A Return Visit To The Museum Of Nature

 In the first part of December I paid a return visit to the Canadian Museum of Nature. The place had Covid protocols in place during my visit. I started out on the east end of the property to photograph this statue pairing of a mother and baby dinosaur, chasmosaurus irvinensis.

The Museum was built as a memorial to Queen Victoria, and has seen more than one use. It looks like a castle, with a modern glass tower, called the Queens Lantern, opened in 2010.

This stained glass window is inside the entrance.

Direction markers are one Covid protocol inside. Another is signage, such as this one on an elevator.

A new installation has been hung in the central atrium, a model of the Earth called Gaia, which slowly turns in this space.

It is a suitable companion for the Moon, which hangs out in the Lantern, and was put there for the 50th anniversary of the first landing on the Moon.

The museum organizes itself in a series of galleries, and the first is the Arctic Gallery. One first sees large slabs of ice.

The Dawn Rises Upon The Brand New Year

 I tend to start off the year formally in regards to new posts with one of sunrises.

To begin, these first two shots date to mid July, at Lansdowne Park in the Glebe. I photographed the dawn sky over the stadium.

A few minutes later at the east end of the property, I took this shot.

In late August I took these two shots at Central Park in the Glebe.

And a few days later that month, back at Lansdowne, I photographed the Aberdeen Pavilion in pre-dawn light.

A few minutes later at the east end of the property, I turned around and photographed the stadium in the early morning light.

In late September I photographed again in Central Park.

In early October, back at Lansdowne, I took this shot of the first light of day on the ridge at the east side of the stadium.

A few minutes later, I had crossed to the west side of the stadium for this shot.

In mid-November, these two shots were taken a few minutes apart at Lansdowne.

In early December I came out to the Flora Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Rideau Canal and connects the Glebe to Old Ottawa East. It is named in honour of Flora Macdonald, a Canadian politician and humanitarian who lived in the area for years.

And this last one is taken on the morning of the winter solstice in Dundonald Park in Centretown. Someone was walking dogs in the park while I was passing by.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Best Of The Year

Today I have favourite shots from the Gatineau side of the Ottawa River, with a definite emphasis on the Canadian Museum of History. During a visit I showed last January, the museum had an exhibit showing about Neanderthals. This reverse on the old stereotype made me smile.

The same applied to this at the end of the exhibit, a refreshingly modern look on what a Neanderthal might look like in the current day. It turned out to be an enlightening exhibit.

This look outside includes an art installation of a wolf in a canoe. The Ottawa River and Alexandra Bridge are in the background.

A church, St. Onuphrius, is at the heart of the permanent galleries in the museum.

Here we have a view upon leaving, of the Museum's curatorial wing at left and the entrance to the exhibit wing in the background.

A few months later I came across this mural in a courtyard near Gatineau's city hall.

The Tulip Festival is a tradition on both sides of the Ottawa River. These were near where the Portage Bridge emerges into Gatineau, a lovely mix of white, purple, and pink.

And here are some outside the Museum of History.

Late in the summer I paid a couple of return visits to the Museum. This is in the Great Hall, which is filled with First Nations totems and house facades.

And this is my favourite work of art in the region, Morning Star, by Alex Janvier, captured during this visit. The Dene artist painted this colourful abstract mural on one of the domes inside the Museum. It never fails to raise my spirits.

Further along in the permanent galleries is this, an elkskin with painted images on it in a circle. This is of the Blackfoot people of the plains, and it resides in a place of honour here in the museum.

Here we have powow regalia, given to the Museum by its owner, a First Nations powow dancer.

And I finish off with this view, outside the Museum, showing Parliament Hill and the Chateau Laurier across the river.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Best Of The Year

Members of City Daily Photo are starting off the year with a look back at 2020 and favourite shots and you can see how they're approaching it right here. I'll be doing two days worth, one for here in Ottawa, and then tomorrow for Gatineau across the Ottawa River.

I'm starting with this view of a bank on Sparks Street, illuminated with colours during Winterlude.

Winterlude is our annual celebration of the best season of all, and we've got the Rideau Canal skateway with nearly eight kilometres of skating surface. This view is downtown, from the Corktown Bridge

Dow's Lake is where the Canal widens, and the Ice Dragon Boat Festival took part in Winterlude.

Ice sculptures are a big part of Winterlude, and this one, lit up at night, was on Sparks Street. Time will tell what happens with Winterlude this year.

The Tulip Festival in May went on, even though Covid ended any formal events. But the flowers are always the star. These beds are in Major's Hill Park.

And this one is along the Canal.

These two shots, taken in Commissioners Park at Dow's Lake during the festival, also drew my eye.

In this second case, because a cat was resting behind the tulips.

This summer shot is taken at Richmond Landing, upstream from Parliament Hill on the Ottawa River.

One day downtown I was checking my mobile and this pigeon circled around and hopped onto the ledge to look at me. Its expression made the shot.

This autumn view is from the pathway along the Ottawa River looking at Parliament Hill.

And I finish with a dramatic night view of the Aberdeen Pavilion at Lansdowne.