The stories behind an unusual proposal, a moment of heartbreak, and much more.
As 2024 draws to a close, Ottawa Citizen photographer Ashley Fraser shares her top images of the year, and the stories behind the photos, as told to Sofia Misenheimer. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
A year of protests
Protesters have become a familiar sight in Ottawa. Ever since the 2022 convoy protest took over our downtown core, the number of recurring demonstrations has grown with the same groups coming back to stand for their causes.
Maybe 10 years ago, we would have a protest and it would be one group, they would protest for a day, and then you wouldn’t hear about them again. Now, when people protest, it seems to be over and over, especially on weekends.
This year, I also noticed people and groups showing up to support multiple causes that align with their beliefs. I see a lot of the same faces, across different movements.
For instance, I saw some overlap between the group that was okay with tent-like housing going up and the group supporting the Palestinian cause. It’s more common to see people back each other’s causes when connected through friends, family, or organizations.
Beyond rallies, 2024 has been a year of documenting chaos, resilience, and moments of joy in the city.
I saw an unusual proposal at Race Weekend. There were also difficult assignments, like the funeral of a family after unimaginable tragedy.
But not every moment carried heaviness. One of my happiest assignments this year was at Hartwell Locks, where dozens of kayakers paddled together on a picture-perfect day.
Bubbles floated in the air, and the shoreline was bright green. Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves. It reminded me how fortunate I am to do this job.
Evening Update
Whole lotta grey goin’ on
This was part of Winterlude celebrations. The performer, a street artist named Peter Jarvey, was dressed as Elvis in a head-to-toe silver outfit that mirrored everything around him. It was grey on grey on grey on grey.
The pop of yellow in his sunglasses picked up the yellow in the flags above him, and the red on his guitar worked with the red in the flags. It was such a visually perfect moment.
The mirrored outfit, the reflections, and Ottawa’s office buildings in the background all came together to make the shot. It was one of those moments where everything aligned in the frame.
A sombre farewell in Barrhaven
The funeral for the woman and four children murdered in Barrhaven was one of the most challenging moments I documented this year. The husband was walking behind the caskets with his bandaged hand raised in prayer. He looked so sad, yet so composed.
And there we were, the media, standing in the back documenting the moment. It was a hard, hard picture to take thinking about what he had been through just days prior.
Photographers are there for the best days and the worst days, and the worst days can be really difficult to document. This was one of those days.
You want to be able to give the family privacy, but at the same time, you’re capturing the scene to convey what they’re going through to a much wider audience. That’s a real tension.
There were definitely tears behind the camera that day.
An unusual proposal
I’ve covered Ottawa Race Weekend oodles of times — over 20 years now — and I’ve never seen a proposal at the finish line, let alone one happening just as someone was wheeled past on a stretcher. I hope that experience is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.
The groom-to-be, Andrew, had worked with Race Weekend organizers to plan the proposal. He finished the marathon first and waited at the finish line. When his partner crossed, he got down on one knee and proposed. She didn’t know it was coming.
I think they were pretty captivated by each other as opposed to what was happening around them. I don’t think it was until after that it really clicked that someone in distress had gone past them. The finish line of the marathon is so busy, and this moment captured the joy of their proposal and the chaos of the event in a single frame.
The trailblazer in teal
Samantha Gibson is one of the coolest people I’ve photographed this year. She’s a professional bull rider — a woman competing in a sport that’s such an old-school boys’ club.
When I met her, she opened the back of her car, and it was full of her gear — chaps, her plated vest, and her cowboy hat. She suited up for the shoot, and the light that day was just perfect. We shot in a park in the south end of Ottawa. It wasn’t anything special as a location, but her confidence and strength carried the shoot.
Samantha travels across North America to compete. Seeing her carve out a space in such a male-dominated sport was pretty rad. I’d love to go back and see her actually bull riding someday.
Resilience at Race Weekend
Sindy Hooper raised nearly $600,000 for the Ottawa Hospital over the years, and even after her passing, her family continues to host events in her name.
This photo shows her waving purple pompoms after finishing a 5K at Race Weekend. She didn’t think she’d be able to complete it, but she did. She passed away just a few months later, and her legacy continues to inspire through her family and the community.
I have an emotional attachment to this photo. It’s a moment that holds a lot of weight, not just because of the photo itself but because of who Sindy was and what she stood for.
Laughter and mud at Wesley Clover Park
The Mud Girl Run was so much fun to cover. It’s a fundraising event for breast cancer, focused on empowering women and encouraging movement.
Women in tutus were sliding through mud pits, laughing and trying to pull themselves out. It’s a less intense version of a Spartan race, and the camaraderie and joy were everywhere. There was so much laughter at this event.
One of my favourite things to do is capture happy people. Working weekends can mean missing out on doing some fun things, but being there to document these moments is the next best thing.
For 2025, I want to focus on storytelling and spend more time following unique people and capturing what their day looks like. I’m excited to see where the next year takes me.
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