Montreal In Pictures

July 24 2012

Continuing on from the last post of my trip to Île d’Orléans, the following images were taken on the 10th July during a short excursion up to Québec City.

I’ll begin the quick tour with a few night shots taken sometime around midnight on the 9th July. The Dufferin Terrace that runs next to Chateau Frontenac seemed particularly quiet, perhaps because the majority of people were still leaving the Bon Jovi concert that had taken place on the Plains of Abraham as part of the summer festival. At least it made taking photographs a little easier.

Moon gazing on la Terrasse Dufferin
ISO 100 – 18mm – f7.1 – 10 secs (-2ev/0/+2ev)

La Terrasse Dufferin at night
ISO 100 – 18mm – f4.5 – 3 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

D’orsay bar
ISO 1600 – 18mm – f4.5 – 1/60 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Following an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at the Clarendon Hotel (great place to stay if you plan a visit), we took a walk around historic Québec City, starting where we had left the night before on the Dufferin Terrace.

La Terrasse Dufferin
ISO 100 – 10mm – f11 – 1/125 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

View of Saint Lawrence River from La Terrasse Dufferin
ISO 100 – 10mm – f5.6 – 1/500 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Château Frontenac
ISO 100 – 18mm – f11 – 1/125 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Château Frontenac
ISO 100 – 18mm – f11 – 1/500 sec

Château Frontenac was built for the Canadian Pacific Railway company in 1893 as a hotel for wealthy travelers. The building remains one of the most prominent features of the Québec skyline. The hotel is now owned and run by the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Group.

Staircase inside the Château Frontenac
ISO 3200 – 10mm – f4 – 1/160 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Staircase inside the Château Frontenac
ISO 3200 – 10mm – f4 – 1/200 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Staircase inside the Château Frontenac
ISO 100 – 20mm – f5.6 – 1/8 sec

View towards the Château Frontenac reception area
ISO 3200 – 10mm – f4 – 1/80 sec (=2ev/0/+2ev)

A visit to Québec city wouldn’t be complete without a walk down the L’Escalier Casse-Cou (Breakneck stairs). Built in 1635, it’s the oldest of the nearly 30 staircases in Québec City that link the Upper and Lower districts of the city. The name was given by locals due to the steep incline.

Breakneck Stairs
ISO 100 – 11.5mm – f4.2 – 1/500 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

rue du Petit Champlain
ISO 100 – 70mm – f4.5 – 1/250 sec

Decoration over rue du Petit Champlain
ISO 100 – 100mm – f4.5 – 1/640 sec

Window shutters along rue du Petit Champlain
ISO 100 – 70mm – f4.5 – 1/250 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Québec City street artists
ISO 100 – 20mm – f5.6 – 1/80 sec

As expected, there are many churches you can visit in the city, but one that I always enjoy seeing is the Notre-Dame des Victoires – despite having been given its current name in 1711 following the sinking of a British fleet in bad weather, and that was following it being called Notre Dame de la Victoire after a French victory against the English in 1690 – talk about rubbing salt in a wound… but I can look past that 😉 You may recognize the church from the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

Église Notre Dame des Victoires
ISO 100 – 10mm – f5.6 – 1/250 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Église Notre Dame des Victoires
ISO 800 – 15mm – f5.6 – 1/40 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Église Notre Dame des Victoires
ISO 800 – 11.5 mm – f5.6 – 1/30 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Place Royale
ISO 800 – 10mm – f5.6 – 1/1600 (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Ruelle Sous le Cap
ISO 100 – 70mm – f5.6 – 1/160 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Québec City narrow street
ISO 100 – 70mm – f5.6 – 1/400 sec

Québec City street
ISO 100 – 70mm – f5.6 – 1/320 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Due the narrow streets I noticed that fire hydrants have some additional protection to prevent them being hit by passing traffic.

Protected fire hydrant
ISO 100 – 60mm – f5.6 – 1/100 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Bibliothèque Saint Jean Baptiste
ISO 800 – 18mm – f5.6 – 1/40 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Québec City is linked to Montréal by 2 main autoroutes – The 20 which runs along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence and the 40 which is slightly longer and takes the North shore. When not in a rush, I like to take the scenic 138 from Québec to Trois Rivières. There are certain spots that provide great views of the Saint Lawrence and on this occasion we stopped at the picturesque village of Batiscan.

Saint Lawrence river at Batiscan
ISO 100 – 185mm – f10 – 1/160 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Saint Lawrence river at Batiscan
ISO 100 – 18mm – f10 – 1/125 sec (-2ev/0/+2ev)

Hope to get to the Ottawa pictures tomorrow. Now I’m off to see the Portugal fireworks display, hopefully the rain will keep away and I’ll get some nice shots to share later.

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