zhangling❤photography

Four months into 2015 seems like a good time for a pulse check on my new year's resolutions. ...On second thought, let's just focus on the stuff I managed to keep doing. An extra benefit of exploring Ottawa is getting to visit the nearby places on the Quebec side.  I only took advantage of the proximity to Montreal once last year, and made a point of visiting more often this year.  I'm kind of lumping 3 trips to Quebec into one post due to photo-deficiency.  I don't know what it is exactly, maybe the depressing amount snow still falling late April, maybe feeling creatively constipated, but I haven't produced as many photos I'm satisfied with.  Even the ones in this post are more obligatory rather than ones I'm really happy with, with the exception of these two dog ones, of course. such a pretty girl! I ran into these cuties on a trail in Gatineau Park, which is fairly close to downtown Ottawa, but is technically in Quebec.  I've always want...

With the weather the way it is, I thought I had to wait at least until April (maybe even May if April is constantly rainy) to be able to do photoshoots. But a number of things sort of just lined up together; the outfit that I happened to wear home from work, the too-big hat my mom had ordered online, and the weekend I chose to spend in Kingston. I spotted the hat hanging on a coat rack in my mom's room.  When I asked her about it, she said it didn't fit too well so she hadn't really worn it.  Knowing my head is a little bigger than hers, I tried it on, and was instantly transported back in time. With all the class of a Victorian gentleman, I swaggered my way downstairs and took up my rightful place on the throne- I mean, chair. #swag I swear I had this picture in my head long before this was taken -- it never ceases to make me so deliriously happy than to see on the camera what I've only seen before in my imagination. The Kingston house (doesn't it so...

January was a strong start to my new year's resolutions; a week after visiting the art gallery, I went to the Canadian Museum of Nature with John and his little brother. my favourite 7 year-old Can you believe Jaden is only seven?  He is almost as tall as me!  John is bracing himself for the eventual day when he'll be the shorter one of the pair. We started off in the dinosaur exhibit which was an immediate crowd pleaser. In addition to the giant skeletons, they also had life-like recreations.  We had a lot of fun pretending Jaden was being eaten alive (although I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a happy victim.) In the animal exhibits, I was thoroughly impressed with the attention to detail in each display.  The animals were all taxidermied which I think was the main reason behind the realism, but I really appreciated the noticeable effort that went into the arrangements (see below for rabbit poop). arctic fox polar bear display so ...

As part of one of my 2015 new year's resolutions, I visited the National Gallery of Canada. John had come to visit and mentioned that the gallery as well as other museums in Ottawa were free on Thursdays after 5pm. I was especially excited once I heard they had coat check, as it's been so dreadfully cold lately, I haven't been able to dress nicely without having to cover it up with many many layers. Staring seriously at some serious art I was pretty torn between wanting photos of my outfit as well as hogging the camera to capture all my favourite pieces of art. why not have both? surrounded by art We started with Contemporary Art, which was a lot of fun.  Sometimes (a lot of the times) I didn't really know what I was looking at. And I’m not going to pretend to be super-cultured and knowledgeable about art or art history, but I knew that looking at different pieces invoked different emotions, and those that made me feel strongly were the ones that I ...