After an assignment in Beauport yesterday that was ending around dinner time, just before the golden hour, I decided to head to Ile D’Orléans to beef up my stock images of this beautiful countryside, just East of Quebec City.
Crops grow in a field on Ile D’Orleans, near Quebec City July 22, 2010. The island is still an essentially rural place famous locally for its produce, especially strawberries, apples, potatoes and wineries.
Two cyclists pass by an old house on Ile D’Orleans, near Quebec City. The Island is a very popular destination for cyclists.
Chocolaterie de l’Ile D’Orleans is pictured in Sainte-Petronille, Ile d’Orleans
Freemason logo is pictured outside of the Loge Albion / St.John’s Masonic Lodge in Quebec City June 23, 2010. Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century.
A British flag is pictured above a tablet perpetuating the memory of local freemason died during the first World War.
A Volume of the Sacred Law, represented here as the Holy Bible, is pictured in the ritual room
Je reviens tout juste d’Huntsville où j’ai couvert le sommet du G8 en tant que photographe hôte. En d’autres mots, j’étais un des photographes officiels engagés par le sommet pour leurs propres besoins.
Tous les matins je devais être soumis à une fouille très intensive et à plusieurs points de contrôle, pour ensuite passer la journée sur le site, dans la « bulle » des chefs d’état. Même en étant dans cette zone ultra-sécurisé, nous étions constamment entouré de snipers, policiers, militaires, bateaux (sur le lac), véhicules de l’armée, hélicoptères de combats, caméra de sécurité, brouilleurs d’onde cellulaires, détecteurs de mouvement, etc. C’était vraiment surréel. Imaginez les plus grandes mesure de sécurité que vous pouvez penser, et multipliez cela par 10. Même dans les films, ils ne s’approchent pas du tout de la réalité.
Today was supposed to be a quiet day packing my baggage and my camera bag for my gig at the G8 in Huntsville as one of the host photographer.
I woke up at 6h30 and, as I do everyday, I took my iPhone to read my mail, my Facebook friends updates, and my Twitter feed.
I then read a tweet that got my attention. Something like “it’s fun with Twitter, big spot news are available right away”. Ok, what was going on? I quickly scroll to find out that 30 minutes earlier, a small plane crashed with 7 peoples, likely dead, inside. The crash site was just a kilometre north of the Quebec City airport, 30 minutes from my home.
Jumped out of bed, took my gears and my laptop, updated my Facebook statue and my Twitter feed (very quickly as you can see), and headed to the airport. It did not took long before a newspaper messaged me to get photos.
After difficulty made my way through the first line of police blocking the road to the scene, I arrived on site, and saw CP staffer Jacques Boissinot, who arrived 3 minutes before me. “I’m supposed to leave for the G20. I can’t stay. Can you freelance for us?”, he asked me.
So I messaged the newspaper back to tell them my photos would be on the Canadian Press feed and they would have them there.
My quiet day, thanks to Twitter, turned into a 6 hours gig for the Canadian Press.
I try not to post too much photos of my son. I guess I am afraid my personal attachment to the subject would derails my judgment on how good the photo is. But I keep coming back to this photo of my son I did last month while he was playing by the St. Lawrence river in front of my parents cottage. So I guess it’s a good photo that I should share.
Charles-Edward Vachon, two, walks on a shingle beach with a stick in his hand in St-Michel-De-Bellechasse, 45 minutes East of Quebec City.
