Ottawa Tulip Festival 2011

Ah the Tulip Festival. You all know how much I love it (and I know how much a certain one of you hates it). It is my favourite Ottawa Festival and it is finally here. The above image was taken earlier today at the Dows Lake Pavilion location. Dave and I toured the tulip beds for a couple of hours, had some yummy food and then went home. The tulips are a little late this year (as are the ones in my backyard) so there were a great deal of un-bloomed flowers around and empty looking flower beds, but all in all it was still very pretty and i enjoyed the nice walk and photography-filled afternoon.

One Minute Writer #57

Write about a purchase you made that was not worth the money.

Some time ago I bought a 70-300mm telephoto lens for my photography. I love the ability to shoot at this distance and the only reason I am unhappy with this purchase is because I bought the older, non-Vibrance Reduction (VR) version. For only about 100-150 dollars more I could have gotten the newer, VR version. I find that my current lens is hard to focus and get exactly the shot (composition) that I want because of the vibration I get when it is at the maximum focal length (300mm). I plan on upgrading this lens but am not sure if I will get the VR version or wait until I can afford the f2.8 version.

Stony Swamp

 

 

 

 

I went for a walk today along one of the Stony Swamp Trails called Lime Kiln. It was during this walk that I remember why I usually only go in the Spring and Fall – bugs. There were so many mosquitoes and deer/black flies buzzing around it was ridiculous. As a result, I am now covered in bug bites and am feeling very itchy. It is a very nice trail though.
“The Flood Lime Kiln is one of the few remaining examples of a 19th-century industrial lime kiln in Canada. Lime was an important building and household chemical used to make mortar, fertilizer, whitewash, plaster and many other products. Francis Flood built this kiln in the late 1800s on a miniature escarpment of exposed limestone bedrock known as the Hazeldean Fault. Most lime producers went out of business in the early 1900s as new larger industrial kilns  were constructed and Portland cement was introduced from Europe. The Flood ceased operations in 1906, and the site was abandoned and fell into disrepair. The ruins of the kiln were rediscovered and its significance realized in the 1970s. The site was restored in 1999.” From one of the plaques at the Lime Kiln Trail.
I had tried to get to the Lime Kiln last year but ended up at Chipmunk and/or Beaver trail every time I ventured out that way. You see as I drive down Moodie Drive to get to the parking lots, I always get excited and end up turning into one of the first ones and walking along that trail. Parking lot 10 is the entrance to the Lime Kiln trail and is situated a little bit down the road, past parking lots 8 and 9 where you gain access to Chipmunk/Beaver and Jack Pine trail, respectively. This time I worked very hard on driving past these lots and toward lot 10.
Despite the bugs, I managed to get some nice shots of the ruins and of a happy, little frog (okay, terrified, fairly large frog) that sat for me for quite some time.

Finally a Header

The Great Abyss finally has a header! This also means that there is no longer an “Under Construction” sign above my posts.
The header was made by me with the use of Photoshop Art History brush. It is a little tricky to use sometimes, but I think this came out pretty good considering this is really only my second time using the technique.

Tulip Festival 2010

Yesterday was the first day of the tulip festival – my favourite festival in Ottawa.
I ventured out to Commissioners Park, the tulip site I visit the most during the festival, a week before it all started to see how the tulips were doing and was able to get some shots of the early bloomers. You see, like the tulips in my backyard, the Tulip Festival tulips also bloomed early, I suspect due to the odd weather we had at the end of winter/beginning of spring.
Dave and I went out on the starting day of the Festival as we had the day off from work (a nice reward for working 20 hours the weekend before – 14.5 of which were consecutive). There weren’t too many people out and about as it was a Friday, but there were enough that I actually had to be patient and wait for tourists to take photos with their iPhones and of course the obligatory self-portraits.
I was able to get a few good shots, though not as many as I would have liked.
Anyway, the point of this post was to direct you to my photography blog and my Flickr site as both will have numerous tulip shots from the festival for the next little while. Photos on my blog will be interspersed with 100 Possibilities shots and a few other things I have done recently, but worry not as the tulips are out in full force and my camera is more than ready for them.

