran, could well bring them another prize.

I watched the show from the Montreal side of the Jacques Cartier bridge. This ended up being one of my least favorite viewing spots so far. Although you get a good view of the fireworks over the Saint Lawrence, the angle isn’t great for shooting through the fence.

Another problem encountered tonight was the amount of smoke that seemed to hang in the air. If I wasn’t trying to photograph it, I would have said this was up at the top so far with Greece and Japan. The finale in particular was spectacular – in fact it caught many by surprise, thinking the show had already finished.

So not the best images from such a great show, but here are some of what I consider to be the best of the crop.

L’International des Feux Loto Québec – Italy
ISO 100 – 34mm – f18 – 10 sec

L’International des Feux Loto Québec – Italy
ISO 100 – 70mm – f18 – 10 sec

L’International des Feux Loto Québec – Italy
ISO 100 – 45mm – f18 – 6 sec

L’International des Feux Loto Québec – Italy
ISO 100 – 30mm – f18 – 6 sec

L’International des Feux Loto Québec – Italy
ISO 100 – 34mm – f18 – 5 sec

L’International des Feux Loto Québec – Italy
ISO 100 – 50mm – f16 – 10 sec

L’International des Feux Loto Québec – Italy
ISO 100 – 70mm – f16 – 6 sec

At the end I decided to ditch the tripod and just rest the camera on the outside of the railing…I probably should have done this from the start 🙁

L’International des Feux Loto Québec – Italy
ISO 100 – 14mm – f16 – 4 sec

I’ve always wanted to take a picture of the Jacques Cartier bridge close up at night, so took a few shots after the show.

Jacques Cartier bridge on firework night
ISO 100 – 18mm – f16 – 15 sec

Jacques Cartier bridge on firework night
ISO 100 – 19mm – f16 – 5 sec

Rue Sainte Catherine from the Jacques Cartier bridge
ISO 100 – 20mm – f16 – 20 sec

From the bridge you get a good view of the Patriot prison (now a museum and La Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) head offices). Within the walls of Montréal’s old prison, known as the Pied-du-Courant, the Centre d’exposition La Prison-des-Patriotes recalls the rebellions of 1837 and 1838, the Patriotes and their enemies as well as the imprisonment of 1,300 people, 12 of whom were hanged. The Prison closed in 1912 following the building of new Bordeaux prison.

The building in the bottom left is the Maison du Gouverneur. In 1895, Charles-Amédée Vallée, the last governor of the Montreal prison, built the immense residence for himself and his family. When the prison moved and the SAQ transformed the adjacent prison into their headquarters. Since 1992, the SAQ used the Maison du Governeur as a venue to promote wine and gastronomy. The SAQ announced it would close the Maison du Gouverneur at the end of last year and I don’t know what it is used for now – I will try to find out when I go visit  La Prison-des-Patriotes museum 😉

La Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) office
ISO 100 – 35mm – f11 – 8 sec

Only the United States left to perform in this years competition and then the tribute to Queen (the rock band).

As for the last few firework shows, I took a short video, and again I apologize for the quality, particularly the sound which is a shame as the segment was to the Beatles’ song – A Hard Day’s Night.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrXA-a04uqo?rel=0&w=800&h=600]

To view images in gallery format, simply click on one of the images below.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time.

– Martin

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