shootstories

April in Ottawa.  Not the prettiest time of the year in this city.  Having grown up in the ‘banana belt’ of Toronto, I always expect all the snow to be gone by now.  Not so here.  Not only are there dirtied remnants of it, but where the earth is uncovered it is mucky with dead grass and litter exposed. Despite the ickiness, the Spring feeling still permeates with the lengthening of the days.  Not long now until the crocuses start breaking through.  Time to start start dusting the bicycles off.

…is the one you have with you” is a trademark app for iPhone made by Chase Jarvis (see following link for more info: http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2009/09/the-best-camera-iphone-app-book-community/).

Recently, I got to put at least the concept into practice.  Although I am way behind in getting an iPhone, I do have a blackberry.  It came in handy one evening this week capturing one of the last few brilliant xc skis left of the season here in in Ottawa.  Quality of these photo taking technologies is really ramping up.   May not be that sharp but it does have a bit of that grainy feel of older film.  Not sure this will become a favourite mode of photo-taking but it did capture the magic of this late March afternoon.

last ski of the season

Ottawa’s Little Italy is host to the annual Italian Festival which concludes with a criterium.  A criterium, or ‘crit’,  is a bike race held on a short course, often on closed downtown roads.

pace car leads the riders

The riders require good technical skills.  Things like the ability to round corners smoothly and to ride safely in a tightly packed group (at high speeds).  The best have excellent ‘sprint’ or ‘attack’ abilities.

riding in a pack

The distance of this particular crit is 100KM or 60 laps of a 1.65KM rectangle in this core neighbourhood.  It is an exhilirating event to watch, and inevitably there is a crash or two.

readying to round a corner

At some point in one’s life, whether you are a serious cyclist or not, you need to see this race in action.  It’s an exciting spectacle to watch.

Carl Kiifner, one of my husband's riding buddies, takes 4th place

June.  It’s graduation time!  We have a few in the family this year including my sister-in-law’s from Le Cordon Bleu right here in Ottawa.  You hear me go on about all the great things about Ottawa.  Having a chapter of this Parisian culinary institute here in our backyard, is just another reason.

Kim undertook the three month intensive Basic Cuisine course and immersed herself in learning the fundamentals of classic French cooking.  Personally, I look forward to her serving us up ‘le lapin’ .   That wasn’t enough though, she also committed to start training for another half-ironman (coming up in September).  Check out her adventures at www.halfironchef.com

Well done, Kim!

It seems that swimming, soccer, cycling and running are not enough sports in my household for the spring.  Add tennis.  We love our neighbourhood in Ottawa.  One of the endearing qualities is the proximity to activities we can walk to. Take St. James Tennis Club.  Just across the street and through the park.  Commute time:  2 minutes at leisurely pace.  Small.  Affordable.  After-school tennis lessons.  Just what our young ‘uns want to meet up with buddies and use up some energy.

Another assignment from the David Trattles workshop was to photograph the Byward Market in a way we haven’t before.  It took me awhile to get inspired.  I’ve taken plenty of photos of produce and market stalls so that wasn’t going to cut it.  It was a busy afternoon so I kept wandering past the hustle and bustle, crossed Dalhousie and headed further down George Street.  I ended up by the Salvation Army, otherwise affectionately known as “Sally Anne” in Canada (” Sally Army” in the UK).  In Canada, the Salvation Army is the largest non-governmental provider of social services.  It offers a suite of programs including shelter beds for homeless as well as addiction services.  Being a warm day there were lots of gentlemen outside the George Street location.   I approached a few, started chatting and eventually asked for permission to take some photos explaining my assignment and new blog adventure.  They were more than happy to oblige.

I ended up with some pretty meaningful photos but more importantly a good reminder.  The men I spoke to were more then happy to have someone take an interest in them and even just acknowledge their existence.   The conversations also reinforced the point David was making, everyone has a story to tell.   The thing that amazed me, even with being down and out, the spark you can see in some of their eyes.

It was a good pause.  Next time, rather than just rushing by in oblivion and getting on with my day, I’ll stop again.

Spring, a time for rebirth and new beginnings, seems an opportune time to make my inaugural blog post.

Spring in Ottawa is characterized by the blooming of millions of tulips, well over 2 million.  The start of tulips characterizing this city dates back to 1945 when Princess Julianna of the Netherlands gave Ottawa 100,000 tulip bulbs.  This gift acknowledged the safe haven provided by Canada to the Princess and her daughters during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.  It also recognized the role the Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands.  The tulip came to symbolize international friendship and is now the official flower of Ottawa.

In 1953, Malak Karsh (the other brother) suggested the idea of the first tulip festival in Ottawa.   While Yousef Karsh was world-renowned for his portraits, Malak too was an accomplished photographer.  Some say his photos “immortalized the tulip.”  The Canadian Tulip Festival has become a yearly event and is the largest of its kind in the world.

This year with unseasonably warm temperatures, the tulips broke ground early in mid-April.  By last weekend, the start of the festival, the flowers were at the height of their fullness.  Meanwhile, Mother Nature had a change of mind. Heavy rains, high winds, and even frost left many tulips stemless or with furled petals for the start of the event.  The Festival continues through next weekend.  Many of the tulips have had their day, but the late-bloomer ilk will colour the City a little while longer.