Montreal

Perfect Fall Reflections (Montreal)

Even though Montreal does not have nicknames "windy city" or "windypeg" it is pretty much always breezy here. Since Montreal is an island surrounded by Sain Lawrance and Ottawa Rivers, the proximity of water contributes to the breeziness of air. It takes some luck and patience to capture perfect reflections in the water.

I always look for opportunities to capture perfect reflections during the "season of colors," the fall.

This time the luck was on my side. I took the feature photo in Lachine marina when all the boats, the yachts, the planes were already gone and I had an ideal weather to capture the symmetry of the fall.

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Montreal. Canada
Loc: 45.42919, -73.68833

Shooting

At the time of shooting I did not have tripod with me, I shot handheld. I boosted the ISO to 200 and took a series of single shots because bracketing was not necessary.

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Ducks in Saint Lawrence River

My original plan was to start publishing new "fall foliage" photos in the middle of September. This is when normally the colors start to change in Montreal.

But, this year everything is different. We had an unusual heat wave at the end of September, and everything still looks and feels like summer.

Since I do not have any "fall colors" photos from this year, I decided to post my older capture.

The featured photo is from last year. It was a very last warm and quiet day of the year. Only a few days later we had first snow, and vibrant colors of the fall were gone fast.

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Montreal. Canada
Loc: 45.42919, -73.68833

Shooting

The goal here was arrange all elements into interesting composition. I realized the sky reflection on water looked much more appealing than actual sky, so I emphasize the water by placing the horizon much higher then I originally intended. And, the duck is the focal point of the composition.

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Rainbow Afternoon Series (Montreal)

Last week I went to a local park without expecting much. The weather was decent, but I did not notice any signs for amazing photo opportunities.

In the middle of my walk, the rain suddenly started, but what was interesting was that the sun was still shining. I knew exactly what that meant—a rainbow.

The rainbow lasted about 30 minutes, which was long enough for me to take some interesting shots and to even create a small miniseries.

Canada. Quebec. Montreal
Loc: 45.42919, -73.68833

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Storm at Saint Lawrence River(Montreal)

It was an overcast, quiet summer evening when I went to the Saint Lawrence River to test my new travel tripod and my new compact camera.

I took this photo at 5:55 PM. It was hot and humid with absolutely no wind.

This is how the landscape looked at 6:03 PM, only eight minutes later.

Canada. Quebec. Montreal
Loc: 45.42919, -73.68833

I could hardly stand because of the strong, cold wind. I packed my tripod because I was afraid it would fly away. I was shooting handheld leaning against a tree.

It did not last long because summer was back only 20 minutes later.

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Abstract Reflective Tree (Montreal)

This is my third article in mini-series dedicated to abstract photography.

In the first article, I demonstrated how you can start creating abstract landscapes with ease. In the second installment, I introduced you to the world famous photographers who explored the field of artistic abstraction.

And finally, today is a quick demonstration how I created my latest abstract capture.

When I went to a local park in the middle of November, my initial intention was to take advantage of fast disappearing fall colors. But, when I realized that it was an unusually quiet day without any wind, which is rare for Montreal in late fall, I decided to concentrate on clear and uninterrupted water reflections.

Creating Abstract Landscapes - Reflective Tree

Canada. Montreal
Loc: 45.429513, -73.679207

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Fall Reflections in St Lawrence River (Montreal)

I keep posting "fall colors" photos I took this year.It was a perfect day for photographing the water reflections. The colors of the fall were still vivid, the sunset was colorful and there was no wind. The water of the river was calm and I did not have to use long exposure technique to get smooth reflections of the sky in the water.

There are not too many lighthouses around Montreal (5 or 6) and the spot from where I took the featured shot becomes unique because you can see two lighthouses across the river at the same time.

Travel Photography - Balanced Rock at Lees Ferry (Arizona)

Canada. Montreal
Loc: 45.429432, -73.680719

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Early November in Montreal (Canada)

It was the first week of November and suddenly I had a realization that I still was not able to publish any fall foliage photos from this year. I went through the photos I took this fall but I did not like anything.

I knew I had to act, the colors of the fall were about to disappear.

I packed my gear and went for hunting. I was rewarded with the calm day without any wind and clear reflections in the water of the river. I decided to take full advantage of it concentrating all my efforts on capturing the beautiful reflections.

Canada. Montreal
Loc: 45.429432, -73.680719

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Colors of Indian Summer (Montreal)

It was probably the last day of the beautiful colors and warm weather. The next two following days after I took this photo, it was cold and extremely windy and almost all leaves are gone now.

Free “Fall Colors” Collection

Do not forget, as part of the celebration of Season of Colors, I am giving away my brand new preset collection “Fall Colors” to all my existing and future customers.

If you buy any of my products in the next 2 months you get Fall Colors Lightroom Collection as a gift.

If you purchased any of my presets in the past you get Fall Colors Collection for free.

Canada. Montreal. Lachine.
Loc: 45.428881, -73.687831

Shooting & Processing

The shooting was easy. Al I had to do is to wait 5-6 minutes for visitors of the park to clear the alley.

I took 3 bracketed shots on a tripod but used only middle exposure for editing.

I used Lightroom Rapid Editing for Landscapes, applying Open Sky preset first from Fall Colors Collection and then used TOOLKIT adjustments.

Lightroom Editing Formula: Open Sky (1, 8, 17, 39)

[Read more…]

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Indian Summer in Montreal

After two week of miserable weather in Montreal with the first snow, we are heaving real Indian summer. With the temperature around 15C, high humidity and no wind it felt line summer.

I grabbed my photo gear and went to my favorite sunset spot in Montreal – Rene Levesque Park. Even when the weather is not too great you still can find people who come to witness the sun submerging into Saint Lawrence River.

Canada. Montreal. Lachine.
Loc: 45.428881, -73.687831

Shooting & Processing

The only challenge with this shot was to wait for people to stop moving because the shutter speed was getting slower and slower with the each minute.

I took 3 bracketed shots on a tripod but used only middle exposure for editing.

I used Lightroom Rapid Editing for Landscapes, applying Natural preset first from Landscape Collection and then used TOOLKIT adjustments.

Lightroom Editing Formula: Natural (1, 8, 31, 40)

At the end, I added the Radial Filter with the warm orange hue to emphasize the colors of the sunset.

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Cathedral of Marie-Reine-du-Monde (Montreal)

The featured photo is the perfect reflection of Montreal, where you can find layers of different generations and epochs. The focal point of this shot is 19th century Cathedral of Marie-Reine-du-Monde which is contrasting extremely well in style, colors and shapes with the brand new modern office building in the background.

Canada. Montreal. University and Belmont street
Loc: 45.501095, -73.566260

Shooting + Processing

It was a warm October day in Montreal and I went to Old Port with the camera hunting for the city shots. On my way back to the train station while walking along University Street I spotted this layered view of Cathedral of Marie-Reine-du-Monde. I took a few shots hand-held with Canon 60D and I was on my way to the next discovery.

The processing was simple and straightforward. I used Rapid Lightroom Preset-Based Editing (read my tutorial here), applying Sunblast preset from Cross Processed Collection and adjusting the contrast and the clarity with the ToolKit. [Read more…]