Twilight Descends Again Upon Another Year

For New Year's Eve, it has been my tradition to close out the year with a post of twilight shots. I start out with three shots taken one evening in early September. I went up to the Portage Bridge, crossing the Ottawa River, for a shot looking east towards Parliament. Then I crossed to the other side and photographed west at the setting sun. The river goes through a series of channels around islands here. The next bridge upstream, the Chaudiere Bridge, is visible in this shot, at the heart of the main channel.

Upstream from that bridge is the source of its name. The Chaudiere Falls has been opened up to the public after a century plus of industrial use on these islands. They make for an ideal photo subject at the end of the day.

Finished with my visit at the falls, I photographed the western sky over one of the other channels between islands here.

This October view looks towards the Bank Street Bridge from the stadium at Lansdowne Park.

Another view from October, I took this one from the pathway behind Centre Block on Parliament Hill, looking up the river towards the islands where the Chaudiere Falls can be found.

Here we have a view from mid-November looking west from the Bank Street Bridge. I cross this bridge most days, and it's ideal for sunset views over the Rideau Canal. As you can see, the waterway was already in early stages of freezing up.

A few days later walking through the Glebe, I took note of the setting sun in the western sky, while snow was falling. It created an eerie effect in the western sky. This street view includes the familiar St. Matthew's Anglican Church at left.

Here we had another view west from the Bank Street Bridge in early December. The setting sun is just visible to the left of the Canal in a gap amid the trees.

I finish at Parliament Hill, with shots taken late one afternoon a few days before Christmas. The sun was setting in the west, giving a soft highlight to some of the stonework on Centre Block.

This is the arch to the main entrance beneath the tower. The late sunlight was casting shadows on the carvings, including a beaver at the top of the arch.

And this carved owl, bathed in sunlight, also caught my eye.

I went around Centre Block to the pathway overlooking the river and photographed the Library of Parliament and the Peace Tower in the late light.

And I photographed west from the same general spot as my October view from here, looking west over the Ottawa River as the water is in the process of freezing up. It seems a fitting way to close out the year with this shot. 

Colour And Light On Centre Block

Today I have more of the winter multimedia show on Parliament Hill. I also filmed a video of this year's edition; if you'd like to see it, click right here. It is twelve and a half minutes long. And so today I conclude my holiday series. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, and I do a sunset themed post for the last day of the year.

Illumination On Parliament Hill

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, there is a light show held each year, from early December to early January, projected onto Centre Block on Parliament Hill. In recent years it has been an elaborate winter themed multimedia show of light and music that goes for about thirteen minutes, replaying throughout the evening. A bear, a fox (or wolf?) and a snowman are among the elements that are projected onto the stone of the heart of Parliament Hill. Today I have the beginning, with more of this tomorrow.

The Christmas Lights

Christmas Lights Across Canada is the title of a national program of lights at various sites in the country. That includes lights at a number of spots downtown. Confederation Park is where I start, and in recent years it's been the trend here to go with coloured spotlights illuminating the trees as opposed to hung lights.

Across the street from the park is Ottawa City Hall, and here are two views of Christmas lights on the grounds. The skating rink outside the building has been busy over the holidays.

Here we have a view looking over the Rideau Canal at night towards Parliament Hill, with Christmas lights in the mix.

Proceeding on my way, I stopped to photograph the glass lantern at the National Arts Centre, suitably lit up for the occasion.

Coming around towards the War Memorial, I paused to photograph the NAC again. The statue in silhouette is Andrew Hamilton Gault, the businessman turned military officer who organized the formation of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the outset of the First World War- a military unit that still exists today.

Here we have views of the War Memorial amid Christmas lights in the trees, first seen from the east with the Peace Tower beyond it.

This perspective includes the Chateau Laurier off to the northeast side.

And this looks back towards the NAC from the approach to the Memorial.

Turning around again gives us a look at the buildings collectively called The Chambers, which overlook the Memorial.

While this view is from the north side of Wellington Street.

I headed up to Parliament Hill, where a winter light show has been playing each evening since early December and will continue into early January. I'll show you that in the next couple of days. In between those shows, the Christmas lights set in the bushes at the north end of the lawn have been lit up, turned off when the show starts up again.