On Parliament Hill

 One night early this month I went up to Parliament Hill in the evening for the Northern Lights multimedia show, projected onto Centre Block. I didn't realize that this was the first and only show of the evening, and as I was about five minutes or so late for it, I took some random shots in preparation. The presentation shows moving imagery from the country's history, in French and English alternating.

I did a video featuring Canada in the Second World War, seen here. 

This was the last image I took as the show came to an end.

After realizing that was it, a quandary: what to do? Well, take more pictures around the Hill, of course.

This is East Block.

The Centennial Flame occupies a prominent spot on the Hill, and features the crest of each of the provinces and territories.

Another look at Centre Block.

I made my way towards West Block.

And then went around it to an overlook. The Ottawa River runs between Ottawa and Gatineau, and between Ontario and Quebec. The Supreme Court is off in the distance at left.

A night setting gave a different mood to the shot.

I closed things out by stopping by one of the monuments on the Hill. Robert Borden was the prime minister that saw the country through the First World War.

An Evening Stroll On Parliament Hill

One evening back in August I headed up for Parliament Hill. It was a clear night, the moon rising. It can be seen in this shot, to the right of the National War Memorial.

Centre Block was lit up for a reason. Northern Lights is the name of a multimedia show each summer that illuminates the Block each night, and which was due to start after I left. I'm still kicking myself for not photographing it this year, as it ended in early September. Oh well, there's an equivalent in December.

On this particular evening, as well as several others in August, fireworks are set off from a barge on the river as part of a competition of international fireworks production companies. I took photographs of them with Centre Block.

With Glowing Hearts

Two more shots from the Valour theme of Northern Lights; in the first case, the Afghan conflict of recent years is projected onto Centre Block. In the second case, the National War Memorial is featured.

The final theme is Pride, with statements about the nation included with the narration in French and English from a wealth of different people.

The conclusion of the event includes the Canadian anthem- check out a video of the finale here.

True Patriot Love

The progress of provinces and territories formally coming into being within Confederation are projected onto Centre Block as part of Northern Lights, with the flags of each fluttering so convincingly that it looks like they're real, as opposed to projections of light.

The third theme of Northern Lights is Discovery And Adventure, examining explorers encountering First Nations peoples all the way to the technology of the current day, such as Canadians in space.

The fourth theme is Valour, and examines Canadian military history, particularly the First and Second World Wars, with places like Vimy Ridge and Juno Beach prominent in the program.