Twilight Descends Upon Another Year

I like to end the year with a set of shots of the twilight hour, and such is the case with this New Year's Eve. These first few shots are from the same evening in mid-September. I paid a visit to the Canadian Museum of History over in Gatineau one day, and the sun was setting as I was leaving. I went down to the shoreline of the Ottawa River and photographed across to the landmarks of the Chateau Laurier and Parliament Hill.

My route home took me across the Alexandra Bridge. I looked back towards the Museum.

And then upstream along the river.

The height of the Hill dominates things here. The Supreme Court of Canada can be seen upstream, beyond the Parliamentary blocks.

Reaching the end of the bridge, I photographed it in the dying light of the day.

Then I carried on, pausing to photograph Centre Block framed by this sculpture, called Dialogues.

In Major's Hill Park nearby, I took another shot of the Hill and the river.

And then I looked back towards Gatineau.

This last shot is taken from Plaza Bridge, where the Rideau Canal's locks descend to meet the Ottawa River.

In November, on Remembrance Day, I caught these two shots, a few blocks and a few minutes apart, on my way home.

And in the middle of this month, I went up to Parliament Hill for some shots late in the day, a rare clear day. This is the west side of West Block, bathed in the last light of the evening.

Across from it is a low hill that I haven't been able to get to for several years with the work going on here- though now it is accessible. Two statues are here, and one of them is seen here silhouetted against the dying daylight. This is the statue of Queen Victoria.

From here I went over to Major's Hill Park for my last shot of the year. The sun was just slipping below the horizon, with a low cloud bank to the west. The Library of Parliament looms high above the river, which was starting to develop ice. And if you look down at the river, you might see a speck close to the shore. That's a canoe, with two people rowing with the flow of the water. A pretty cold time of year to be doing that.