January 25 - Our link to the Twin Towers

I just found out today that the architect who built the World Trade Centre in New York (Minoru Yamasaki)  also designed our Dr. Archer Library.  Who knew?  The building is listed in the Wikipedia article about Minoru Yamasaki.

The Y-shaped pillars and windows enclosing the main floor echo the design of th main entrance/lobby to the Towers.  [It is even easier to see the resemblance when there is not snow piled up in the courtyard in front of the building.    :-)   ]

January 24 - We belong to one world

The hallway in the South Residence Building features flags representing all the international students who have attended the University of Regina. It also contains a few provincial flags as well (yeah Alberta!)

It is very colourful and brightens my day every time I walk down it.

January 23 - Happy Chinese New Year

Many locations around campus acknowledged the Chinese New Year. This photo was one taken outside a coffee shop in the Riddell Centre.

January 22 - Hallways of learning

I work at the University of Regina. It's a lovely campus with many interesting architectural features. For the rest of this month and for the month of February, I will be taking photos of different aspects of the buildings I work in. I'll be trying new techniques - some will work - some will fail. But that's why I started this blog: to improve my photography skills and to create a record of Regina whether it be good, bad or ugly.

Today's photo is of the hallway in front of the Archer Library. It is a very dark entrance to get into the library (shown on the left) but the hallway always draws your eye past it to the light beyond.

January 21 - Feeling poorly...

I've had a migraine for the past week, so I haven't been posting. I am feeling better today and will catch up on my posts.

This first pic is one I took of my best friend's dog, Charlie. Too cute for words and it always cheers me up.

January 20 - Leg. Building

I am posting twice on the 20th as I didn't post on the 18th because of SOPA and have been running a day late since. After this post, I will be caught up again.

This was also taken from my car window after taking the January 19 photo.  It is of the Provinical Legislative building at sunset.  Because it snowed earlier this week and because it has been so cold, the snow in the gardens is pristine and untouched. No one is outside walking over it because they don't want to be outside.

However, it is supposed to warm up to a balmy -10C tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

January 19-Skyscrapers across Regina's skyline

This was taken from my car (as it is still -40C with the windchill during the day). In the distance, across Wascana Lake, you can see the faint outline of a crane building the next skyscraper in Regina's downtown core.

Regina is different from other cities I've lived in. Their idea of a skyscraper is 20 storeys. Calgary's idea of a skyscraper is 50 storeys. But regardless of how you define a skyscraper, Regina is building another one. It will be interesting to see how it changes our skyline once it is completed.

January 18 - SOPA

I agree with the SOPA movement, spearheaded by Wikipedia. Would we be able to take photographs of statues and monuments in our town freely, or would we have to get the permission of the artist or owner of the work first? Could blogs like this even exist?

That's why there is no photo for this date.

January 17 - Climbing the walls

This is a photo I took in the summer of 2010. The store has since relocated, but I enjoyed the double-take when I first saw their "worker" hanging off the side of their building. It certainly caught my eye...He was certainly a dedicated "worker" patiently fixing that one spot, regardless of rain, sleet or snow.

January 16 - Memories of warmer times...

I took this photo last summer of one of the best burger joints in town...the original Burger Baron. They make the best, juiciest burgers in Regina.

Something to remind us that summer will return as we shiver in -30 C weather.

January 15 - Training Centre for the Regina Fire Department

I snapped this photo yesterday before the snow started to fall as I will not be at my computer after this morning.
This is a picture of the Education and Training Centre for the RFD. The building looks a bit boring, but off to the left-side is a cement tower. (I was driving too fast and missed catching it in the shot.)
The RFD fills that cement tower with combustable material and burn so recruits learn how to enter buildings and conduct search patterns.  I've never seen them training in that building, but you can see the soot marks on the outside as you drive by.

January 14 - Victoria Park today

You will see that I am submitting three posts in one day; it is because I wasn't able to get to a computer until this moment to download the pictures in my camera. (I'm going to see about changing the settings on my smart phone so I can upload and blog on the run.)
This photo is of Victoria Park from 11th Avenue and Lorne Street.  City Council (why, I will never know) decided to change the free-flowing traffic in the downtown core to create a 'festival place' beside Victoria Park. They promised they would have traffic going down 11th once it was completed. They said it would be done in a year.
Well, after spending millions of dollars, this is what we got. Metal structures that look like the fence of a concentration camp. The lamp poles look like light sabres out of Star Wars. No one goes downtown because the traffic is so screwed. And no one goes to the festival place to hang out. (Do you see anyone in that picture? It was taken at 4 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon when the temperature was -5C [that's warm for Regina in January.])
What a colossal waste of money. I hope people remember that when it comes time to the election. Wasting that much money during tough economic times is a shame.

January 13 - Plains Hotel today

Here is the vacant lot where the Plains Hotel used to sit (I blogged about it earlier this week and around this same time in 2010.) Sorry about all the poles, but I was behind some cars and couldn't make it to the front of the intersection to take the photo.
The empty lot makes the intersection look bare and uninviting. I hope they begin construction soon.

January 12: Honouring Regina College's war dead

When you go in through the main doors of the College Avenue Campus, you see a brass plaque to the left that lists in the center panel the12 Regina College students who died fighting for Canada during the First World War.

The two side panels list all students who fought for Canada during the war, and whether they were injured in battle. There is over 100 names on the side panel.

Considering that Regina College only opened its doors to students in 1911 and Regina only had about 3,000 residents at that time...to have over 100 of your students/alumni fighting in the war would have been a significant number of people.

In today's hectic society, its easy to forget the sacrifices of past generations. This is my way to say thank-you.

January 11-last photo of the Plains Hotel

Although it is just a dirt plot now, I was able to take this photo of the Plains Hotel while driving in my car. I took the photo just before it was torn down last month.
It looks quite run down when compared to the original shot of the Plains Hotel I took on January 10, 2010.
It will be refreshing to see a new building being constructed in Regina on that site.

January 10 - Early morning in downtown Regina

My camera is on the fritz, so I had to use the camera on my cell phone to take this photo this morning as I waited for the bus. As you can see, there is no snow anywhere in the downtown core. No wonder since it was 5.7 C yesterday! Weare supposed to get a centimetre or two of snow this week, but I'm not holding my breath.

January 7 - Last year's snow storm

Well, it is one of many storms experienced last winter. This is a photo I took while driving last January. It is certainly different than what it looks like outside today. (I'll post that photo tomorrow.)

January 6 - Pelicans on Wascana Lake

It has been so warm the last few days that it could be spring. To remind us of how lovely spring and summer are in Regina, I am posting this photo I took last fall of the flock of pelicans swimming on Wascana Lake.
I heard that they were all males, just hanging around, cruising for chicks. Somethings just don't change, regardless of the species.

January 5: Wascana Park in the Fall

I was walking around Wascana Park in October when I took this picture of the geese swimming through the water at sunset. You can faintly see the lights of the Albert Street bridge in the distance.

So very peaceful. I encourage anyone who is visiting Regina to walk around Wascana Park at sunset.

January 4: New year, new committment

Hi everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted in so long; many things were happening in my life that my photography took a backseat. I'm also going my my new nickname "Kate".

Today's photo is one I took last year in Regina as I was travelling to Ottawa for a conference. I love the colour of the sky at sunrise and you can still see a star or two twinkling in the heavens.