Friday, March 25, 2011

Heading North - Part 1

Last Fall, I had the opportunity to travel to Ottawa, Canada.  It was my first time above our northern border, and I have to say - I'm absolutely smitten by Ottawa.  


It is such a beautiful city, even when it's covered in snow (there will be a post about that... eventually).  Luckily, my first trip was in September, so I was able to enjoy the transition from summer to fall.


I was even luckier to have the opportunity to participate in a 'Monuments and Memorials of Ottawa' photo safari hosted by local photographer Ray Pilon and his lovely partner Isabel.  They were extremely knowledgeable about photography and the iconic landmarks of Ottawa - I really could not have asked for a more perfect introduction to such a wonderful city!  In fact, many of the pictures I'm posting here are from that excursion; you can find the rest in the Picasa album from that trip.  It was with their help that I was able to take my photography up a notch - so if you're ever in Ottawa and have a couple of hours to spare, I strongly recommend that you contact Ray and set up a photo safari.  He was extremely kind to schedule a one-on-one excursion for me, so don't think that you need to wait for an already scheduled event!


In addition to improving my photography skills, I also learned quite a bit about the city and its landmarks.  I stayed in the gorgeous Chateau Laurier, which is right next to Parliament Hill, ByWard Market, Rideau Canal and the War Memorial.  I'll have lots more about my visits to those locations in the next post - stay tuned!