WTF Spring? Looks like a blizzard out there

The title for this post says it all! Spring started yesterday and it was a really nice day outside. Sunny, above the freezing mark, and when I look outside now, I wonder, when is it going to end! I remember the groundhog not seeing it's shadow, and now I wonder, how could this be!?!?

midnight reflection

This photo is another attempt to capture light, however through reflection. The pool of water is the reflective matter which is surrounded by snow and pavement. Part of what I hope is a spring thaw, which can't come early enough. The photo didn't come out as good as I had wanted it, but this was my first attempt. I hope to do this again sometime later this year, and see how water can be used to reflect light.

Slushy Sparks Street

Yesterday we received about 20cm of snow and today it's raining! Here's a photo of Sparks Street during the lunch hour. You can see the slushy ground. What a mess, not looking forward to this freezing tonight! I guess that's winter here in Canada and more particularly in Ottawa! I am looking forward to warmer weather.

Visit to Seattle

Today, I went on a road trip to Seattle. I've selected a bunch of photos that I fee represent the best of my day. I joined my friend Theresa and we drove down to what seemed like a pretty rough weather day. There was lots of snow, saw a ditched van, and from the photo, I hope you can see the crappy weather. The snow covered road and sign. However, when we got to Seattle, it was nice and clear. Our day was mostly a little drizzle of rain, but during some parts of the day, it was falling harder than just a drizzle. Glad they have awnings that protect you from some of the water.


The following photo is a road sign that made me laugh. Especially when you consider the person who calls in to be a "hero". I must say that it was entertaining and it did lead to a few laughs during the ride, and don't forget to report violators! Hahahaha.




The following images were taken around The Pike Market. The first was a 3 person band. They were selling CD's at $5/each. I picked up their three cds. We listened to 2 on the way back and I like it. A bit of an East Coast sound but stemming from the West Coast. Other photos are shot around the market,








This was then followed by a visit to the very first Starbucks, established in 1971! Weird that I took so many photos of the place, considering I don't drink their coffee! I did get a few gifts for selected friends who are Starbucks addicts (wondering who is going to get a surprise?).






After our Starbucks visit, we walked down to the Waterfront in hopes of getting a water taxi to Alki, but the taxi doesn't run on weekends. That's not very practical! Anyways, we ended up walking back and noticed a store that I had heard of through my cousin Mat. It's called Utilikilts. They make kilts that aren't just regular kilts, but rather have functional pockets etc. We went in, and found out that that this is their only store, all other retail sales are either done online or at various festivals. Here's a few photos (Check out Theresa who went looking for the bell!):

Theresa found the bell!

The Kilt that holds the beers!

The guy was drinking beer on the job, pretty sweet gig!

Too many photos: Ottawa wanderings and Winterlude

Normally I try to post one photo or a couple of photos at most, but today it was difficult for me to just post one photo. I was out and about around Ottawa and checked out a bit of Winterlude at Confederation Park, and got some nice ice sculpture photos, signs, etc. Then walked in the market and headed for Jaques Cartier Park, and got some nice shots from behind Parliament and then walked across to the bridge headed to to Jacques Cartier Park. As we walked to the front entrance, we were told that the park was closing in 7 minutes and were not allowed in :( The good ole security folks in Quebec refused us entry! Ah well, on the way back, I caught some more photos of Parliament, and other sights around town. Here are some images, check out the slideshow a the bottom or to view all pics in a larger format, follow this link.

Enjoy:

From Winterlude and Ottawa walkabout Feb 12, 2011

From Winterlude and Ottawa walkabout Feb 12, 2011

From Winterlude and Ottawa walkabout Feb 12, 2011

From Winterlude and Ottawa walkabout Feb 12, 2011

Snowy evergreen...

Today, I wasn't sure what photo I was going to take. But then when I saw this tree, I told myself, I need to catch a snowy evergreen. This photo was also influenced by a friend who is also doing a 365 and posted a few photos of trees the other day. So here you go:

Dedication or craziness: winter cycling

Dedication or Craziness?!?!

This morning as I was waiting for the bus, I saw someone riding down the sidewalk and thought to myself, is this just craziness? It's currently -17C (0F) and with the wind -25C (-13F) and on top of that it's snowing and slippery outside. Again is this just craziness or dedication? I had posted about a week ago regarding a bicycle that I had noticed outside a gym where I play volleyball and though, this is just ridiculous, and again this morning I see another cyclist riding down the street with his white toque. Some people just surprise me, and it just happened to be my caption for today.

Winter dedication or just craziness!

Some people just make me wonder. Is it really worth it? I hadn't selected my shot for the day, but I figured I'd get something in the downtown area as I was playing volleyball tonight at a high school gym downtown. I had a few minutes to spare before the game and after I parked my car, I looked around and nothing caught my eye. As I walked closer to the school entrance, right next to the entrance I noticed this bicycle. At first I was thinking, oh my, someone left their bicycle here before the snow, and then took a second look and realized, nope this bike is got here tonight. If you look under the lower frame section, you notice dark glob, well that's dirty snow that has gathered from splashing from the front tire. The person riding this bike even has a contraption to keep his hands warm over the steering wheel! Now, I might do silly things and some people might even think they are crazy at times, but I would not be driving my bicycle at -29 degrees Celsius (including windchill and that is -20 Fahrenheit for those readers South of the border) in the winter. The non windchill weather was around -19 degrees Celsius, and figure the -29 is with regular windchill, not the extra draft/wind that the bicycle produces. Well, not sure what else to say other than this made for an interesting photo today.

Snow covered car...

Today was a snowy day...lots of snow, well not too too much snow, I've seen way worse, but I figured that I hadn't really captured any snow yet in my photos, I'd capture my car covered in a little bit of the white powder.

Winter night, day 5...

It was a long day, wasn't sure what photo I would take. After the first upset of the evening, my team lost at vball. Some of the players decided we'd go to a bar, and I was happy with the idea, as I'd catch the rest of the Canadian vs Russia junior hockey game. This was yet another fiasco. We arrived in the middle of the 2nd, when the score was 2-0, and then it eventually went to 3-0, and then the third period came. The player's overconfidence, and Russia's desire to win made the table turn and quickly Russia tied the game, and then sealed the deal by putting up 2 extra points, to win it 5-2.

I was hoping that my photo was going to be a victory shot in the bar, however that was not the case. Instead, I put away my camera in the bar and figured I would get something else. This shot might seem a bit bizarre, but it's a camaro covered in a light dust of snow with only the shop light offering any light on the scene. There seems to be a blue hue at the top of the photo, that light comes from the street about sixty yards away.