Up On The Hill

Welcome to Ottawa Daily Photo. I'm William Kendall, a writer, photographer, and all around scoundrel from the capital of the Great White North. In time to come, I'll be photographing on both sides of the Ottawa River, here and in Gatineau on the Quebec side. And I'll take things beyond that as well from time to time. This is a bit of a learning experience for me; I'm only starting to get used to digital photography, so there's a good deal of trial and error. I can also be found over at my writer's blog Speak Of The Devil. There my sense of mayhem and mischief generally displays itself three times a week. Here, we're looking for more of a daily schedule as I go along, though for the first few posts that might be every other day. We'll see. I will most likely at some point in the next few days set the publication time in advance, but for the moment, here we are.

This being the national capital of Canada, it seems entirely appropriate to begin with two shots from Parliament Hill. I will be shooting pics here on a regular basis. It seems I'll have to take the tour that the tourists take to show you some of the interior. The Hill is a busy place these days. While the politicians are still away on summer recess, the buildings themselves are in the midst of some extensive restoration work. Here is one of my favourite places to shoot: an arched entrance at the East Block, which perfectly frames the Peace Tower in the Centre Block.

Close by on the East Block, we find this doorway. It's been the subject of some of the restoration work recently, with sandblasting and general cleaning up well underway. I love the detail of the carving above. It's only now, while getting this post together, that I realize the photo has just a smidge of a tilt. I told you this was a learning process!