Wonders Carved Out Of The Ice

After many of the initial ice sculptures for Winterlude 2020 had collapsed of their own weight under mild temperatures, the organizers had new sculptures made, and no doubt reconsidered the foolish notion of not putting the big sculptures under shelters. We shall see if that's rectified next year. One of the carvers was working on a small one along Sparks Street as I passed by one day, one with a heart theme- so common with Winterlude as Valentine's Day always falls during the event.

Carvers from Canada and spots around the world who had put up the first set of sculptures were still around, and they erected new ones. These ones made up for the collapse of the initial set.

It's at night, though, when I find ice sculptures to be their most magical, with coloured spotlights shifting throughout the spectrum.

A Bizarre Way To Enjoy The Winter

 The last of the dragon boats were coming in while I was on the ice for this part of the Ice Dragon Boat Festival during Winterlude 2020.

It comes time to turn the boats around for the next teams.

Dragon Boats Upon The Frozen Lake

In 2020, Winterlude again saw the return of the Ice Dragon Boat Festival to Dow's Lake. I caught some of it when I came down to the lake. 

Perspectives From The Canal Surface

 I return today to Winterlude 2020 (this has been a long retrospective, and I swear, it doesn't look like this anymore). One day I was on the Bank Street Bridge and photographed the Canal, both east and west.

Down below, I took a shot of the bridge from the ice surface.

By contrast, the same view at night.

On another day I went for a walk on the ice on a bright sunny day. I started by accessing the Canal at Lansdowne.

My path led for the downtown, with the Flora Bridge gracefully spanning the Canal.

A short walk beyond is the inlet for Patterson Creek, which emerges from under this stone bridge and joins the Canal.

The ice is cleared up to an island in the background and counts as part of the length of the Canal skateway.

Coming back out, I looked back.

And then carried on, past the next bridge, the Pretoria Bridge.

Around the last bend in the Canal is this final stretch. The Corktown Bridge is another pedestrian bridge like the Flora, linking Centretown with Sandy Hill and the University of Ottawa.

My last view for today: from on top of the Corktown Bridge looking back where I'd come from.

City Daily Photo Theme Day: Shadows

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

I am going with several locations over time. One day in February I was passing by the work site for the future home of the main branch of the Ottawa Library, which will be sharing the building with facilities from Library and Archives Canada. I'm occasionally documenting the project as it goes along. Work was going on, and the shadows cast by the machines and the higher ground within the pit seemed fitting for the theme.

In late March I was passing through the Hintonburg neighbourhood one afternoon with a somewhat hazy sky. A portion of this community centre cast a shadow on another section.

Just up the street, another example of that, with a section of a church, the Paroisse Saint Francois d'Assise, extending outwards and resulting in a shadow against the main body of the church.

Early in April one morning, I had a bit of time on my hands and was passing by this building. Once the main branch of the Bank of Montreal in the city (at a time when they made banks to impress), it's been in government hands for years, named the Sir John A. Macdonald Building, and used for receptions. Most of it was still in shadow from the higher buildings to the east and southeast.

One block up is Parliament Hill, with the West Block in the foreground and Centre Block in the background. Most of it was gleaming in the sun, but those sections facing west were still cast in shadow.

Along the west side of West Block is one of the statues of former prime ministers and Fathers of Confederation that dot the Hill. Robert Borden was prime minister from 1911-20, and his monument stands out here. At this time of day it's in the shadows created by a building across the street to the southeast, but spends much of the day in the sun.

The following day I was in Major's Hill Park, a short walk to the east of Parliament Hill. This statue of Colonel John By, the British military engineer who oversaw the building of the Rideau Canal, stands in the park. The flowerbeds around him were still surrounded by snow fences to protect the tulip beds. Those snow fences created a good pattern on the pavement.

The same here, a short walk away, with the fence that keeps the visitor away from the cliff's drop a few feet away. The shadows on the pavement suited the theme. At the time, the ice on the Ottawa River was breaking up.

A short walk away beyond that is the new monument for working trades. They include two large plumb bobs, tools that have been in use for thousands of years, and which cast good shadows in the afternoon sun.

I finish with this view towards Parliament Hill, with much of the slope in shadow, the trees doing a lot of that, but also the angle of the slope, which is steep.