Night and Shadows

In this part of the world, winter looms large and a large part of that is long nights. For a good part of the whole year the nights are longer than the daylight. Spontaneously, I’ve found that to be a spark for a new kind of picture.
I’ve always found shadows to be more interesting in portraits and landscapes, but the winter nights offer a special kind of shadows and the first few weeks of 2026 have seen me play around with this idea.
Getting out and going for a walk is a little harder in winter, but I’ve found it offers a really appealing new kind of picture — the dark and sparse landscape makes the few pockets of light (from street lights, from buildings, from other sources) more noticeable. Small pools of light stand out now in large areas of indistinct shadows.

With this criteria in mind, formerly static or boring scenes now are different. And that’s what I love about photography - the ability to renew itself and renew how I see things.

Skaters wheel around in a pool of coloured light at the Forks with the Winnipeg skyline as a backdrop

A pool of warm light at the Winnipeg Art Gallery offers an oasis from the cold blue light of the downtown, including the Manitoba Legislature in the background.

An entrance to Union Station glows softly in a foggy winter night, with the 300 Main building behind it.

Skaters are seen on the Nestaweya River Trail this month, with the Main Street Bridge above them.

People queue for a bus at a stop on Sherbrook Street near Westminster Avenue in Winnipeg.

Warm light emanates from the Langside Grocery cafe in West Broadway.

Fire lights the night during the 2023 Santa Claus Parade, on Colony Street in Winnipeg.

The pier at The Forks lights the night above the Nestaweya River Trail seen bathed in purple light along the Assiniboine River.

Blue lights in an underpass linking Main Street and The Forks dot a car parked alongside.

A tipi at The Forks development is seen with more modern residences in the background.

Riders board a bus pulling up to a stop on Portage Avenue near the historic Bay building in Winnipeg.

National Strike

Last week, the Public Service Alliance of Canada - the union that represents federal employees across a wide variety of services - called a national strike to press negotiations that have stalled for 2 years with the federal government. With approximately 155,000 people on strike across the country this is one of the largest labour actions in Canadian history.

I’m one of those people, joining my co-workers and many other colleagues in the federal service in walking a picket line. It’s been quite an adjustment, as for several decades I’ve photographed all kinds of strikes and labour actions but now I’m experiencing it all first-hand.

I still have a camera, however — it’s a welcome bit of familiarity and mental focus during this uncertain time. No matter what I do or where, I will always be a photographer. It’s a way to live life and make sense of all that one experiences, and this week is no exception.

Placard signs carried by striking workers await their next carrier at a downtown Winnipeg picket line.

Strings attached to placard signs are seen with a badge at a downtown Winnipeg strike location.