Above Photo: White Stuff

Garden 2010 Part III

I spent a little while out in the backyard this past weekend getting to know this year’s tulips (I realize they are the same tulips bulbs as last year and are therefore the same colours in the same spots, but the quality of each is a little different). This is the latest photo of my backyard tulips. Other than the fact that there is little grass in the backyard, and there are giant thistle-y weeds present (I have to get some gloves before I can remove them), the backyard is once again a pleasant place.

Garden 2010 Part I & II

PART I

I wasn’t sure if they would make it through the winter, as they weren’t very deep in the ground when the snow finally came, but the tulips lived. I first noticed they were sprouting in early March.

As you can see from the photo above, the snow was still around when they started coming up. What you likely can’t see is the the flowers in the middle elliptical bed are not nearly as tall as the ones on the outer bed – likely because the snow took longer to leave that area.
I was really worried when they came up so early as a couple more nights of frost came after they had sprouted. But they made it through that too.
PART II
I unfortunately I didn’t get out in the garden until this past weekend to take some shots of the tulips. This photo was taken the second day of April – don’t they look much livelier?! I do love my tulips.

Sears Tower

I went to the Sears Tower, which is now called the Willis Tower, on a Wednesday night, which turned out to be very handy in terms of not having to wait in line for up to two hours. The tower itself is 110 stories tall but the skydeck where the tourists gather, is at 103 stories. I walked around the skydeck, reading the tidbits of information and Chicago history around the floor. I browsed the skydeck gift shop, which was very overpriced. I waited for quite some time to get clear views at each window location. Then I got to the Skydeck Ledge. The Skydeck Ledge is a small 'glass' box that edges over the side of the building. There are currently three Ledges with one under construction. Now if you remember my trip to London over a year ago, I got very afraid when we climbed to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. This wasn't that bad though. I stepped out carefully and managed to stand there long enough to get a couple decent shots through the glass and of course, a photo to prove I stood out on the Ledge (the shoes in this picture later got sliced somehow and are on their way to retirement).I then waited for another hour and half or so until the sun went down and I could take some night shots of the city from above it. Turned out to not be the best place or time to take the type of shots I wanted as the visibility was pretty low when I was up top, but I am still happy with the trip up to the top of the Sears Tower.

Michigan Avenue

Michigan Avenue is the major north-south road in Chicago. It is home to the Art Institute of Chicago, the Magnificent Mile, Millennium Park and the Chicago Water Tower. It also happens to be the place I visited the most during my time in Chicago. This was mainly because it was the easiest place for me to get to as it was literally around the corner from the hotel. It also because Michigan Avenue happened to be incredibly photogenic. I really enjoyed walking the street and since it was populated at all hours, it seemed relatively safe even at night.

Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago is absolutely enormous and has some stunning works of art. Some of its more notable pieces include Van Gogh's Self Portrait, Gustave Caillebotte's Paris Street; Rainy Day and Grant Wood's American Gothic. I did my best to see as many of the notable pieces during the 3 hours of free admission on Thursday evenings, but the place is huge and it seems impossible to get everything in on even a month worth of free nights than on the one that I had to spend there.The exterior of the building is just as breathtaking though. I passed by it several times as I walked around Michigan Avenue and each time I had to stop to take it in.
The Grand Staircase was the first place that I got lost. I guess I misunderstood the layout of the building and I ended up walking around them at least twice before I realized where I was and where the areas I wanted to visit were. I wish I could have spent more time there and been able to take things in better.
Those of you who know me, know how much I love Impressionist art - Monet in particular, so that of course was the first place I tried to get to. I walked slowly through the Renoir room, the Van Gogh room and the various artist room (including Edgar Degas) and then got to a room that made me want to cry - The Monet room. Not only did this collection have the Water Lilies, but it had not one, not two but six haystack paintings. These paintings were created by Monet in the Autumn and Spring of 1890. There are 25 of these paintings and this is the largest number of them I have ever seen at once. As simple as these paintings are, they are my favourite impressionist paintings. One on its own is good but multiple paintings arranged together is so beyond words beautiful.

