I was making my way to a rally at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights Sunday afternoon, which was marking the 4th anniversary since Russia’s invasion against Ukraine. I’m not Ukrainian but this cause means something to me for many reasons.
En route, I spotted another rally making its way downtown, and could spot the (pre-revolutionary) flag of Iran held aloft by the participants.
I guess the part of my brain formatted by a few decades of newspaper work is still firing, somehow, and I made a mental note to swing around on my way back. Photographers sometimes joke about the ‘photo gods’ smiling on them, and for a change they sent some luck my way — I managed to get a photograph I thought had some substance to it outside the Museum (below) and managed to catch up to the Iranian rally immediately afterwards. They were kind enough to grant me permission to photograph their rally, happy to have someone share their efforts.
It never fails to impress upon me how much luck plays into the creation of a photograph. In this case, a bright winter sun shining lots of hard direct light upon these two separate (but still connected) rallies. In choosing to backlight the flags, I hoped to make the image more about the cause than the individuals portrayed. Flags have always been symbols and in both cases the symbolism is linked across very different cultures and peoples. Despite these differences, both represent people fighting (and dying) to reach for a better, freer life.
protest
Prayers
For the past several years, I’ve been pursuing a personal project on faith and rituals - producing images of the various things different peoples do to show their faith.
One of the first places I went to was St. Vladimir’s and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in the city’s North End. I was warmly welcomed and the priest was encouraging and open to my project. It was an invaluable confidence builder and paved the way for any subsequent work I did.
It was this familiarity that I took into returning to the beautiful landmark cathedral this weekend, as prayers were given new urgency with the war continuing in the Ukrainian homeland. I wanted to continue my work documenting faith but also see the faith being offered to those suffering from the current conflict.
By coincidence, a rally for Ukraine at the provincial Legislature was also taking place later that day, a chance for prayers of a different sort at a different landmark building — a ritual of faith to strengthen a common bond.
For those wishing to help, St. Vladimir’s and Olga Cathedral is accepting donations for Ukrainian citizens suffering under war. And of course, the Canadian Red Cross is also a trustworthy, effective organization to help those in need.
Kosmii and Mykhaila Liuba offer silent prayers at St. Vladimir’s and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral during Sunday mass.
Angels symbolizing peace adorn the altar as a congregant lights candles at St. Vladimir’s and Olga Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral during Sunday mass.
A rally at the Manitoba Legislature Sunday afternoon drew members and supporters of the city’s Ukrainian community.
Free Ukraine
As the world knows by now, months and years of rumbling has broken into full-out war in the Ukraine. Every day, the infrastructure of instant communications has brought a tsunami of powerful stories and images direct from the front lines, which like most wars now seem to be everywhere.
Canada has the highest amount of Ukrainian people living anywhere outside that country or Russia, and that community’s history runs very deep in Winnipeg, home of the fabled North End and adopted home to generations of Ukrainians. It is perhaps because of this that a rally held yesterday to offer support drew so many people and evoked such emotion.
I knew I had to bring a camera to this event, and with the privilege of not having a deadline (or, more to the point, an outlet) for my images I decided to use a few film cameras, in the hopes of bringing a different mindset to bear and overriding my ingrained newspaper-photography pattern.
A reminder to anyone wanting to help the civilians in this unfolding catastrophe, donations to the Red Cross will be matched by the Canadian government — a great way to make your money go farther!
Susan Boulter tears up while listening to the Ukrainian anthem, during a rally in Winnipeg, Canada Saturday February 26, 2022. Boulter has family in western Ukraine struggling to escape the country during a Russian invasion.
