Getting away with bad light

The usual composition advice under flat light is to crop out the sky, get close and photograph the details. Nothing wrong with that and that's what I did here:

Unfortunately, when documenting a bicycle trip, it forces you to skip part of the story. The Ste-Anne basilica is an immense church and I wanted to show that. Photographing it from the front meant including a large part of the featureless sky. So instead of shooting the front and trash the picture later, I found some trees to shoot from underneath:

Those trees solved a few problems: the spire on the right is partly cropped out and there are converging lines. The trees distract the viewer from those problems. The trees also add a graphic element filling up the empty sky. I did the same thing in the following photograph, although the problem was that I only had a very wide angle. It's not great photography but it's usable.

One night stand on the St-Maurice river

Here's a short description of an overnight trip I did last week on highway 155 between Grand-Mère and La Tuque in the Mauricie region. The road follows the St-Maurice river closely. It's the only road to La Tuque so traffic is high. Fortunately, there are paved shoulders for the whole distance, save for 2.3km section going southbound. There are three short 10% grades and a handful of other slopes worth changing chainring but most of it is rather flat or a faux-plat. Distance is roughly 100km one way.




There are several places to wild camp on beaches or the forest. Services are found the few villages:
- Grande-Piles: Most services
- St-Roch-de-Mekinac: Lodging, camping, restaurant and groceries
- Rivière Matawin: Lodging, restaurant and a convenience store.
- Rivière-aux-Rats: Convenience store with a small restaurant inside
- Carignan: Most services spread out on the road (not sure about camping though)
- La Tuque: All services. There is a cheap motel at the southern end of town with a restaurant and convenience store close by. ATMs are only in the town center. Two campgrounds are found on the northen end of town. A huge an expensive one and a smaller and cheaper a little further up the road.



You can park in the rest area just north of Grandes-Piles (not sure how safe it is, at least my car was still there after one night) and for those on a bigger tour, cyclists can cross the St-Maurice on a shuttle between Grandes-Piles and St-Jean-des-Piles and continue on towards La Mauricie park.


Speaking of La Mauricie park, here's a shot of Wapizagonke lake I wanted to make for years but never was lucky with the weather. The park is xecellent for cycling, even better for those who can go off road a little and camp in one of the backcountry campsites. It's much cheaper and a lot nicer than the usual campgrounds filled with RV.

Film is dead

For me anyway. Here's the very last photograph I shot on film. I think I'm gonna cry...


And a few more from that roll. The owl was shot last winter. I even had a deer that was photographed last fall! But I don't like it so you won't see it.

No more film and Nikon 70-300 VR

Hey,

I shot my last film last week in Jacques-Cartier park near Quebec City. I was hoping to see some moose but no luck. I did see a few grouses with chicks. I'm still waiting for the film to be developped. I think the best shots will be some canoeist riding down some rapids.

I've been wanting to lighten my equipment for some time and finally deceided to seel most of my stuff to make it managable for cycling trips. Everything is sold already except for a couple of Lowepro bags and a 300/2.8 manual. I got a 70-300 because I still want to photograph the odd critter. Nice lens. I wish I had gotten it a week earlier for this mouse that was moving its youngs across the driveway at work. Focusing manually wasn't easy. It's rare to see a mouse in the open, nevermind with a young! The adult would lead them until the edge of the drivewa7y and then take them on its mouth across the pavement.



Some other shots made with the 70-300 VR:





I'm not into airplanes but I work at the airport so there you go. I have a handful more here. I'm more interested in the ditch where the flowers came from. Kildeer nest every year around our the office building. This one was shot with the 300/2.8 ais on a Nikon D70:

Ottawa, Gatineau park and a broken car

Two years ago, I rode from Montreal to Ottawa and back. I had a great time in Gatineau park and Ottawa and wanted to spend more time there instead of "in-between" so I put the bike in the car trunk and left. The weather was beautiful and I had a big grin on my face. I also brought the heavy photo gear, hoping to photograph some wildlife in Plaisance and Gatineau park.

I only made it to Plaisance... and I was lucky to be back!

I'll spare you the bad part. The only good part was this photograph I made just before the car refused to start for the second time:
Now, about the MTL - Ottawa ride. With some riding around Gatineau park, it anounted to 500km of easy cycling. It makes an excellent good 5-6 day trip.