Millennium Park

Millennium Park is located along Michigan Avenue in Chicago and is the spot I spent the most time taking photos during my visit. It was only about a 15 minute walk from my hotel room and I was able to go there 4 times both during the day and at night.According to the website, it is an award winning centre for art, music, architecture and landscape design. I can vouch for the art, architecture and landscape design, but unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to listen to any of the concerts which take place in the large amphitheatre.It also happens to be the place where I completed my first assignment for my Composition and Design course. The below image is the large mercury orb, which is actually called the Cloud Gate, that was the primary subject for my urban landscape photos. I am unsure as to what the 10 means on the building in the background. The next night, it displayed a 9 so obviously it was some sort of countdown, but I don't know what it was counting down to. I can't seem to find any information about it online either. I think this was my favourite spot in Chicago. It was free and opened most hours and was of course beautiful. Even with the large number of people walking about the park, I was still able to get a great deal of shots with little to no people in them, which is always a big plus in my books. Returning to this location again and again during my trip did limit the number of other locations I was able to go to, but I thought it was worth it.

One Minute Writer #40

What is the last city that you visited, for the first time? What did you think of it?

I was going to write a brief summary Chicago post and then realized that One Minute Writer had started one for me already. I spent this past week in Chicago completing an Asbestos Fibre Counting course (NIOSH 582) for work. The course itself was pretty good, though I had a few problems seeing certain fibres in the beginning but eventually got the hang of it. In the end, I received 100% on the theory exam (simple theory questions and a few even easier math problems) and passed the practical (there was only pass or fail, no grade). There was only one other person who aced the theory exam, and he had to recount one of his slides during the practical, so I guess I got the top mark (If you know me at all, you know this is what I was aiming for).
As the course ran from 8am to 5pm, there wasn't much time to take in the sites of the city, but myself and Kyle, the other DST employee who went, did our best. We walked around Michigan Avenue and I went to the Sears Tower (which is now called the Willis Tower) and the Art Institute of Chicago. I took a great deal of photos, most of which were night photos taken with my new Gorillapod. I was able to finish my photography assignment with ease as the tourism board does a really good job of lighting up the buildings and art in an interesting fashion. I even got a woman's business card while I was taking photos near the Art Institute one night. I wasn't able to see everything, but I got to see some really great stuff and am pretty happy with how much tourist stuff I was able to cram into my business trip (my first I might add).
As usual, I plan on posting my images on my photography blog and a few choice ones here with a little more details about the trip. But for now, I thought Chicago was beautiful, for the most part, and would go back again if given the chance.

Post Cottage 2009 (aka Vacation #3)

