Crossing The Bridge

I was down in the South Keys area in December, and had enough time to walk over to this pedestrian bridge. The Airport Parkway Bridge links the South Keys area to the residential areas to the west, solving a big problem for the residents, who in the past would have had to walk a good way south or north to the nearest bridges (or take their chances running across the parkway). It's a visually interesting gateway in and of itself for visitors coming in from the airport.

Death Smiles At Us All

"I knew a man who once said death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back." ~ Maximus, Gladiator 

Hulse, Playfair, & McGarry is a funeral services firm with facilities in the Ottawa area. This is their downtown location. I was passing by one day in December and took some shots- the architecture of the building interests me. This also gives a good counterbalance to yesterday's post, what with that old saying about death and taxes.

All We Need Is The Moat

The Connaught Building is designed in a Tudor-Gothic style, dating back to 1913. It is set downtown, between the Chateau Laurier and the Byward Market. It serves as headquarters for the Canada Revenue Agency, so for those Canadians who grumble when it comes time to sort out their tax returns, this is the bane of your existence. These photos are from the same day as yesterday's post- the Peacekeeping Monument is up the street, and this was before we had the first serious snow of the season.

Viewpoints At The Monument

I was up around the Peacekeeping Monument one day between Christmas and New Years, and liked the way it stood out against the late afternoon light. So I photographed it from various angles.

The Academy And Its Reflection

These first two shots are a holdover from summer, something that I put in a folder and forgot about. I was passing by the National Gallery one day and glanced in the glass at the reflection of the building across the street.

This is La Salle Academy. It dates back to the mid-19th century as a bilingual Catholic school. Today it still sees educational use as a training centre for federal public servants. More modern additions have been added on behind the older portions of the Academy.

A different angle on the building; I took this shot in mid-December.

A Brown Bear Is Loose In Ottawa

I saw this rather large but very gentle dog waiting patiently at a restaurant downtown one day in December. Of course I had to say hello.

Is It Un-Canadian Of Me Not To Go In?

It has been awhile since I last posted on this work site across from Dundonald Park. Sure enough, a somewhat larger beer store replaced the one that had been torn down, while a Tim Hortons occupies the new building to the west. Both opened in November. I prefer the third view looking across the park, with these shots taken after one of our snowfalls. I don't drink, so I won't go in the one shop, and I don't care for coffee or doughnuts, so why would I go into Tims? This, in a country where the company tries to brand itself as the very essence of Canadian. Note to Tims (and this is going to get me blacklisted by Tims) ~ no matter how many times you put together endless Marketing Chimp authorized sugar sweet hockey parents hauling their rugrats around in the early hours feel-good commercials passing yourself off as the ultimate in Canadiana, you're not. 

After all, the true essence of being Canadian is knowing how to make love in a canoe.

Paging Danny Ocean And A Few Crooks

"Okay, Rusty, this time we're going to hit four different national mints in four countries at the same time, but to pull it off, we're going to need nineteen other guys for the job. Oh, and we have to pin the whole thing on Terry Benedict. By the way, did you ever notice Benedict looks exactly like that actor Andy Garcia?" ~ Danny Ocean, Ocean's Twenty One

The Royal Canadian Mint is located downtown on Sussex Drive. This building dates back to 1908, and has been designated a National Historic Site. Built in a Tudor Gothic style, it still sees production of commemorative coins, among other items. Most currency production today is done in Winnipeg. This building is open for public tours. I took these shots on the same day in late November for a post I made in December about brooding skies.

The Sun Must Rise On A Brand New Year

As I ended the year with sunsets, so it seems appropriate for my first fresh post of the year to go with sunrises. In December I was up on occasion with the sun. Crossing Bronson Avenue to head over to the university one morning, I took these two shots.

A few days later after one of our snowfalls, I was also making the crossing and photographed another dawn. The first shot is along Bronson Avenue, the second is on campus at Carleton University, and the third is in Little Italy, courtesy of a quick train ride to the next stop north of campus. A few minutes of time had elapsed, all in all.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Photo Of The Year

The first day of each month is always a theme day for members of City Daily Photo, and as is always the case with January, the theme happens to be Photo Of The Year, a theme chosen by Jack. You can see which favourite photos other members chose from at this link.

As usual, I can't narrow it down to one, so here we start roughly chronologically through the year. Winterlude is our February festival marking the best season of the year, and ice carvings can be found in Confederation Park as part of the celebrations. This one was my favourite ice sculpture.

Another major Ottawa festival is the Tulip Festival in May. This first shot is from the tulip beds on Parliament Hill.

This second tulip bed is across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, facing the Hill and the Ottawa skyline, from the grounds of the Museum of History.

This bust of one of our former governor generals, Lord Elgin, was on display inside the museum as part of a temporary exhibit. I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures (again, sorry, didn't see the sign until I was leaving), but the way the bust is lit like this had such a dramatic look to it.

In June, we had our annual weekend Doors Open, which sees more than a hundred buildings of significance opened to the public to come and have a look at. This year I stopped at Earnscliffe, the official residence of the High Commissioner of Great Britain. Back in the day it was home to our first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, who died in one of its rooms.

I stopped a couple of times at Rideau Hall, the official residence of Canada's Governor General. The first shot is from the outside. The second shot is within the Ballroom.

It seems appropriate to end this with a curtain call. Allison Blakley is a member of the Ottawa Dance Directive, and here at Arts Court, she was putting on a performance mixing together a child's bedroom, the pinata, and Beethoven's Sixth Symphony as part of the one night Nuit Blanche arts festival. Allison's take on Fantasia was my favourite act of the evening, and her expression just makes the shot work marvelously.