«Pardonnez-moi … Est-ce un Rolleiflex?»

Last Saturday, between my stint photographing basketball games in Quebec City (Kebs won twice, nice), I decided to take my Rolleiflex camera out for an evening stroll through downtown.  I had five rolls of 120 film at the ready, and I wanted to relax and take in the sites of Albany’s Canadian sister city.

First I loaded the camera with Fuji Velvia 50 slide film.  I had success in the past with slower film, and I wanted to see what I could get with a long night exposure – getting an evening shot without battling reciprocity failure.

This church, in the lower part of Quebec City, is over 300 years old.  It survived bombardment by the British forces in 1759, and today is a very popular tourist attraction and house of worship.  I actually didn’t realize this church was here; I made a left turn when I should have made a right turn, and there it was.  The blue light shining through the upper windows was just spellbinding, and I had to get a long-exposure shot of the church if I could.

I found Restaurant Le Vendôme along the winding Côte de la Montagne. The signage caught my attention, and I was able to capture a long exposure with the signage.

Next in the camera was one of my favorite black and white films, Efke 25.  And check out these long exposures.

Pub St-Patrick can be found along rue Couillard, and it’s probably the closest thing to a truly Irish bar that one can find without having to relocate to Belfast.  As I took this picture, two people approached me.  They looked at my camera, and asked me, «Pardonnez-moi … Est-ce un Rolleiflex?»

I knew it.  I have nine cameras in my collection – everything from Nikon to Kodak to Agfa and Ansco, and people will stop in their tracks and ask if what I’m using is a true 1950’s Rollei.  And I smile and say yes – er, um, I say oui – and then go back to my photography.

Inside the Musee Du Fort, on rue Sainte-Anne, is a huge diorama depicting one of the most famous battles in Quebec’s history, the battle on the Plains of Abraham.  The battle, a turning point in the Seven Years War between England and France over this territory in the New World, is as important in the history of Canada as the battle of Saratoga was for the Americans.

As I took this picture, I could hear music from across the street.   A street musician, accompanied by a pre-recorded tape, performed easy listening classics on his saxophone.  Tourists walked by and tossed their Canadian two-dollar coins into his bag, he smiled and played some more.

Restaurant Continental along Rue St-Louis.  Got a great shot of the exterior of the building, and the high-contrast efke film really makes the neon signage and front illuminations completely sparkle.

My evening shots completed, I went back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.  More photos in the morning, I smiled.

Sunday morning.  It was a hazy day, and I was not going to get the kind of sunshine shots I wanted.  So let’s see what I can still snag.

First up – I inserted a roll of Kodak Elite Chrome E100 film.

This is Quartier Petit Champlain, which I believe is the oldest commercial street in North America.  The street is populated with crafts stores and souvenir shoppes, and since it was the weekend before Halloween, there were “ghost tours” in the evening.  I tried to attend one of the ghost tours, unfortunately, I missed the last English-language ghost tour.

The last time I visited Quebec City, I received a guided tour from my friend Tobey Hayden.  She told me that if you visit the street with your true love, and you make a wish and give her a kiss, you will receive good fortune all your life.  Memo to self.  Must find a way to get a pretty girl to visit Quebec City with me.

And of course, leave it to me to find a camera shoppe along Quartier Petit Champlain.  Unfortunately for me, the only Kodak film in Feejo’s was sold in a couple of FunSaver disposable cameras – the sign was there for decoration.  Oh well.  Got a picture of the sign anyways.

Next up – a pack of Kodak Portra 160 VC for some street shots.  And as I walked along Rue St-Louis, I saw a Hansom cab operator.  I gotta get a shot of this.  I readied the Rollei, and as I took the picture –

Yep.  The cyclist got in my shot at the exact same moment that I pressed the shutter.  And of course, the carriage operator shouted out to me, «Pardonnez-moi … Est-ce un Rolleiflex?»

I swear, one of these days I’m going to make a T-shirt on one of those online stores that says, “Yes, it’s a Rolleiflex.  Yes, I can get film for it.  Yes, I can get the film developed.  Yes, this is a great camera.  Smile and I’ll take your picture with it.”

Still, I got some great photographs of downtown Quebec City. No, I didn’t photograph the Chateau Frontenac along the promenade overlooking the river – oh wait, yes I did…

And these photos – plus other photographs that I took that weekend – are more than enough to entice me to visit again soon. And I hope these photos encourage you to visit Quebec City as well.