I quabled today with the choice of writting this blog entry in French or English. And I wondered, what would be the Acadian way of handling this choice, that would show the openess and friendlyness typically demonstrated by Acadians towards Englsih-Canada. Then the choice was obvious.
That would be my first Acadian Tradition to discuss. We love speaking English. We really do. We bask in the fact that we understand what goes on EVERYWHERE IN this country. And that we will never fully understand why seperatists in Québec are so upset. We got a much crappier deal than they did. But in Acadian fashion, we found a way to accept English reality of Canada and melt it with our Acadian one. Its makes us Canadian. Which I am first and foremost.
That openess translated to everything we did on a daily basis. There was a rule in our house. Never ever refuse someone over for diner. Therefore there should always be enough food to go around if someone showed up, and there had to be enough for them to have seconds, if they so wanted. My friends would love to come over for spaghetti. It was a spahetti festival, with meatballs, parmsean cheese, hot spices, and mushrooms. We knew, certain mothers were dying for the recipe. They never got it.
If you were lucky enough to be at the Robichaud table, you would have witnessed a dining ceremony unlike any other. Meal time was a serious affaire. No T.V. in the dinning room. An affaire so important, it got its own room. The oldest sitting opposit of the Father at the head of the table. The mother with the two youngest, the the two other boys on the opposite side of the mother. Guest would sit next to the family member whom had invited them. Sometimes there would be vary many.
Converstation was manditory. No subject was too bold or taboo for the table, no matter how uncomfotable our poor dad felt. My mother would haved discused the pros and cons of oral sex if we had asked. We didn`t, we were scared she might actually take a banana and saran wrap out of the kitchen.
The best meal time, was when there was brocoli cheese casserole on the menu. We would litteray fight over brocoli. But not just brocoli, turnips! Liver! We would eat it really quickly to get another serving. It was just that good.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Watering Children 0410
Some of you might be a little surprised when you read this posting. Others might think I have completely gone off the deep end. But, today was a grandiose day in the life of Gabriel Robichaud.
This morning, I drove to Dawson College, parked my car on de Maisonneuve street, walked into the college through the main entrance, marched straight forward about 150 meters, turned right, then walked another 50 meters or so, and inserted my application into the Registrar's mail box. There was something eerie about the whole process. First of all, it was about 7:45 am, so there was no one around. Empty halls. Echoing footsteps. Then the swoosh of the the letter sliding in the mail slot and sudden thump as it hit the bottom of the empty mail box, followed by a long sigh of relief. And my grimace turned to a wide grin. I knew I had done something good for myself, my hapiness and my future: my application to Dawson College's Commercial Photography Program for the fall term is complete and submitted to the powers at be.
Wow. I felt so happy after that. But that lasted about 10 seconds. I then realised my faith rested in the hands of academia. So, if you are christian, light a candle say a prayer in my honour. For the less christian, take out your prayer matts, put on your yamachas, or even burn insents or just plain cross your fingers, beacause I really REALLY want this.
So... There is a picture to talk about today as well. I watched these kids play in the water at Parc Jean-Drapeau for a good 10 minutes. They were having such a great time. I felt like joining in and running through the fountains myself, but that would have been weird. We had a great day with Diane, Gilles, Marie and Camille. I had not realised just how nice of a place it is. Filled with photo ops. I will be returning, for sure!!
This morning, I drove to Dawson College, parked my car on de Maisonneuve street, walked into the college through the main entrance, marched straight forward about 150 meters, turned right, then walked another 50 meters or so, and inserted my application into the Registrar's mail box. There was something eerie about the whole process. First of all, it was about 7:45 am, so there was no one around. Empty halls. Echoing footsteps. Then the swoosh of the the letter sliding in the mail slot and sudden thump as it hit the bottom of the empty mail box, followed by a long sigh of relief. And my grimace turned to a wide grin. I knew I had done something good for myself, my hapiness and my future: my application to Dawson College's Commercial Photography Program for the fall term is complete and submitted to the powers at be.
Wow. I felt so happy after that. But that lasted about 10 seconds. I then realised my faith rested in the hands of academia. So, if you are christian, light a candle say a prayer in my honour. For the less christian, take out your prayer matts, put on your yamachas, or even burn insents or just plain cross your fingers, beacause I really REALLY want this.
So... There is a picture to talk about today as well. I watched these kids play in the water at Parc Jean-Drapeau for a good 10 minutes. They were having such a great time. I felt like joining in and running through the fountains myself, but that would have been weird. We had a great day with Diane, Gilles, Marie and Camille. I had not realised just how nice of a place it is. Filled with photo ops. I will be returning, for sure!!
Monday, June 25, 2007
A day on Mount Royal 0128
Today I received the visit of my good friends Diane and Gilles from Moncton, NB. I am very to happy to spend some time with them and its a joy to see how radiant Diane is in her 2nd trimester.
We had diner at Frites Alors on St-Laurent Bld and then headed on to Mount Royal to take in a stroll and a nice view of the city. A must for any tourist, really.
At beaver lake I spotted this man sitting by himself, and thanks to my telephoto lens, manage to get this great shot without getting to close. I can't help but wonder: "What is he thinking?"
We had diner at Frites Alors on St-Laurent Bld and then headed on to Mount Royal to take in a stroll and a nice view of the city. A must for any tourist, really.
At beaver lake I spotted this man sitting by himself, and thanks to my telephoto lens, manage to get this great shot without getting to close. I can't help but wonder: "What is he thinking?"
Thursday, June 21, 2007
International Fireworks Competition
Argh.
I have been waiting for the fireworks competition with bated breath. Yes I have. Not because I find fireworks particularly interesting. They are.
Mostly, I have been filled with anticipation because of the technical challenge that it would present from the perspective of my DSLR. Well, I'm not too impressed with the results. OK OK, so its my first kick at the can, and these photos ended up being more technical than your usual night photography.
I need to get my hands on a remote shutter release. However, I did manage to take a few pictures that are worth sharing, so feel free to click on the image on check out the flickr page... I promise i will do better next week. Thank god this competition runs until the end of July!
I have been waiting for the fireworks competition with bated breath. Yes I have. Not because I find fireworks particularly interesting. They are.
Mostly, I have been filled with anticipation because of the technical challenge that it would present from the perspective of my DSLR. Well, I'm not too impressed with the results. OK OK, so its my first kick at the can, and these photos ended up being more technical than your usual night photography.
I need to get my hands on a remote shutter release. However, I did manage to take a few pictures that are worth sharing, so feel free to click on the image on check out the flickr page... I promise i will do better next week. Thank god this competition runs until the end of July!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Montreal Construction
Yet another photo of a crane. I just can`t help myself. These monsters are just too intriguing not to photograph. Look at the coulour, the lines the lighting.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Montreal Construction
I have developped some weird fascination with construction, particularly cranes. These things are huge. I think they make for such interesting subject matter when it comes to photography. The lines are interesting and the background, usually the sky, is always a source of inspiration. This particular photo was taken in the Old Port of Montreal. I love cranes. I really really do.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Naked Bike Ride
After 11 years of living in Montreal, you get used to seeing, well, pretty much anything. But once in a while, this city manages to find another way to amuse me, like no other city can.
Yesturday, while sipping my coffee on a balcony in the every so trendy Plateau, our view was assaulted by a bunch of NAKED cyclist.. This is why you should never leave home without your camera: you never know what you will see! They went by so fast, it was hard to get a decent shot, and the lighting was only good on the back side (ha!) You don't miss much from the front, trust me.
People back home always ask me if I will ever move back to the Maritimes. Just take one look at this photo. The answer is no. I wonder what the reaction would be in Cap-Pelé if a couple hundred of us decided to ride through main street naked on our bikes.
They are planning on making this bike ride an annual thing. Next year, I will scope out a better location and plan my photo session better. hehe.
Yesturday, while sipping my coffee on a balcony in the every so trendy Plateau, our view was assaulted by a bunch of NAKED cyclist.. This is why you should never leave home without your camera: you never know what you will see! They went by so fast, it was hard to get a decent shot, and the lighting was only good on the back side (ha!) You don't miss much from the front, trust me.
People back home always ask me if I will ever move back to the Maritimes. Just take one look at this photo. The answer is no. I wonder what the reaction would be in Cap-Pelé if a couple hundred of us decided to ride through main street naked on our bikes.
They are planning on making this bike ride an annual thing. Next year, I will scope out a better location and plan my photo session better. hehe.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Fontaine - Old Montreal
It has been a while.
Good lord. Work is a little crazy, so I have not really had time to work on my photos. I have a couple thousand photos that I need to weed through and select some stuff for the blog and flickr. But this photo I took to fill the requirements of my photography class.
I am pretty happy with it. But I am always suprised by what actually catches the professor's eye. This one, is probably one of the photos he liked the most out of all the ones I have submitted. And truth be told, I almost did not submit this photo, because I did not like it that much.
But it got such a warm reception by the class and the teacher, that now, I kinda like it. LOL. I think I am going to rework it in photoshop, I have some ideas to make it even better.
Good lord. Work is a little crazy, so I have not really had time to work on my photos. I have a couple thousand photos that I need to weed through and select some stuff for the blog and flickr. But this photo I took to fill the requirements of my photography class.
I am pretty happy with it. But I am always suprised by what actually catches the professor's eye. This one, is probably one of the photos he liked the most out of all the ones I have submitted. And truth be told, I almost did not submit this photo, because I did not like it that much.
But it got such a warm reception by the class and the teacher, that now, I kinda like it. LOL. I think I am going to rework it in photoshop, I have some ideas to make it even better.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Old Port of Montreal
I took this picture of the old port a few weeks ago. I really enjoy this one. It is probably my most favorite picture so far. I just enjoy the lighting so much. The composition is nice also, and the best part is that all the colors are 100% natural. I did not manipulate this photo in photoshop at all.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Florian et Sevrine
Yet another picture. I quite like this one. I got together with Sevrine and Florian yesturday afternoon to do a photo shoot. We shot a whole bunch of portraits and I am very satisfied with many of them. I must say this is one of my favorites. It almost looks like it was shot in a studio. Its fantastic. I am very happy with this picture. You can also check out some other shots on my Flickr page, there are some nice photos of Florian and Sevrine individually as well.
Ciao amigos.
Ciao amigos.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Tulip
Spring... I remember learning in elementary school that spring was a season that started on March 21st and end on June 21st. Well, my teacher must have been snorting some really potent powder. It has been my experience that spring, is a season that lasts about 12 days. For example...
April 28th 2007 Temperature -2334 degrees celcius.
April 29th 2007 Temperature +5
Apri 30th 2007 temprature +7
May Temperatures:
2007/05/01 +10
2007/05/02 +12
2007/05/03 +13
2007/05/04 +14
2007/05/05 +15
2007/05/06 +16
2007/05/07 +22
2007/05/08 +25
2007/05/09 +28
2007/05/10 +28
see, 12 days to g from "oh my god i'm freezing my ass off" to "holy crap where did i put my Air Conditionner".
I love montreal weather. No spring, no fall. Just an unbearably cold winter and a scorchingly hot summer.
April 28th 2007 Temperature -2334 degrees celcius.
April 29th 2007 Temperature +5
Apri 30th 2007 temprature +7
May Temperatures:
2007/05/01 +10
2007/05/02 +12
2007/05/03 +13
2007/05/04 +14
2007/05/05 +15
2007/05/06 +16
2007/05/07 +22
2007/05/08 +25
2007/05/09 +28
2007/05/10 +28
see, 12 days to g from "oh my god i'm freezing my ass off" to "holy crap where did i put my Air Conditionner".
I love montreal weather. No spring, no fall. Just an unbearably cold winter and a scorchingly hot summer.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
ôde aux français: Sarah!
Que dire de la magnifique Sarah! La qualité que j'aime le plus chez Sarah, c'est qu'elle rit de bon coeur à mes blagues poches! N'importe qui rit à mes blagues et mes commentaires sarcastiques, témoigne une intelligence supérieure, je l’ai déjà dit.
Chez Sarah, on peut trouver des talents de cuisinière, un sens de la sophistication et une honnêteté incomparable. Tout ça, rassemblé dans un corps à faire frémir l'entrejambe de bien des mecs. Comme une pomme, bonne à croquer! Avis aux intéressés
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Ôde aux français: Romain
Et bien oui, encore des Français de France! (Au canada on dit toujours Français de France par opposition aux Français du Canada, ou franco-canadiens.)
AKA ROOTS, Romain c'est le dernier arrivé de notre petit groupe (mis à part Marc-I qui ne cesse de revenir et partir). D'une part c'est son charme, de l'autre son look intello-grano-alterno qui a fait germer notre engouement pour lui. Mais c'est sa personnalité, sa bonne humeur et son sens de l'humour qui continue à faire grandir sa place parmi nous.
Demain : Sarah!
De plus, le blogue est de retour. Alors demeurez à notre antenne.
AKA ROOTS, Romain c'est le dernier arrivé de notre petit groupe (mis à part Marc-I qui ne cesse de revenir et partir). D'une part c'est son charme, de l'autre son look intello-grano-alterno qui a fait germer notre engouement pour lui. Mais c'est sa personnalité, sa bonne humeur et son sens de l'humour qui continue à faire grandir sa place parmi nous.
Demain : Sarah!
De plus, le blogue est de retour. Alors demeurez à notre antenne.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Vieux Montreal 6321
Someone asked me to take pictures of doors. At first I thought it was a bizarre request, but actually, I think there might be some interesting composition out there... We shall continue the exploration of doors in the next few weeks.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Montréal le soir
And we are back!! Someone squatted my domain when the registration ran out... oh well. Suckers, I guess they tought I would pay tons and tons of cash to get it back... hmmmm wrong. I really dont need it that desperately.
But since I last posted...
Remember how I was getting all happy about posting pictures. Well it got worse. I bought a new camera: Canon EOS Rebel XTi and this baby has 10 megapixels of creative power.
I know the image I am posting today seems small... Its all an illusion. Click on it, and make sure to check out the different file sizes in the "All Sizes" option of the photo's flickr page. Trust me, very pretty.
Also, dont forget, you can always see lots of my stuff on my flickr page.
But since I last posted...
Remember how I was getting all happy about posting pictures. Well it got worse. I bought a new camera: Canon EOS Rebel XTi and this baby has 10 megapixels of creative power.
I know the image I am posting today seems small... Its all an illusion. Click on it, and make sure to check out the different file sizes in the "All Sizes" option of the photo's flickr page. Trust me, very pretty.
Also, dont forget, you can always see lots of my stuff on my flickr page.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Ôde aux français: SEVERINE!
Severine est celle qui remporte le titre incontesté d'ambassadeure de France au Québec (et non au Canada, on le sait!)
Mère attentive de Kanata et blonde du beau Florian, Severine peut compter parmi ses MULTIPLES qualités, un sens particulier de l'accueil et un don inné pour organiser les soirées entre amis les plus réussis.
Comme une étincelle, Sevrine peut à la fois offrir une lueur de sagesse ou faire exploser une discussion politique. Son caractère fort offre un bon défi à n'importe qui veut avoir une bonne discussion et je m'en régal!
Intelligente, drôle, belle, accueillante, charmante... ou tout simplement : Severine.
Alors, aujourd'hui se termine la dédicace aux français. Mais revenez souvent, les photos vont continuer, et les histoires aussi. Et pour vous, chers amis français, c'est avec un grand plaisir que je vous compte parmi mes amis! Cela est un exploit, car le terme "ami" en est un que je n'utilise plus très libéralement.
Mère attentive de Kanata et blonde du beau Florian, Severine peut compter parmi ses MULTIPLES qualités, un sens particulier de l'accueil et un don inné pour organiser les soirées entre amis les plus réussis.
Comme une étincelle, Sevrine peut à la fois offrir une lueur de sagesse ou faire exploser une discussion politique. Son caractère fort offre un bon défi à n'importe qui veut avoir une bonne discussion et je m'en régal!
Intelligente, drôle, belle, accueillante, charmante... ou tout simplement : Severine.
Alors, aujourd'hui se termine la dédicace aux français. Mais revenez souvent, les photos vont continuer, et les histoires aussi. Et pour vous, chers amis français, c'est avec un grand plaisir que je vous compte parmi mes amis! Cela est un exploit, car le terme "ami" en est un que je n'utilise plus très libéralement.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Ôde aux français: FLORIAN!
Florian, c'est le mâle de la gang. Ça, c'est certain. PERSONNE, mais personne, ne pourra jamais rivaliser Florian, ni au tarot, ni au hockey, ni du point de vue de la personnalité et de l'intelligence.
Quand Florian est dans le coin, on est 100% assuré de bien s'amuser, il a toujours le sourire, même quand il pense qu'il est entrain de mourir d'un infarctus. J'ai rarement vue quelqu'un, non, correction, je n'ai jamais rencontré quelqu'un d'aussi sympathique de toute ma vie. Florian met vraiment à défi le stéréotype du "Maudit français". Oui, on est tous d'accord, Sev, tu es la plus chanceuse de la gang!
La qualité que j'apprécie le plus chez Florian, et elle est très rare, c'est que j'ai jamais l'impression d'être le fif à ses yeux. Il est très rare de pouvoir passer du temps avec des gars straights et de ne pas sentir qu'il y a quelconque sentiment d'appréhension ou d'inégalité. Jamais, avec Florian! Quoique, juste à être assis à côté de lui on se sent déjà plus macho, alors peut-être que c'est un effet d'osmose, qui sait!
Demain, la finale : SEVERINE :)
Quand Florian est dans le coin, on est 100% assuré de bien s'amuser, il a toujours le sourire, même quand il pense qu'il est entrain de mourir d'un infarctus. J'ai rarement vue quelqu'un, non, correction, je n'ai jamais rencontré quelqu'un d'aussi sympathique de toute ma vie. Florian met vraiment à défi le stéréotype du "Maudit français". Oui, on est tous d'accord, Sev, tu es la plus chanceuse de la gang!
La qualité que j'apprécie le plus chez Florian, et elle est très rare, c'est que j'ai jamais l'impression d'être le fif à ses yeux. Il est très rare de pouvoir passer du temps avec des gars straights et de ne pas sentir qu'il y a quelconque sentiment d'appréhension ou d'inégalité. Jamais, avec Florian! Quoique, juste à être assis à côté de lui on se sent déjà plus macho, alors peut-être que c'est un effet d'osmose, qui sait!
Demain, la finale : SEVERINE :)
Monday, January 29, 2007
Ôde aux français: Camille!
Faire appeler son roi de coeur par Camille au Tarot ne peux être signe que d'une chose: c'est la fin! ;)
Ok ok, j'exagère un peu, mais bon, on ne peut pas tous êtres comme Florian et Markis! Par contre si Camille n'est pas la meilleure au Tarot (et ça reste à voir) elle est la gagnante pour les "cakes" français. Sans doute la meilleure, capable de tirer la vedette de n'importe quel gâteau aux bananes et bières, hors de tout doute!
Et je peux blaguer un peu, parce que Camille à un sens d'humour extraordinaire! Oui, elle rit à mes blagues, c'est claire qu'elle est d'intelligence supérieures et de goûts rafinés!
Tout le monde aime Camille, on ne peut pas faire autrement, car comme je lui ai déjà dit, et ça vaut la peine de le répéter, elle n'est pas juste belle, elle est intelligente, fine et adorable!
Demain, Sev ou Flo?
Ok ok, j'exagère un peu, mais bon, on ne peut pas tous êtres comme Florian et Markis! Par contre si Camille n'est pas la meilleure au Tarot (et ça reste à voir) elle est la gagnante pour les "cakes" français. Sans doute la meilleure, capable de tirer la vedette de n'importe quel gâteau aux bananes et bières, hors de tout doute!
Et je peux blaguer un peu, parce que Camille à un sens d'humour extraordinaire! Oui, elle rit à mes blagues, c'est claire qu'elle est d'intelligence supérieures et de goûts rafinés!
Tout le monde aime Camille, on ne peut pas faire autrement, car comme je lui ai déjà dit, et ça vaut la peine de le répéter, elle n'est pas juste belle, elle est intelligente, fine et adorable!
Demain, Sev ou Flo?
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