About NCC river house
"THE NCC RIVER HOUSE, PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS THE NATIONAL CAPITAL RIVER PAVILION AND THE OTTAWA RIVER BOATHOUSE, IS A REMARKABLE STRUCTURE DESIGNED BY ARCHITECT C.P. MEREDITH, AND CONSTRUCTED BETWEEN 1914 AND 1925 FOR THE OTTAWA NEW EDINBURGH CANOE (ONEC) CLUB. IT HAS BEEN THE SITE OF CANOEING, BOATING AND RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR NEARLY A CENTURY."
- NCC CCN
The decision to capture this beauty, was a spur-of-the-moment situation. I had been on the lookout for my next personal Ottawa architecture project to capture next (following The Ingenium) and I saw an article pop up about the newly rejuvenated River house. I actually missed the mention that July 25 was the first day that it was open to the public! I packed up my bag, and asked my sister if she wanted to come along for the ride. Originally, thought I would head there to "scout" and see if it was a good time of day to capture it. As golden hour was quickly approaching I thought I just might hit it on a perfect night. I'm sure the property would be enjoyed by the public any time of year, but a classic warm summer evening on the water seemed the most relatable to me.
The shoot
I want to note with these photo walks; I don’t use a tripod, I don’t heavily edit the images……I take what I see and enjoy the process of capturing a unique building. We arrived shortly after 6PM, and I started shooting right away. Morning light might have given the building a bit more dimension on the front, but I liked the golden rays that were sweeping across the pedestrian bridge. After I got a few pics of the front, I really wanted to investigate underneath the walkway at water level to see the “guts” of the foundation/walkway. This was one of my favourite photos of the day. The place was buzzing! Swimmers, bikers and people relaxing in the red Muskoka chairs all seemed very pleased with the property. I will absolutely be back and perhaps get some morning shots focusing on the east side of the building.
