Lightning over Lac Mercier
This lake is near Mont-Tremblant and has a lovely beach where my son and I swam the day before this heavy storm blew through the Laurentian Mountains.
The lightning strikes came in sets, striking the hills across the water. Beside the beach is a pier and a small covered area where I was able to hide from the rain. That afforded a wonderful view of the lake and back towards the vibrant little town. Of course, much of that view was illuminated only by the flashes of lightning – most along the hills across the water but a couple were over the community.
I felt the accompanying thunder from those deep in my chest. Frequently, the wind ripped through the valley and drove the rain horizontally. The temperature dropped fast when the storm approached and stayed cool through the evening. I was glad for the rain gear I had stashed in my pack.
There were occasional stretches where everything calmed down, almost to catch a collective breath, but the storm crashed across the mountains relentlessly otherwise. A proper summer storm by every measure. After a couple of hours, the rain picked up even more and I thought it was well past time to get home.
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Red fox in Mont-Tremblant
This fox was trotting down the road on a sunny morning in the Mont-Tremblant National Park in early July. She stayed ahead of me when I pulled over and then crossed into the forest. I watched it through the trees and was able to catch a nice look when she stood in a pool of sunlight. A little further along she came back onto the road again for a minute.
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Mist in Mont-Tremblant
One morning while I was in Québec, I drove out early and found the mist evaporating off of the Rivière du Diable (Devil’s river) where it flows south of Lac Munroe in Mont-Tremblant National Park. I only explored a small corner of the park but was enchanted by its beauty.
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Lightning strikes over Lac Mercier
A fierce thunderstorm in the Mont-Tremblant area of the Laurentians in Québec last night. Steady sheets of lightning, howling wind and hammering rain accompanied the thunder that rang across the valleys for hours. This photograph was from Lac Mercier just after midnight. When this lightning cracked, it shook the gazebo I was standing under. I left a few minutes later – I’d had enough and the rain that followed shortly afterwards was of an almost biblical level. It was time to get home. I will share a few more from the night soon but my son and I are off to Ottawa to visit Parliament Hill.
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A superior lake for a morning swim
This was my first view of Lac-Supérieur when I was driving in the Laurentians early yesterday morning. Despite the sign, I really wanted to run down the dock and dive in.
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Canada Day fireworks in Mont-Tremblant
Kian and I headed up the ski hill last night to get a good vantage point for the fireworks. We found a great slab of bare rock near the flying mile chairlift and enjoyed the explosions as they lit up the village and echoed across the valley.
Pretty fantastic to spend a warm night watching the light show above this pretty little town with my son.
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Passing through Montréal… again
Almost exactly a month later, I found myself landing in Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport again. This time with my family. We are in Mont-Tremblant this week for my daughter’s dance competition. We will get back to the city for a bit of a visit during our stay in Québec – I’m looking forward to wandering around the old town with them soon. It’s fun to have the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful city on two separate occasions this summer after not visiting for about 28 years.
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A night in the old port of Montréal
Following the enjoyment of watching the fiery, hazy spell cast by la Joute fountain in front of the Palais des congrès, I continued on to the old port. This area is the historical heart of Montréal and one I had not spent time exploring before. Restaurants and cafes were winding down for the night as I walked past and people were making their way home. That left the cobblestone streets, lined with some of the oldest buildings in Canada, to me and the occasional group of merrymakers and travelers. I played with some long exposures, stepping into a few of those frames, and some motion blurs (images of the Ferris wheel on the waterfront from that night can be seen here). I ended up getting pretty tired towards the early morning so that impacted the photographing a bit but I’m glad I had time to have a look around. I’m excited to get back there again in a couple of weeks. Hopefully with more time and during daylight too!
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La Grande roue de Montréal
I had an extended layover in Montréal a couple of weeks ago and spent the night photographing in the old port area. The ferris wheel on the harbour front opened last year and is eye-catching addition to the city’s skyline. I wandered down to the waterfront close to 11 with a warm rain starting to fall which found me thinking about puddles and reflections.
The wheel closed at 11 so I was lucky to arrive in time to watch a couple of the different colors they project onto it while it is open. Afterwards it is lit in simple white but I liked photographing that too. I will share some photos from around the old part of the harbour but for this one, it’s all about La Grande roue de Montréal. There may have been controversy behind this installation and I am a sucker for Ferris wheels but I think it works as part of the waterfront.
This last one was taken quite a bit later in the night. I went into the frame to fill the narrow slot with my silhouette. I didn’t intend for that to add a slightly foreboding tone to the image.
Christopher Martin Photography 