Tuesday, July 8, 2008

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

Friday, July 4, 2008

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