Unexpected benefits from long-term projects

Chicken coop along Regional Road 16

This past spring, I decided to renew a long-term project that I started a couple of years ago, to photograph the locks of the Rideau Canal.  The Rideau Canal runs between Ottawa and Kingston on Lake Ontario, and was designed and built between 1826 and 1832 in the aftermath of the War of 1812.  The canal was recently declared to be a World Heritage Site, and I though that photographing the locks would be a good project for me to get out with my camera.

Merrickville Ruins

As I travel further and further afield to find the lockstations, I've had the opportunity to see a lot of countryside southwest of Ottawa as well as some of the towns and villages.  Even though I"m often travelling somewhere else, in a rush to get the early morning light, sometimes the countryside scenes are too tempting to pass by.

 

Unused barn entrance

I've really enjoyed driving through the eastern Ontario countryside -- and photographing some of the scenes has been a quite unexpected side benefit from my Rideau Canal project.  More on this project will be in later posts.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Recent Work: A View from Hog's Back Locks

I am very impressed with the designers of Saint John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine in Ottawa. The sight lines of this church are amazing. In an earlier post in May, I photographed the church from a road in the Experimental Farm.

Last weekend, I found this view of the church reflected in the Rideau Canal from the locks at Hog's Back, south of the city -- what a fantastic sight.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

Recent Work: Sumac Leaves

This is one of the images I have "pictured" every day on my way to work. Finally, on a cloudy weekend, I went out to see if I could make an image that lived up to my mind's eye. I think it does.

This photograph earned me a visit from a security patrol -- evidently this sumac is on property owned by a secret government department that doesn't like people wandering around with a camera and 80-200mm lens. Despite the fact that the area is thickly forested and no buildings or other equipment was remotely visible, I dutifully stopped photographing after the visit.

Oh well -- maybe I should get a different route to work!


. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

A Bog Blog Posting

I have always loved visiting bogs and seeing the fantastic plants that grow in that environment. Bog plants symbolize ingenuity and perseverance to me -- their strategies for survival are fascinating.

The Round-leaved Sundew in the photograph is a carnivorous plant that grows in bogs. They are quite small -- these leaves are only about a centimeter wide, and are covered with hairs that each have a drop of sticky fluid. Insects can get stuck on the hairs, and the plant slowly absorbs the nutrients from the insect.



. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

The Joys of June

Wildflower photography in June brings a whole new gallery of wildflowers to the fore. The spring beauties, hepaticas, trout lilies and trilliums are gone, but the forest is still full of new flowers. Unfortunately, it also brings a host of bugs -- mosquitos, black flies, deer flies, horse flies and inumerable other creatures make the forest a very difficult place to make photographs.

This morning I got up with the sun and headed west -- I hadn't made up my mind exactly where, but I decided to let the weather make up my mind for me. It was mostly cloudy, with the kind of high cloud that makes landscapes difficult. So, I decided to head for the Marlborough Forest, just south-west of Ottawa. I had read about a trail in that forest that had a good variety of wildflowers, including Ram's Head Orchids which I have never seen.

I knew the area would be wet and that is the perfect condition to also breed lots of mosquitos and other insects. I wore my usual mosquito protection -- a hat, long pants, and bug spray on everything exposed, except for my hands. Bug spray is very corrosive, so I have to sacrifice my hands to save my equipment.


I thought I was well prepared, but I didn't account for the heat and humidity. We're in the middle of the first heat wave of the season. Early this morning it was only 18 degrees (Celsius) when I got up, but the high for the day was over 31, so it heated up very quickly. By the time I was in the forest looking for orchids, I was sweating profusely. The mosquitos were ecstatic! Every time I stopped, they lit on any unprotected area. They bit through my shirt, through my pants, on my hands, around my watch (which I also didn't spray with repellant), and twice around my eyes.


I was lucky enough to find Yellow Lady's Slippers -- also a flower that I have never photographed before, as well as a number of Columbine and Canada Anenome. No Ram's Heads, though. All in all, some good photography, and some very happy mosquitos.

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca

The Ottawa Marathon

Ottawa has so many festivals and events that it's hard to keep track of them all. One event that I have never attended before this year is the Ottawa Marathon. I had been to other events during the Ottawa Race Weekend such as the 10K run, but not the Marathon.


This year, I was determined to see the Marathon, and see if I could take some interesting photographs. I downloaded the route for the marathon from the web, and planned out where I wanted to be located. With most of the downtown roads closed or blocked, I had to walk from one spot to the next, so I was quite limited in my choices (some of the working photographers had motorcycles to get around). I wanted to see the start of the marathon, and I knew that I could see the runners cross the bridge from Gatineau into Ottawa at Nepean's Point near the National Gallery. After that, I thought that I would have to go to the finish line, and wait for the end of the race, at least for the elite runners.


So, early Sunday morning, I arrived downtown in good time to get a spot close to the starting line. I arrived at 6:15 am -- with time to spare for the 6:55 start of the wheelchair marathon, and the 7:00 start for the main marathon. The number of people at the start line was impressive for such an early time on Sunday, but as it turns out, a fraction of the number out at 9:00am for the start of the Half Marathon. Many runners posed for photographs at the start line, and some for self-portraits.

The first to appear on Alexandria bridge were the three wheel-chair athletes, followed by a pack of elite runners, and other lead runners. They were followed by the main pack of runners, still bunched up from the start of the race, but beginning to stretch out.


I must say that I am very impressed with the number of people in the race. Just finishing a race like this is impressive. I can't imagine running for four hours straight, as literally thousands of people in the race were able to accomplish. The photograph below was at the 10km mark in the race, about 45 minutes after the start. This many people running 10k in 45 minutes is amazing, and I take my hat off to all of them.


I was really neat to see how many people were out to encourage the runners, and how much the runners appreciate the applause. I could see how some runners were literally pumped up by the audience at the side of the road. The audience ranged from photographers to people with megaphones, family members, and just regular onlookers who would applaud every runner who passed.


After the main pack of runners passed the 10K mark, I walked to the corner of Sussex and Wellington to see some of the faster runners pass, and then I went to look for the finish line. However, when I got to Confederation park where the start line is located, there were a massive number of people waiting for the start of the half marathon. Elgin Street was packed with runners, and the park was filled with friends and family. I took some more photographs of the crowd, but then decided that the finish line was too crowded to get a good view. Next year, I'll be better prepared for this end of the race.


It was a great experience to attend the Marathon. I'll mark this race on my calendar for another outing next year. For more photographs of the race, see http://www.robwilliams.ca/Ottawa/Ceremonies/marathon.htm

. . . Rob Williams
http://www.robwilliams.ca