Before this year, I only visited Ottawa once while living in Ontario, and that was just for the day in 2007 on the way back from a jazz festival weekend in Montreal. It’s taken me more than two years to pay another visit, but this is my third visit this year! Funny how things turn out. I was here very briefly with Lachlan in the spring, back again in July, and Ottawa changed its look again for the autumn. Somewhat chillier, but very bearable.

I met up with Zhu again and we fed our photography addiction together this afternoon, shooting mostly outside despite a grey sky. Personally, I am not against a grey sky, it means I have to be a bit more creative and point my camera selectively, whereas a sunny day is like shooting fish in a barrel. (An expression that doesn’t refer to a camera this time!) The major advantage to off-season photography is being able to go where I like without having to jostle anyone for prime position or wait for people to exit out of the frame. Try shooting the Parliament buildings people-free sometime! I still haven’t tried it, but there are always people milling about. Hmmm… I’ve not shot Ottawa in winter, maybe that’s next!

Tomorrow’s supposed to be a bit brighter, so we’ll see what Ottawa Day 2 brings. Today before I met up with Zhu I wandered the Byward Market, crossed the three bridges across the Ottawa River, and shot around the grounds of the Museum of Civilization. Apparently the workers there are on strike and have been since September 21! Although I am not a union worker by choice (evidenced by the fact that I resigned from a perfectly good position with the Ontario government at the beginning of last year without securing employment first), on principle I do not cross picket lines. To date, I have never crossed a picket line and I intend to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Still editing/uploading photos, so I’ll point you to the set as [thumbnails] or [slideshow] or browse in the Pictobrowser below (click to advance to the next photo or click the play button):

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