A national capital’s architecture is almost inevitably politically and historically charged. Although it has only been open for a few years, the new Canadian War Museum is recognized for the symbolism of its design. By photographing a more unusual and abstract angle of the monument, it was my intention to neutralize that symbolism and push the viewer to appreciate the structure for its finer lines, shapes and textures.

 CRYSTAL WEISNER

An artist can be a mirror of what we see and feel in our lives. In my photographs I try to create a reflection of myself as well as life itself. In this photograph, I deliberately display distortion in the reflection of buildings.
    Using vehicles seen parked on the side of the road, I use the reflections off of the shiny, smooth, yet curved, surface of the cars.  The distortion creates a different point of view to look at the world; an unattractive apartment building becomes something beautiful. When life is looked at from a different vantage point, everything can have beauty in it.

GEOFF ORGAN

High school is the time in our lives where we learn to live and grow up. It can be for some a place of memories and for others it can be torture. Heading back to high school for me to take this photo brought back equal amounts of good and bad memories in a place where I spent the better part of my teenage life? So after spending some time photographing places where I experienced these memories I couldn’t help but take this photo as it really captures what I felt like leaving high school and entering the “real world.”

MAGIDA EL-KASSIS

The small towns within Ottawa are what make this big city. That is where all the stories lie and the people are most interesting. I see beauty in the unordinary; and try to make my perception into reality with the pictures I take.

MICHELLE  WILSON

95 1/2 O'Connor represents a new interpretation of architecture and a new direction in my artistic practice. Constructed spaces are no longer backdrops for my images, they have become the artwork itself. I love creating and photographing my own worlds. That they should be known only through my photographs, however, seemed insufficient. Inserting the set into a public space acts as a portal into the imagination. My territory is internal, this is my way of inviting you in.

PETER FARRIS MANNING

How I think about our local territory derives in part from my knowledge of the people who live here, their activities, and the role our city plays as the nation’s capital. There are also many strong visual architectural elements which shape the way I think about our city. The National Gallery of Canada is an impressive glass and granite structure situated in a prestigious setting, and is both an important cultural landmark and art museum. This dramatic image invites the viewer to contemplate the gallery anew, and contributes to a visual identity for the city.

GREG ZEHNA

Rather than exploring interior design, this photograph (as one of a series) explores the designing of ideals. People feel more at peace in a natural environment. In this interior space, we are asked to deny organic principles of humanity. The unspoken consensus of accepting one's surroundings is integral to living in Ottawa.
 

NATHALIA PACHECO

During my exploration of Ottawa, I came across what appeared to be a small door on the second story of a cement wall building. It was remarkably unnoticeable to the casual passerby, and yet upon closer observation it seemed like this was not a door at all or if it had ever been, why was it located so high up where no one could access it? Why was it made distinctly smaller than an average person's height? Where would it have led? Why had it been closed in? If it wasn't ever a door, why did it have what appeared to be a handle? All these questions from a simple, disguised element of architecture that is completely unimportant in design, yet fascinating in imagined mystery.
 

SARAH KIRWAN