Montreal In Pictures

October 31 2012

Happy Halloween !!!

I’ve never really been that much into celebrating Halloween, probably due to the fact it was never that big in the UK. As a child we didn’t do the trick or treating much. I remember being surprised how big it was in North America when I first moved to Canada and would come across group after group of people (young and old) in fancy dress.

A recent survey by the Retail Council of Canada suggested that the average Canadian family of 4 or more spends 75$ on Halloween…a $1.5 Billion market. An interesting fact I heard this morning was that Quebecers spend on average 66% more than the average North American at Halloween.

Except in Quebec, most of the spending is on candy. In Quebec, families spend more on costumes and decorations. This is a reason why I now love Halloween, or I should say, the days after Halloween, when stores put all the unsold candy on sale…safe bet that I will be dropping by the Dollar store tomorrow to check their sale bins 😉

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go out shooting tonight to catch some trick or treaters in action, so had to make-do with a few shots taken this morning in Old Montreal and the Plateau.

I had taken a shot last week of one of the skeletons in a cage hanging outside L’Usine de Spaghetti restaurant on rue Saint Paul, but since I was passing, I took a few more shots.

Skeletons on rue Saint Paul
ISO 100 – 70mm – f4.5 – 1/500 sec

I came across this sad looking pumpkin that had been cast to the back alley.

Carved pumpkin
ISO 500 – 100mm – f11 – 1/30 sec

I crossed paths with the Blue Witch of Le Plateau on my walkabout…Thankfully, I think she was one of the good kind of witches.

The Blue Witch of Le Plateau
ISO 500 – 86mm – f11- 1/8 sec

A few of the home decorations I found…

Home Halloween decorations on Le Plateau
ISO 1000 – 70mm – f4.5 – 1/180 sec

Home Halloween decorations on Le Plateau
ISO 1000 – 22mm – f4 – 1/90 sec

Home Halloween decorations on Le Plateau
ISO 1000 – 26mm – f4 – 1/45 sec

Trick or Treat
ISO 1000 – 200mm – f5.3 – 1/90 sec

There was a shot I did have planned for today’s post. In Griffintown there is the story of Mary Gallagher who was a prostitute that was murdered in 1879. She was decapitated in a house on the corner of William and Murray streets (now an empty plot). It’s said that she returns every seven years in search of her missing head. My plan is to photograph my girlfriend headless in the spot where the murder took place. She’s not so keen on the idea, but I’ll continue to try and win her over to be my headless model 😉

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