Landmarks Of Confederation Square

 Back into my series on the Tulip Festival. After leaving Major's Hill Park, I passed by the Chateau Laurier, where tulips and lilacs were showing off.

This portion of the building frames a view of the Parliament Buildings.

I went into Confederation Square, the very heart of the city, and in many ways the country. Its central point is the National War Memorial, dedicated in memory of those who fought and died in Canadian wars and in other military duties. The Memorial is surrounded by landmarks like the Chateau Laurier, Parliament Hill, The Chambers, the National Arts Centre, and the Government Conference Center. In May, tulips are to be found surrounding it.

After the winter, military sentries are positioned in front of it in daytime, overlooking the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

I crossed the street. My next destination was Parliament Hill itself.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Bubbles

The first day of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and for July, that theme is Bubbles. Check out how others are interpreting the theme right here.

 

My first shots were taken in early May. By chance I was at Lansdowne Park, where the children's festival was taking place. There was someone using these two long prongs to send bubbles into the air. Many, many bubbles.

I try not to photograph kids, but sometimes it can't be helped. Besides, most of them were looking away, and the only one looking in my general direction had his face obscured by a bubble or two.

The bubbles were even floating in the direction of the North Stands, and surprisingly still visible on camera.

A related term for bubbles is froth or foam, and it is in this that waterfalls apply. These shots were taken in the first half of May at the Chaudiere Falls on the Ottawa River. These falls are upstream of Parliament Hill, and contain a lot of power as they drop fifteen metres along the full length.

Taken later in May, this is also the Ottawa River, seen from Parliament Hill, where the river still runs swiftly downstream from the Chaudiere Falls before calming down in the wide section below the Hill. The line of white water is an island that gets covered over by water during spring run off before receding.

I took these in the first half of June. I paid a visit to the Rideau Falls, where the Rideau River drops into the Ottawa River in two channels. This is the east branch. 

Passing over the falls on the bridge, I noticed bubbles in the water. The water is very shallow here, but you wouldn't want to walk in it. It's an eleven metre drop. I'll have more from here down the line.

On another matter, this was taken before the weekend in an office building downtown. Happy Canada Day!

The Changing River Through Seasons

I have a tradition of coming out to the Portage Bridge twice a month to photograph the Ottawa River as it flows downstream. I select a spot on the bridge where the border of Quebec and Ontario pass through, with Gatineau on the left and Ottawa on the right. Landmarks in these shots include the Alexandra Bridge, Kiweki Point, the National Gallery, Notre Dame, Parliament Hill, the Supreme Court, and Victoria Island.

I start off with this shot taken in mid-January on a snowy day. Due to the strong current coming downstream from the Chaudiere Falls, the Ottawa River does not fully freeze over for this stretch.

This was a few days later in the month.

I took this shot in the second half of February on a cold day.

Before the end of the month, I returned.

I was back here in early March.

Later in the month, the spring thaw was well underway, with the last of the ice down below Parliament Hill and Nepean Point. The river was turbulent.

When I next showed up a few days past mid-April, the turbulence continued.

A few days later, I returned again.

I came back in the first half of May, and this was the view.

Late in May, it was a moody day on the river.

I returned in the first half of June.

And to close out the post, here we are a few days ago, on the tail end of a hot spell. 

The Colonel And The Park In Season

 Up slope from the tulip beds, I took these shots looking back at them, here at the north end of Major's Hill Park.

I passed along the railing overlooking the Ottawa River, photographing more tulips.

That included some that I would imagine are left in the ground after they bloom, given their places among these plants.

More tulips are found around and behind the statue of Colonel John By. He was the British military engineer who oversaw the building of the Rideau Canal, which lies behind me, down at the base of the bluff. This statue looks out over his achievement. By is considered the founder of the city of Ottawa.

One last shot, looking down the length of tulips with the Colonel's statue at the far end. We'll return into the series following the theme day.