My Last Street Image… For Now

This is the final street image I took while still living in Toronto.

May in Toronto is a wonderful time of year; the weather is cool, but not cold; the air quality is manageable; and everyone is happy.

A couple of days before making the move to Ottawa, I took an evening stroll through my neighbourhood to unwind and gather my thoughts while in the midst of the mayhem that is moving. And of course, I took my camera along. The funny thing was, even though I had taken photos all over the city, I had almost no shots of my own neighbourhood. I only took three shots that night, but I came away with one that I really liked… this one. And true to my style, I was a spur of the moment snap.

I’m not sure why, but I like everything about this shot. Maybe it’s because it reminds me of everything we loved about living in that part of town. It was one of the trendiest parts of Toronto, but it was quaint and had a relaxed suburban feel. The streets were wide, there were parks and trees everywhere, and you couldn’t walk five feet without passing a place to eat or grab a coffee.

Next week I am making a return to the old city, and I couldn’t be more excited. Yes, it’ll be a chance for my wife and I to have a couple of days to ourselves, but I am so excited to visit the streets I know so well, see old friends, and take some pictures… obviously! I hope to have some new stories and adventures to share on the blog after the trip, but until then, enjoy a taste of home.

 

 

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Ottawa’s ByWard Market

Being new to Ottawa, I often feel as though I’m a tourist in my own city. Though it makes me feel like I’m in a bit of a funny situation, it can also be a really good thing for a street walking click-happy fellow like me. My latest trip to the heart of the city took me to the ByWard Market.

Located just east of the Parliament Buildings, the market is Canada’s oldest continuously operating farmer’s market, which has been in business since 1827. Coming from Toronto, which has such a rich history with it’s buildings and neighbourhoods, I am eager to learn more about the equally impressive downtown area in Ottawa. My visit happened on a random Wednesday morning, and the market doesn’t really come to life until the weekends, but it was nice to be out shooting again and I did come away with a few shots that I wanted to share.

As an interesting side note, Obama paid a visit to the Market and bought some pastry from Moulin De Provence Bakery. I didn’t visit the bakery on this trip downtown, because I had forgotten about this bit of news, but I’ll probably stop in at some point. But good for them!

Not really sure what this guy was doing with the rackets, but I assume he was waiting for someone to drop a few coins in his bucket so he could show off his fancy racket tricks.

Allan Gardens Conservatory, Toronto

Truly one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in Toronto is the Allan Gardens Conservatory. There are several gardens scattered around the city, but this building tops them all. Unfortunately, I have never been inside, but I have admired this gem everyday for several years on my way to-and-from work.

Beauty in Ottawa: Hogsback Falls

In Toronto, I ran a weekly post series called “Street Walking”, so I thought that since I am now in a new city, I would start a new series. Since there is so much beauty in and around Ottawa, I thought it only fitting that it be called “Beauty in Ottawa”.

Hogsback Falls, one of the most beautiful spots in Ottawa happens to be a couple of minutes away from my house. Though it is a man made waterway, Hogsback Falls sits at the point where the Rideau Canal splits from the Rideau River. Both waterways have excellent cycling trails that run alongside them, and I’ve featured the Canal trails in a post that compares Toronto cycling with Ottawa cycling.

The falls are a portion of Hogsback Park, which I haven’t had the pleasure of exploring in great depth yet, but since it’s so close to home, I doubt it’ll take me long to get the lay of the land and report back 😉

Ottawa is such a fascinating city for a lot of reasons, but especially for those who love the outdoors. I think my health and fitness levels have improved by 1,000 % in the few weeks that we’ve been here, and the peacefulness is something that you could only dream about when you live in a larger city.

Here, I captured an artist sketching a similar scene to that in the second image in this post. I wanted to take a picture of her in action from right over her shoulder, but she seemed to be in such deep concentration and in such a peaceful state that I elected to withhold my natural street photographer tendencies.

 

Below is an image of two of the falls’ many onlookers. Above and to the left of the lady sitting on the bench, you can barely make out a couple of young ladies picnicking behind the tree. I badly wanted to take their picture when I was close to them because they were perfectly framed between two trees, and they had a beautiful spread and two little babies with them. I almost convinced myself that they would have loved and perhaps cherished the image I would have taken, but for some reason I held back and just took the shot with my mind.