Tag Archives: Holland America

July 11, 2014 · 5:35 am

Fun Photo Friday — Tour la Nuit Montreal

Tour la Nuit

Once a year just around sunset approximately 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) of Montreal streets are blocked off from automobile traffic. As night falls on Montreal thousands of cyclists from the very young to very old mount their trusty two-wheeled steeds and take to those closed streets for an evening of pure magic. It’s the Tour la Nuit.

Tour la Nuit

Night is falling. No tripod. Not even a monopod. Cyclists are whizzing by with no means for me to photograph the event. Or was there? At Ursula’s insistence (and her assurances that the cyclists whizzing by would look great) I decided to get creative by switching my Canon G1 X to “Handheld NightScene” mode. In Handheld NightScene the Canon takes three pictures in rapid succession, then combines those images in-camera to produce a single image with low noise and good resolution. If I held the camera very still, that would have the effect of giving me reasonably solid backgrounds while creating a flowing effect with the bikers. In other words the triple shots would combine images of stationary objects, but anything that moved (such as the cyclists) would appear in three locations spaced at intervals of up to several feet depending on the speed at which they were traveling.

Tour la Nuit

I was a bit apprehensive at first, until I reviewed the shots and found that I liked the effect. Here are some more examples:

Tour la Nuit

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Filed under Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel

Tagged as cruise, Holland America, Montreal, MS Maasdam, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Tour la Nuit, travel, Ursula Wicker

July 9, 2014 · 5:35 am

We Began It All in Montreal

Montreal

We were back in the U.S following our transpacific cruise (subject of a later series) for a grand total of some three weeks before we were boarding yet another flight headed out of the country. This time we were traveling to Montreal where, after two nights, we would board Holland America’s MS Maasdam for a cruise down the St. Lawrence River; around Canada’s Maritime Provinces; and a turn south for Bar Harbor, Maine; with a final destination of Boston, Massachusetts.

Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places

I’m rather glad that Ursula insisted we arrive in Montreal early, for there is much to see and do. Even with a full day at our disposal, all we managed was Old Montreal, China Town, and Notre-Dame Basilica. As it was we just happened to hit Montreal for the annual Tour la Nuit (which you’ll see on Fun Photo Friday).

I’ll have a lot more on most of these Montreal topics, including several blogs on the Notre-Dame Basilica, over the next several weeks. After that we’ll hit the cruise ship and begin our journey in earnest. Until then here’s a little to tide you over. As always, click on any image below to bring up today’s slide show.

Notre-Dame Basilica (Montreal)

Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve (1612 – 1676), founder of Montreal

Montreal

Motoring in Magnificence in Montreal

Montreal Art

Bonsecours Market

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel

Tagged as cruise, Holland America, Montreal, MS Maasdam, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, Ursula Wicker

May 11, 2014 · 4:44 pm

Special Preview Blog

Sydney Opera House

Okay, I’m back. Just in case you’re wondering why I’ve not been responding to “Likes” and other stuff, I’ve been away for since April 8 and just returned to El Paso only last night. Where have I been this past month? Three nights in Sydney, Australia, followed by a transpacific cruise to Seattle, Washington.

Sydney Harbor Bridge

So, just in case you’re growing weary of China, here’s a preview of what to expect some time after that series concludes. From Sydney we traveled to Noumea: