“Stop!”

1) understand the camera better

2) decide if I will be bringing the 10-20mm with me on a backpacking trip to Asia (later this week!)

I think  I understand the camera a little bit better now. For one, I was disappointed by the noise performance at ISO 100 in the shadows. I sincerely thought this was going to be THE camera. But to be 100% honest, this is my only complaint with the entire rig so far. The 8 fps shooting is unfrickingbelievable, for example.

As for the wide angle lens, I don’t think I will have the luxury to bring it with me for the 8 extra mm I would gain on the wider side. I am used to walk and travel with the 18-200mm so I guess I won’t add weight (and value!) in my backpack.

But the nice surprise came before the sun actually set. This happened:

Dusk Rainbow

Interpol: Turn on the Bright Lights

It took me many years to finally recognize the power of Interpol. I had really liked the song NYC when a friend of mind suggested I buy this one but for some strange reason, the rest of the album didn’t do that much to me… except for The New. Its instrumental outro was one of the best I had heard, on par with Hurricane #1 stuff. Weird then that it took me FIVE years and the following two albums to finally “get” Interpol. Now that I do my music life will never be the same. I still can’t believe that I was ignoring the album’s “rolling” guitar intro for so long. Oh and no, Interpol is definitely not Joy Division.

Gorillaz: Demon Days

Being a fan of Damon Albarn has never been this fun. Funky beats, cool lyrics, piano galore and fucking Shaun Ryder. Oh and that guy from Blue Velvet. I mean. Wow. While the first Gorillaz album left me lukewarm, this time it’s quite the concept album Albarn and Danger Mouse did there. And the live version they performed at the Manchester Opera House, available on DVD, is even better. An instant classic for the years to come.

David Potts: Coming Up For Air (and Monkey in the Rain)

Who’s that guy who can write Beatles melodies better than the Beatles and play most of the instruments by himself? Unfortunately, what we have here is probably the most underrated songwriter in the UK right now. Once part of the band Monaco with New Order’s Peter Hook, David Potts launched this solo album with the best EP of the last decade (Monkey in the Rain / Roll Up!). Buy them both, they are jam-packed with gems like Richard Parker, I’m Not Sleeping and World Isn’t Over. Oh and David, if you ever stumble onto this, we need more!

Dumas: (four albums!)

In December 2008, Dumas was launching the first of FOUR albums that were to be released in a timeframe of less than a year. This quadrilogy, comprised of Nord, Rouge, Demain and Au Bout du Monde, was in fact an experimental vehicle for the more down-to-earth (but still very impressive Traces). In other words, about a quarter of the tracks on the albums were reworded for Traces. Some incredible melodies and a mostly instrumental intro that got me hooked in no time made me want to get the following albums on iTunes (the pressed releases were quite limited). And never before have I been this excited about French Canadian music.

Arcade Fire: Funeral

And speaking of people from the province of Quebec,  I really can’t forget to include this absolutely mesmerizing album loved by people from all over the world, including a certain Mr. David Bowie. Everything clicked in this one, even if there are like 10,000 instruments playing at the same time. The Neighborhood series of songs are brilliant and the album balances beautiful and upbeat music like no one else. A must have.

Bad Lieutenant: Never Cry Another Tear

New Order is apparently no more, but what is brewing in Bernard Summer’s mind is certainly not to be dismissed at all. Released at the end of 2009, this album completely took me by surprised. Not one, not two but three guitarists is a very dangerous premise but boy did they pull it off. It’s also in my opinion a very interesting follow-up to Electronic’s Twisted Tenderness… but with more brain-melting melodies. And it’s amazing how the voice of Bernard is perfectly suited for Twist of Fate but also that Head Into Tomorrow couldn’t be sung by anyone else than newcomer Jake Evans. It’s been 3 months now and it still a drug to me as I need a fix more than once a week.

The Verve: Forth

The Verve’s last studio album was released in 1997. They had written terrific songs with Bittersweet Symphony and Drugs Don’t Work back then, but what the new album lacks in anthems, it more than makes up for it with carefully crafted pieces of music. Layered, textured, poignant. The first two songs are more single-material, but that’s just the start. Songs like Valium Skiesor the closer Appalachian Springs are not only great, they’re inspiring. They make you want to yell to the world how much you feel alive. Oh and don’t forget to use Judas during the chill portion of your soirées.

The Dears: Missiles

Even though I was a huge fan of this band even since I attended a gig of theirs, I did not know this new album was being released when someone alerted me to it. I then read that Murray Lightburn wanted to do a solo album, but it turned out he was really writing a Dears one. Well, I don’t know if that was the secret, because he finally wrote the perfect one. Yes, this album in a ten. No need to highlight a particular song, there is never a filler; only songs that reach you and are incredibly emotional. Lightburn’s singing has never been better or more mature and basically everything clicks together. And when the last song is over, you feel like you just witnessed something great.

Keane: Perfect Symmetry

This one just barely beat Portishead’s 3rd, but I have to put it here for the sheer surprise at how good this is. Forget the god awful cover, this is VERY good music. Keane has a knack for catchy music, with a lot of 80s influence in it. And they also wrote one of the most beautiful songs of the decade with Love is the End. So no matter how much I want to judge a book by its cover, this just isn’t the case here. Perfect Symmetry may not perfect but it’s pretty darn good.

Muse: Absolution

With this album, Muse started to take over the world. Forget Kid A, this is the music I expected to hear from Radiohead after OK Computer. I don’t think I need to say more than this, do I?

Aquarius X

Every year around spring time, the Aquarius X and her crew leave port to do one thing and one thing only: catching shrimp. As soon as the ice clears the surface of the St-Lawrence River, in the general vicinity of the small city of Matane, the operation starts. While they will be fishing until the end of August, the first six weeks are crucial and hectic enough to hire additional hands.

Shrimp like cold water. Very cold water. They are at their happiest when the ice has just retreated from the river and they tend to follow this movement. Starting around Matane, the shoals then progressively moves Eastwards and the Aquarius X crew follows. Due to a narrower passage between the Anticosti Island and the North Shore, the ice only retreats completely from the St Lawrence Gulf mouth around July. This predictable journey makes for much easier captures.

But life on a shrimp boat is not easy. The constant fight against seasickness, short bursts of sleep, an insanely intense schedule and the disconnect with one’s life can take its toll; this is truly for dedicated individuals! At any time of the day and night, shrimp are there and the crew must not miss the shoals or else the next boat will get them.

Suprisingly, it is the capturing process itself that gives the crew some of its much needed rest. After dropping the net in the cold waters, they have between 2 to 4 hours before it becomes full and must be brought back on board. During that time, the workers make sure to catch some sleep, eat something, get cleaned up a bit.

Once on board, the net is opened and its content is brought to the triage area. While the net is conceived to only catch shrimp, some fish do get stuck from time to time and those have to be thrown back into the sea. The shrimp are then stored in the ship’s hold under a thick layer of ice to keep them fresh for a maximum of 5 days. During the busiest weeks, the boat usually returns to the transformation plant when the hold is full, but afterwards the crew needs to take into account this very short window.

The following map shows the four shrimp transformation plants available to shrimp boats.

A- Matane B- Rivière-aux-Renards C- La Tabatière D- Magdalen Islands

The money obtained from the transormation plants varies from year  to year but also during the season itself. And different plants pay differently! This means the captain needs to constantly reevaluate where he will get the best price based on the boat’s location. Sometimes it makes sense to travel a bit further to get a better price, even though the St Lawrence River and Gulf are so vast. While travelling from Matane to Rivière-aux-Renards takes about 3 hours by car, the same trip is about 12 hours long on a boat!

For security measures, the machine room is accessible to one crewman only. This individual will have received proper training and is the only one that can work and maintain the engines. As for the food, most items purchased are ready to eat as there too little time for cooking meals during the first six weeks. The crew still has to eat constantly in order to fight seasickness. But as the season advances, supply runs will bring more and more ingredients to be prepared in the tiny kitchen area and life gradually goes back to a more normal pace.

I was born in Matane in the province of Quebec. For some of you, the name will ring a bell as this city has been associated with shrimps for many decades now. I’ve seen the famous Matane shrimps appear on menus from as far as Europe but also in Florida, Las Vegas, etc.

For a while, Matane even had its own shrimp festival. It was a week-long celebration revolving around this little pink crustacean where beer and music flowed together and where shrimps were sold everywhere in town in a small plastic container usually accompanied with chili sauce (not my preferred choice!).

I have long since left Matane, which also decided to drop the festival entirely. But I recently had the chance to resurface those memories when I received a few emails from my sister who still lives there. She was sharing her boyfriend’s voyage and work on a shrimp boat last Spring with photos and a whole lot of information I never knew or even tried to imagine about nordic shrimp boats. It’s a fascinating piece from a very different life we’re used to, so after she agreed, I decided to share this here as well.

Working on it… stay tuned!

Spring in Matane / Le printemps à Matane

Je suis né à Matane dans la province de Québec. Pour certains d’entre vous, le nom sera sans doute familier puisque la ville a longtemps été associée avec les crevettes. J’ai même pu apercevoir les fameuse crevettes de Matane sur les menus d’Europe, de la Floride, de Las Vegas, etc.

Pendant un temps, Matane a même eu son festival de la crevette. Les célébrations d’environ une semaine avaient comme thème le petit crustacée rose et la bière et la musique y coulaient à flots. Les crevettes étaient vendues un peu partout dans un contenant de plastique et servies habituellement avec un cure-dent et de la sauce chili (pas ma sauce préférée pour des crevettes!)

J’ai quitté Matane depuis longtemps et la ville a depuis décidé d’abandonner le festival. Mais j’ai récemment eu la chance de me remémorer cette époque quand j’ai reçu une série de courriels de ma soeur qui y vit encore. Elle y décrivait le voyage et le travail de son conjoint sur un crevettier le printemps dernier, avec photos à l’appui et des informations que je n’aurais jamais pu envisager. C’est une description fascinante d’une vie complètement différente de la nôtre et avec l’accord des personnes concernées, j’ai pensé la partager avec vous.

Je travaille donc là-dessus et je vous reviens!