The receipts have been counted and tallied, the car has been washed, vacuumed and generally de-sanded and the photographs (for the most part) have been downloaded to the computer. Now comes the process of editing and retouching and displaying the memories.
Cottage 2009 was a very successful trip and was definitely a great vacation #3. It did well as the final summer vacation of 2009 and, like every year, I am very thankful to Chris and her family for allowing us to join them at their cottage.Friday afternoon we headed out of Ottawa with a very full car and drove Erin out to Belleville. We then had the worst Pizza Hut experience ever as it took 2 hours to get, eat and pay for our food, for which they attempted to overcharge us. Driving the rest of the way was pleasant and we got into Paris at about 11 after picking up Justin from Brantford. Saturday morning we drove to Long Point and arrived at the cottage at about lunch time.
I love Chris' Cottage - it is so pleasant and peaceful. The moment you walk through the door you are instantly calmed and all the troubles of the real world are lifted from your shoulders. Sunday morning Dave and Justin headed to his family reunion while Chris, Jerrica and I went sailing with Chris' family. It was an incredibly windy day and despite the fact that I was perfectly fine on the boat last year, I got sea-sick. I did not get physically sick though, which is good because according to Chris' uncle no one has thrown up on the Meridian yet (he would know since he is one of the owners of the boat). When the guys got home we made a fire and had delicious smores. (pictures to come at a later date - stupid SD card).Monday was the Too Late for Canada Day party, an event we usually miss as we have to head back to Ottawa that day but since we were staying extra long this year, we got to participate. Dave made a little buddy very quickly and learned even faster that this particular little buddy was not the type you want to have. We ended up hiding out in our room playing Guitar Hero for a little bit to relax and by the time we came out, the little buddy was gone. I practiced my night photography a bit more this night but am not entirely pleased with how they came out.Tuesday was pretty low-key. We went swimming as we had every day and played a fair bit of Settlers. We went grocery shopping and made Pad Thai for dinner, which I am told was pretty good. A little more settlers later and the night was over.Unfortunately we have come to Wednesday, which was the day we left. We drove back to Ottawa sad and tired. Dave and I had to keep switching as we were both really tired and neither of us could drive for very long. Oh and as a side note, never go to the Brantford bus station unless you really have to - that place is so sketch!

Leftovers de Montreal

This is just a couple additional Montreal items that aren't really enough for individual posts.

Dave and I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on Renee-Levesque Blvd. It is right near China town but also right near some sketchy alleyways, which made for an odd dynamic. The Hotel itself was really nice. It was super clean and the people were really nice. Like most Holiday Inns, it had free hot breakfast in the morning which usually consisted of eggs, cinnamon buns, some sort of meat (it changed depending on the day) and then the typical breads, waffles, yogurts and cereals. There was also free coffee, and other hot beverages, available throughout the day. I booked our room not really knowing what I was getting, or what I was doing. I just picked the lowest price for a queen bed. In the end we got a really nice room. It had a little kitchenette in it which was really convenient since I ended up making us a microwave lasagna our first night and we were able to buy some fruit and water and keep it in the fridge. The bed was comfy and the TV had cable which was a nice treat for Dave and I. The view wasn't anything spectacular but it was nice, and the fact that we had an actual full door (though no terrace) was rather nice. All in all, it was a nice hotel and I would go there again. Though the valet parking was a little annoying as once we parked the car it was a little annoying to get it back shortly thereafter, though the attendants didn't make it seem like one.
A big feature of the Montreal skyline (well part of it) is Parc Olympique and the tower therein. You can go up the Tower and see the city from above, which would have been really nice, but when we first got there the sky was not nice and later on we were tired and didn't really want to go up. I think there is also some sort of museum at the base of the tower, but I am not sure as we didn't go in. I was able to take a bunch of photographs of the tower from both near the base and from the Botanical Gardens as well. I enjoyed that part for sure. We did however notice that the tower could do with some repairs. A few of the side panels had fallen off and/or were very damaged. It could also do with a fresh coat of paint, but I guess Montreal Tourism money goes elsewhere.
Montreal was great, and we will definitely be going back again - though we may use the transit to get around next time (at least on weekend nights) as the traffic was crazy!

