Murky Waters

Images from along the rivers of Winnipeg

"Winnipeg" translates literally to dirty water. Muddy water, if you want to feel cooler, though I prefer something more ominous and unsettling: murky waters. The existing meaning of the term fits the state of the world as a whole, as we progress through the 21st century with its social and ecological challenges. The size of Winnipeg — moderately populated, with roughly 800,000 people, but still the biggest Canadian city across a vast longtitude between Toronto and Calgary — adds a demographic context to the geographical location, which is in the very middle of the North American continent. The prairie ecosystem surrounding the city of rivers, lakes, and fertile farmland made it a logical location to establish an urban centre, around the convergence of the Red River (of the North) and Assiniboine River. This was done with colonialist intentions that displaced and destroyed much of the Indigenous trading activity, and we are paying the costs; however, cultural and demographic shifts give us the opportunity to tap into a massive potential for social change.

The winters are known to get brutally cold and dry and the summers are known to get humidly hot and muggy, but there is some protection, by virtue of being about as far from an ocean as you can get in this world, from drastic threats of climate change that impacts coastal or tropical regions more severely. There is also resilience that comes from living with these opposing seasonal shifts and widely varying flooding seasons from year to year. Urban environments are boxed in with the notion of artificial surroundings and disconnect from nature, but cities are quite often founded upon and framed around some natural feature, and rivers are a very common choice. The photographs shared on this page are an expanding collection of my personal picks of pics I've taken on or near the Red and/or the Ass Rivers, of natural features or artifacts of the anthropocene.

(and yes, we, by which I mean I, call it "Ass River")

Come back regularly (or don't, I'm not very good anyway).

a river flooded over a path with lampposts along the way, with a few Canada geese swimming about

a tilt shift image of a cable-stayed bridge with a white pointy pole in the middle and several cables coming out each side

driftwood in the foreground with a river, a building, and some trees in the background, and a very bright blue sky

a broken acoustic guitar lying on a stone platform next to a wooden bench along a gravel path next to a river

a paved path alongside a river with a happy dog with big pointy ears in the bottom right corner looking at the photographer

the back of a person with yellow and green hair tied back into a bun with a white scrunchie, wearing a white hoodie with a backpack with purple and red geometric patterns, sitting on a river bank with several Canada geese hanging around

a silhouette of two Canada geese on a river with another goose standing on the riverbank in slightly better lighting but still under a shadow

a brown-coloured river with reflections of out-of-shot buildings flooded over a round concrete structure; next to the structure is mud with some kind of waterfowl's footprints. There are people standing/sitting around on concrete structures that aren't flooded or covered in mud.

two wooden backless benches with metal legs on opposite sides of two Victorianesque lamp posts in front of several trees along the bank of a river in the background

roughly 15 Canada geese lying down with their heads tucked in on a gravel path alongside a brown-green river

a brownish river reflecting some out-of-frame high rise buildings with some trees between buildings and river, with two canoes carrying four people close to the opposite riverbank

bushes along a riverbank with a greyish blue river, a concrete bridge, and buildings in the background; the sun is setting and reflecting in the river to the left of a leafy branch in the foreground

a short but wide concrete circle with the edge of a dock behind it, and FUCK YOU painted on in pink

a shot from above of a makeshift dock on a river with three canoes on one side, and a walkway along the river bank with several people standing around

dusk on a calm river with trees along the banks and some buildings in the background

a river at night with a gravel path along the banks where a few people are walking; there are high rise buildings behind trees lining the path

about a hundred people in various groups doing various things on the ice of a river — mostly in skates, but some standing or walking or pushing strollers. there is a big concrete thing in the middle that normally sticks out of the water, plus a woven bulbous warming hut in the background on the right. there is a train bridge and a vehicle bridge in the background

outdoors, a view down concrete stairs with metal railings that abruptly end where a river with chunks of ice and snow floating on it flood over where the stairs are supposed to go

a concrete wall overlooking a river with a bridge in the background; on the wall is graffiti of a UFO that looks like it has four eyes and an unimpressed facial expression

