The Great Man And That Smile

Yesterday's post had me look up a few things about that particular photo shoot on Parliament Hill. Yousuf Karsh remarked years later that after taking Churchill's cigar and walking back to his camera, "he looked so belligerent he could have devoured me." 

Still, the Prime Minister let him take another shot, and this one had him smiling. Churchill then told the young photographer, "You can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed." 

Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh, 1941

Other Karsh portraits were mentioned yesterday. Three others struck my interest, and I add them on here. He was the best of the best.

Elizabeth II by Yousuf Karsh, 1951

Martin Luther King Jr. by Yousuf Karsh, 1962

John F. Kennedy by Yousuf Karsh, 1960

The Great Man And His Scowl

"I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter." ~ Winston Churchill

I have shown this portrait of the great man before, but it's welcome to revisit such places and photograph again. Yousuf Karsh, whose photo studios were here in the Chateau Laurier for many years, has several portraits hanging in the lounge, including his iconic portrait of Winston Churchill. It was taken on Parliament Hill in late December 1941 during a stay in Ottawa after Churchill gave a speech in our House of Commons. The story goes that Karsh took the Prime Minister's cigar away to get the shot he wanted. Churchill didn't much care for that, hence the scowl, and yet it's the defining portrait of the man, showing his absolute determination.

A few days back the Ottawa Citizen mentioned Churchill in another way. It seems that his ghost has been seen in Laurier House, the home of Prime Ministers Laurier and Mackenzie King, where he stayed as a guest. Perhaps he's still looking for that cigar?

Hound Of The Baskervilles

This post from Wolverhampton Daily Photo in the West Midlands, United Kingdom, reminded me of my father. He spent most of his working life as a letter carrier, up to retirement. It was good exercise, and he liked the work. Dad is not the sort of person who lies (he never even learned the social value of a white lie), but he is prone to exaggeration. So growing up we were used to hearing stories of near miss encounters with vicious, bloodthirsty dogs; I would ask in reply if they were ten feet long, six feet high, breathing fire, barking so loud they could be heard kilometres away. He would say "I nearly lost my leg today to a killer beast", and one of us would ask if the dog had smashed through the brick wall of the house just to get to him. I don't think he's ever read Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound Of The Baskervilles, but the way he described such dogs he would encounter on his route would remind one of the canine adversary confronting Sherlock Holmes.

For a nice counterbalance to Dad's stories of canine horror most foul, I prefer my cousin's dog Buddy. We wouldn't see him tearing around an English moor terrorizing a Baskerville to death, would we?

Though it's always the nice, sweet, cute ones you have to watch. 

Whale Of A Tale

I took these shots around this time of year last year, and found a spare pair of unpublished shots among my archives. A life sized set of narwhals and beluga whale sculptures hang here in the World Exchange Plaza downtown.

The Bridge

My post from the other day on the sunset over the Rideau Canal got me thinking. I've taken many shots either from on this bridge, or of the bridge and its surroundings. The Bank Street Bridge crosses the Canal, emerging from the Glebe on the north side and going into Old Ottawa South on the south side. This evening shot of the bridge is from my archives. Water in the Canal has been lowered for the season.

Many of you know Stefan from Photos from Haninge. Stefan regularly features images of a specific tree in his area, this being his most recent post. Given that I've already got quite a wealth of pics of or from this bridge, I've decided to make this location a recurring theme. The bridge offers up plenty of photo ops in any season.

Inclusivity

After yesterday's post, I looked for the other sculpture David Fels carved out of the Brighton Oak among my shots. This is an unpublished look at the carving; the name of the sculpture is Inclusivity. It stood for several months in the Ottawa Convention Centre in the leadup to a summit on accessibility for the disabled that was held here earlier in the year. It was to be set in a permanent location at Carleton University, where he carved this work and yesterday's sculpture; I somehow suspect that if it's already on campus, it's in one of the buildings I never go into. 

Sculpted

It's been awhile since I've shown you this sculpture at Carleton University. Sailing Through Time is carved from oak by David Fels, and occupies a rather nice spot on campus. This is another angle on the work.

Fans of Shakespeare might want to check my writer's blog today- there's a film review over there for one of the Bard's comedies.

Sunset

The Rideau Canal at twilight makes for good photo opportunities. I've taken photographs here on the Bank Street Bridge on numerous occasions.

Colour

After five days of monochrome, I thought I'd go back to a splash of colours with another look at Morning Star, the Alex Janvier mural at the newly renamed Museum of History over in Gatineau. This is a work of art I'll never get tired of, whether it's seen from down on the ground level (where there are very comfortable chairs for those peering up), or ascending to the top of the Grand Hall and viewing it up close.

Outlook

Wrapping up my series of colour drained shots today, I come back to where I started, at Nepean Point, downhill from the Champlain statue. Parliament Hill looms over the frozen Ottawa River in this photo from last December. This is another shot I'm considering for a winter header image.