The Quebec route is on highway 344 and 148. The 344 is quiet and has a shoulder except between St-André and Grenville. The 148 has moderate trafic but a decent shoulder. There are many campgrounds. At least one in Oka park, just outside Montreal, in Carillon on highway 344, another on the shore of Rouge river on highway 148 and in Plaisance park. Plaisance has a few bike trails and walking path. If you're into birds, I suggest getting up early in Plaisance to explore some of the paths. Oh, if you're staying in any Sepaq campground, don't forget quarters for the showers. That's the greedy Sepaq for you.

The Ontario side takes a bunch of small, usually quiet roads, which can be a bit confusing at times. Brian Hedney has it in detail here, or if you're coming from Montreal, you can check Michel Gagnon's site. It's mainly farmland and there aren't many campgrounds. There's on a bit off the main road east of Lefaivre. It's more like a small community with people spending their summer in trailers that have grown roots. The staff is extremely friendly. I arrived there after dark and they were very helpful. 12$ in 2005. It also has a restaurant. I saw another campground in Orignal, and one can stay in Voyageur park as well.

Whatever route you take, make sure you take a full day to ride in Gatineau park and Ottawa's extensive bike path network. Gatineau park is hilly but the road are simply fabulous. There are so many cyclists the drivers are very courteous. If I could choose where I live based on the quality of cycling, I'd choose Ottawa-Gatineau. The only problem with Gatineau park are the campgrounds, located on the northen end of the park. One has to ride a good distance and out of the park just to get there. I didn't know that and ended up stealth camping in the southern part of the park. Two deers woke me up in the morning.

Why a photo works

Below a simple photograph. Not a great piece of art by any means but it has quite a few things going for it, many "rules" as people call them. Nobody likes rules and claims to break them, which is rarely true because breaking one rule usually implies following another. The rules aren't rules anyway. They are guidelines based on thousands of years of experience of imagery. Instead of trying to break rules for the sake of it, I try to includes as many as I can in a single shot. More importantly, I just have fun arranging different elements in relation to each other. In a landscape photograph, this is entirely done by the point of view (perspective) and cropping. Ansel Adams said "a good photograph is knowing where to stand".

The most obvious rule is the rule of third, ie. separating the frame in thirds, horizontally and vertically, and placing important elements on those imaginary lines, or wjere those lines cross each other. In the photograph below, the foreground occupies the lower third, the middle ground is in the middle and the hills and clouds are placed on the upper third line. Vertically, the cyclist is on the right third.

The second rule, which is usually more of a guideline but essential here, is inserting a human in the landscape. It gives a "wish I was there" feeling. The third rule is putting space in front of that rider. It adds dynamism. The viewer can see where the ride is going.


There's more! Many little things that aren't so obvious can add to a photograph.

- The rule book says "thy shall not make triangles in the corners". Triangles in the corners... corner the eye. I left just a bit of space between the yellow line and the bottom left so the eye can follow the line back to the cyclist instead of getting stuck in the triangle made by the yellow line.
- The symmetry of the fence posts.
- Even more fun is the symmetry of the mountains where they meet each sides of the frame. I actually had a "hehe" moment cropping that.
- The patch of clouds on the top right breaks the monotony.
- As the eye goes from foreground to background, those same clouds bring the eye closer and above the viewer's head, including him/her in the picture. (not sure I can explain that one well)
- Colors are few: black and white (neutral) green and blue for nature and a bright yellow for two human elements.
- The diagonal of the road, which also contrasts with the straight horizon.
- And what you can't see: the power line above the frame. It's impostant to scam the edges for unwanted distractions.

This shot was made with a Nikon D70 on a tripod. These "action" shots are completely staged. I use a mark on the road (crack, rock), set the camera timer to 10 or 20 seconds, press the shutter and using the clock on the bike computer, do my best to be at the mark at the right time. It's a lot easier with a digital camera becasue youcan check if you hit or missed. The D70 also has a handy remote control but it isn't always practical due to the angle and range the remore can work.

Photo tip - Safety in the wilderness

Always go out in the wilderness with a partner, preferably one you can outrun when confronted with a wild animal. If your partner is faster than you, use your tripod baseball-style to knock him out. A tripod head with quick release allows you to remove your expensive equipment before transforming your partner into a decoy.