taken on a gravel path alongside a river underneath a big concrete bridge; a railway bridge is several metres more ahead with a metal body and concrete pillars with different levels of rust that appear different colours based on the angle of the sun; these rusty pillars are reflected in the water

on a snow-covered frozen river with plowed paths for walking and skating, between which there are 'warming huts' (not really effective) that are shaped like bulbous levels of nesting dolls with bright colours for each circle. there's a bridge in the background, as well as another warming hut that looks like a tiny country house. one person is skating on the right behind the nesting doll sculptures and three people are on the left looking and pointing at the sculptures with smiles on their faces

a riverbank lined with autumnal trees that are reflected in the water. the sky is a light blue. there is a sand coloured apartment building on the very right

a small dock along a riverbank with posts for tying up boats, and a very low river with a wide bank of mud that has two deceased shopping carts lying on it. there are a few ducks swimming in a V shape towards the bank

snow on a frozen river with three structures that look like outdoor showers with bring pink-orange curtains blowing slightly in the wind. the sun is beaming into the middle of the frame at the very top from a very light blue sky with barren trees on the horizon

a background of the sun setting behind a Winnipeg skyline featuring the Canadian Museum of Human Rights (a funky looking huge building), the Esplanade Riel (a bridge with a tall spike and suspension cables coming from it), and the tall towers of Portage and Main. The foreground is the Red River, where two people are standing on the banks taking a photo of a beaver who is sitting on a log.

a wooden walker (the kind meant to help people ice skate) painted a light blue with Louis Riel's face spray painted in black through a stencil. There is text on the seat of the walker saying 'My people will sleep for one hundred years but when they awake it will be the artists who give them their spirit back - Louis Riel'

three terraces of sand: one is from the viewer's perspective with a white person's feet crossed in grey closed toe sandals and a dog on a leash sniffing on the left; the second has four navy deck chairs, two of them occupied by a couple sitting side by side, one empty to their left, and one on the very left with a lone man; the third terrace is just plain sand. Below that there is a concrete pier by a river of a greenish colour, with one floating dock to the right. There's a concrete circle coming out in the middle of the river with a concrete and red metal tower. to the left is a bridge with a green wall.

a winter nighttime scene of a public area with tables, triangular lights hanging from trees, people walking around, people sitting and putting on/taking off skates, and an arched passageway with pink and yellow lights in the distance. There isn't any water here but I assure you it's right by the frozen river trail.

a black and white photo of a a light on top of a pole on a concrete plaform in a river by the pier

a warming hut on a frozen river with plastic walls of electric citrus colours (green and yellow) that reflect the photographer, in a parka with blonde curly hair and sunglasses, and their dog on a leash looking into the reflection. In the background there are people walking on a higher path on the riverbank.

a canada goose on wet gravely ground, coming up very close to the photographer and looking up at the camera with puppy eyes that shoud 'can I have another grape please?'

a pedestrian bridge covered in snow over a frozen river at dusk. The river has cables going up to a tall pole with a small kiosk-like structure on it. The lights coming from below the bridge are a bright purple. There are barren trees and modest cityscapes in the background

a frozen river from a path beneath a wide concrete bridge. you can see the other side of the bridge through three sets of concrete pillars, where there is colourful graffiti on the wall

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a gravel path next to a river with a fence blocking it off at a particular point. A woman has snuck behind the fence and is looking out at a beaver who's in front of the fence walking towards the river

a nighttime shot of the river reflecting lights from high rise buildings in the distance. You can see a crescent moon in a part of the sky that is lighter than the rest

the curb of a pier with handprints and other drawings in trans flag or rainbow pride flag colours. there is a dock on the right side going into a brownish river, with a concrete platform in the midground with young people standing on it. in the background is a railway bridge with a train going by

a nighttime shot of a tent made of a light cloth draped over a pole with a light shining from within it, placed on top of snow on a frozen river. you can see the silhouette of two people standing between the photographer and the tent. in the background you can see barren trees and chimneys from buildings

a brown and blue river with rocks and plants along the bank separating the water from a gravel path. on the other side of the river there are trees, and in the distance you can see a bridge and a high rise apartment building.