Caldwell: These 2024 photos of Ottawa expose its struggles and small wins

From heartbreaking scenes in the ByWard Market to an ice-cold plunge for mental health, Tony Caldwell’s lens frames Ottawa’s year.

Published Dec 28, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Ottawa ice swimmer Tom Heyerdahl arrives at Britannia Bay in Ottawa to prepare to ice swim in an outdoor make shift winter pool cut into the ice. Tom, along side some community members, use the ice water as a place to cold water dip and swim. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Tony Caldwell looks back on some of his most impactful photos of Ottawa in 2024 and the moments that defined them, as told to Sofia Misenheimer. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

A year of raw realities

Two young men passed out, presumably after doing drugs, in downtown Ottawa. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

This is what I see every day. I wasn’t covering a story when I took this photo — I just came across them. What makes it so hard to look at is how close I was. I used a wide lens, so I had to get right up there. Normally, you don’t get that close to someone using drugs, but I do it with respect. I take my time, and I’m not aggressive.

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People sometimes ask why I take these photos. I tell them, “If people don’t see what’s happening in their city, they’re blind to it.” It’s okay for folks to see what’s going on in Syria or Ukraine, but it’s like they don’t want to see what’s happening in their backyard. It’s tough to look at, sure, but that’s the reality. And it’s getting worse.

Homeless (with hope) in the ByWard Market

Paul Albert was mobbed and beaten up by five guys in the Market. After a long time on the streets of Ottawa Paul will be getting an apartment in a few weeks. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Paul Albert was a good guy. He knew his situation sucked, but he was working to get out of it. When I met him, he’d been beaten up the night before by a couple of guys in the market. He had a lead on an apartment and someone helping him out.

He didn’t sugarcoat anything, but he also wasn’t giving up. We profiled him in the People of ByWard Market series. It was a chance to show the human side of people in the market beyond addiction and homelessness.

A lifetime lost to fire

Clem Smith on his burnt-out tractor by his home on Kinburn Side Road. Clem has spent almost a lifetime refurbishing horse-drawn carriages and sleighs. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Clem Smith is a pillar of his community. He spent his whole life collecting antique carriages, antique trailers, antique tractors, and hearses. He has helped marry or bury many with either horse and carriage for weddings or hearses for funerals.

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He lost every single bit of it in a fire.

When I got there, he didn’t need much direction. He was pretty devastated walking around the empty ruins of his property. You could see the shock on his face — he didn’t have to say anything. I grabbed a very emotional photo of him sitting there.

The stroller left behind

A grieving man is helped away by police near the stroller of the murdered mother. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

People didn’t realize at first that the baby stroller left there belonged to the mother who was murdered at Paul Landry Park. When I got there, it wasn’t taped off like usual, so I could get closer. That doesn’t happen often.

The man in the photo was a relative, overwhelmed by grief.

Those scenes are challenging, not just emotionally, but logistically. You’ve got to use all your senses at once to figure out what’s happening and where to be. It’s intense, but it’s also the kind of situation where you feel like your work really matters.

Everyday feature hunting

Two kids walk past a duck mural on Springhurst Ave. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

This is the kind of shot I wait for. I sat there for 50 minutes, just waiting for someone to walk by. You can’t just grab someone and put them in the frame — you have to let it happen.

Adam Propp, maintenance department at the Hylands Golf Club, mows some grass past a M109 Self-Propelled Howitzer tank. The tank sits at the entrance of the golf club in Ottawa. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Same with the guy mowing around the tank on the golf course. I saw the shot coming, so I parked myself there until the composition was right.

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It’s a lot of “hurry up and wait,” but when it works, it’s worth it.

Two-year-old Jack Carmino tries to kick a giant soccer ball at Dutchy’s Hole Park in Ottawa. Jack was taking part in the parent Resource Centre Friday Nature Walk. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

A true winter warrior

Tom Heyerdahl swimming in ice water. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

I saw the hole in the ice and put my drone up to figure out what was going on. A friend told me it was Tom, and she connected us. He swims twice a day, every day. For him, it’s about mental health. He says it helps his body heal itself.

I spent a full day with him — shooting in the morning and then using the drone in the afternoon. It was cold, but what could I complain about? The guy was out there in swim trunks.

The progression of the eclipse as seen from Ottawa on April 8, 2024. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Every day, I start from zero. That’s the nature of this job. My wife puts it best: I use the artistic part of my brain, capture a moment, and it’s in the paper the next day.

What I’ve seen through my eyes is what [the public] has seen in the paper.  Then it’s on to the next thing.

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