Botanical Gardens

So I have been saving one of the best locations for last. I partially saved it for last because it is the place where I took the most photographs and therefore had the greatest amount of editing to be done.The Botanical Gardens was absolutely gorgeous. It was a slightly rainy day, but that didn't hinder the photography or the experience at all. The foliage within the greenhouses were vibrant and beautiful and despite the fact that you are not allowed tripods within the greenhouses (for space reasons) I was still able to get some nice shots. Dave and I were also able to set the camera up on rocks and take some semi-long exposure shots. There weren't very many people there, so that helped with the longer shots as well.I think one of the more interesting greenhouses was the ones with the bonsai and the Chinese equivalent, penjing. There was a little robin in the one area that I thought was fake. I stared at the little guy and moved my camera near him and he did not move. We walked on and when we did walk back, he had moved to a new location and was wandering around the little trees. It was very spooky, but he was adorable so I forgave him for it.We eventually found our way out of the greenhouses and walked around the exterior gardens. They were just as nice and they were in extreme humidity so both Dave and I were able to stop sweating so much and my camera was able to stop fogging up every ten minutes or so. We walked around the 'normal' gardens and found our way over to the Chinese exterior gardens. They were simply breathtaking in their beauty. Dave asked me to take as many shots as possible of the architecture around the gardens and I did not object. I'm not entirely sure what my favourite shot is from that garden, but I am putting these ones on this blog and I am sure the rest will eventually make their way on to my photography blog in the near future.We then walked over to the Insectarium which is located on the garden grounds. It is a small little pavilion similar to those at the Toronto Zoo, and is absolutely stuffed with one man's collection which he donated to the gardens. They have since added to it and are displaying live insects as well, but the majority of it apparently all belonged to one man whose name I forget right now. There were some really neat looking bugs on display, both alive and dead, and some absolutely massive ones! It was pretty neat, though I hope I never run into the vast majority of that collection in the wild.

Fireworks

Our original plans for the Montreal trip did not include fireworks but when Yan brought up the international competition happening Saturday evenings. We walked the somewhat dodgy path down to the harbour to watch the fireworks. Due to heavy foot traffic we were a little late and were still walking to a good shooting location when they started.Dave and I set up my tripod and I got the remote hooked up. It took a few practice shots, but eventually I got the hang of it and just had to wait for the right type of fireworks to shoot up into the sky. As previously mentioned, we then spent a little while taking night shots of the architecture around Vieux Port and then walked back to the hotel and drove Yan home.
The trip that should have taken 15-20 minutes took over an hour and a half! The ride consisted of downtown Montreal on a Saturday evening - yes it was an incredibly bad idea, I know. Anyway, we eventually make it through the horrible driver and mean Quebecers cursing our Ontario, personalized plates and got Yan back to his car. The drive back wasn't nearly as long and we made it back to the hotel at about 1:00 or 1:30 in the morning, which made getting up early the next day particularly difficult.

St. Joseph's Oratory

St. Joseph's Oratory was a last minute addition to our Montreal trip, but boy am I glad we went. Not only was the Oratory itself breathtaking, but the view was amazing. I got a chance to take some panoramic shots and use the Photomerge feature in Photoshop.The Oratory has become a famous location not only because of the gigantic and beautiful architecture, but also because of one brother in particular. Frere Andre (aka Blessed Brother Andre) was a Holy Cross Brother and is very famous among French-Canadian Catholics. The Oratory and the small chapel in Brother Andre's name are littered with crutches and walking sticks from people who came to visit Frere Andre during his time to be healed, honestly the below photo is a ridiculously small portion of them.It is reported that performed thousands of healing miracles during his lifetime. Since his death in 1937, he has performed one posthumuous mircale - curing one of the patrons of cancer. The miracle was credited by the Pope at the time and his followers are now awaiting his second posthumuous miracle which would label him a Saint, officially. His heart lies within the Oratory still at his request as he believed it would protect the structure. People came to the Oratory everyday to pray to be healed. The stairs of the Oratory are considered to be a sort of pilgrimage, and upon arrival, one can pray right at the tomb of Frere Andre. It was moving to see so many ill people obviously praying for their health, but more touching to see the apparently healthy people praying for loved ones to be healed.The Oratory itself, is breathtaking. For a little comparison, St. Joseph's Oratory is taller than St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England. Both Dave and I took a great deal of photos from inside the Oratory and I am very pleased with how my camera behaved. Though we had brought it with us and photography was 100% acceptable inside, I didn't feel right using my tripod.There will be lots of shots from here on my Photography blog over the next little while for sure, that is how please I am with the vast majority of them.

Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal

When planning the trip to Montreal the first place to see on my list was Notre Dame Basilica. It is noted to be 'one of the crown jewels of Montreal' and was absolutely a place I had to see.
When we went to the fireworks and I took all the nights shots, I thought of going to Notre Dame Basilica to see what it was like at night. I did not, however, know where I was and didn't really want to make Dave and Yan walk around downtown so late when I had already made them wait for me while I was taking shots down at the harbour. Turns out, they have a light show most nights and it would have been pretty neat, but the night was still great and I am rather pleased with the shots I was able to get during the day on Sunday when we travelled there.
Of course going on a Sunday wasn't the greatest idea as there was obviously church in session when we went. We stepped inside and as expected, no photographs were allowed. It was beautiful though - breathtaking really.Dave and I then spent about 30 minutes taking photos of the exterior of the church as well as the fountain nearby the church. In fact, I took more photos of the fountain than of the church itself. It was a really nice fountain, and with the help of my tripod, I was able to practice my moving water shots.

Parc du Mont Royal

After checking in at our hotel, Dave and I headed to Parc du Mont Royal. The drive there was very pleasant and a nice change from the hectic traffic ridden drive into the city. It was all uphill and had spectacular views of the city. There were some pro-level bikers using the hill as training ground and I found them to be very impressive. Once we parked and figured out where in the massive park we were, we started wandering aimlessly around. There were rock statues situated throughout the park which would have made for some great shots if the sky had been a little nicer. I did however, manage to take a few shots of some of the more ornate and natural looking ones, like the above picture. I am not entirely sure what this one was supposed to be, and doubt anyone can help me since this is a very close-up shot, as most of my shots tend to be, but I found it to be very interesting looking.We then walked around the park and into the Mont Royal Cemetery which is nearby. I know this seems weird, visiting a cemetery on your vacation, but I find them to be very beautiful and this one was no exception.The place was packed of tombstones and mausoleums but didn't have very many living people when we were there, though it is very large and it would be easy to walk through it and never see anyone, despite them also being there with you.
It was a very nice walk, but by the end I was utterly exhausted and we ended up spending the rest of the night in our hotel room watching cable TV and eating lasagna I made us in our microwave, which was delicious.

Cirque du Soleil - Ovo

Though Dave and I had been planning on going to Montreal 'sometime' it was the purchase of our Cirque du Soleil tickets for Ovo that decided the actual date and made the trip a reality. The show was amazing, like I knew it would be, and I strongly recommend going if you are even the least bit able to. As previously mentioned, it is a show about insects and the world they live in. It was adorable and breathtaking to say the least. The acts were spectacular and at times, kept you on the edge of your seat. It was however, the show during which Dave and I learned that there are 'not good' seats. We sat in what turned out to be the wrong seats and were unable to see a small portion of the stage. When we moved we learned that the focus of the seating selection should not be getting as close to the stage as possible but rather to get in middle rows whenever possible. Unfortunately, there was a lighting post that blocked part of the back wall and took away from the trampoline act slightly.All the acts revolved around a different insect. One I was most looking forward to was the one dealing with ants (above image from here). They did amazing things with kiwi fruit and mini corncobs. The tossed each other around and were flawless throughout their entire performance. Their costumes were also the cutest as the rest of the female costumes were sexier than they were cute. I think this was likely my favourite act. Dave's favourite act, as I knew it would be, was the trampoline act. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, this was the act that was partially blocked, but it was still really great.I took the above photograph after watching the fireworks at le Vieux Port. The last few minutes of the fireworks all I could think of was which buildings I was going to photograph since the lighting on the really old buildings down there was fantastic and I couldn't resist them. I am really happy with not only the shot, but the fact that I finally was able to photograph the big top. Every time Dave and I have gone to Cirque shows in the past I have left my camera at home, since you are not able to use them within the big top and I never wanted to risk losing it or getting it stolen. I am also glad I took this shot as the next day when we were walking around Vieux Port, the clouds were not friendly and would have provided a massively overexposed skyline.