In Buddhist cultures, a ‘stupa’ is a focus of meditation, a structure that houses sacred objects. They’re a fairly common sight in Asia — in western Canada, not so much.
That’s why it was so gratifying to photograph the dedication of such a place this spring, as the local Sri Lankan Buddhist community came together to unveil the spire topping their very own stupa here in Winnipeg.
The ceremony marked many years of work by the ‘sangha’ -the community of monks, nuns and lay people - at the Mahamnevnawa Buddhist Meditation Centre who organized and built the structure themselves. Having also photographed the ceremony last fall when monks placed sacred objects inside the stupa, it was great to see how far the work has come to arrive at this point.
The weeks and months ahead will see finishing touches put on the site, but the structure itself now stands as a beacon of Buddhist faith, and a place for both the Sri Lankan community and the wider interested population to come to contemplate and be inspired.
Multicultural
Shining a light
For the past several years (a global pandemic, notwithstanding) I’ve been pursuing a personal project on “faith and rituals”.
I’m not entirely certain what form this project will take in future, and I’m not sure how I’ll make it more focused and specific (I know I need to do that), but a photographer friend once told me with photo essays it’s often best to just start out making pictures you like and let the direction come after some work has been done.
The wisdom of this has started to really be clear to me lately, specifically with two recent events from two different faith communities sharing a common theme.
At the beginning of November I made my way to a small North End temple for the Hindu festival of Diwali. Despite feeling very conspicuous with both my cameras and my obvious non-Hindu status, the people were warm and welcoming and I discreetly observed and (occasionally) made an image.
A month later, the city’s Jewish community gave me an equally welcoming reception for the 8-day festival of Hanukkah. Both the Etz Chayim and the Chabad-Lubavitch were kind enough to answer my questions and support my project efforts and, as with all the faith communities I’ve visited for this work, I was reminded how rich and varied our city actually is — there’s a lot going on beyond our habitual day-to-day surroundings and I’m blessed to have photography allow me to witness that first-hand.
I was also struck by the similarities in different religions and how common visual elements keep coming up, as I photograph more and more for this work. In the case of these two festivals, the element is light — both events are festivals of light, as a symbol of transcendence and expressed in literal form.
Happily, photography is all about light and so it felt fitting to show both of these festivals and what they have in common. L’Chaim and Namaste!
Diwali
Second night of Hanukkah
Diwali
Seventh night of Hanukkah
Diwali
Seventh night of Hanukkah
Diwali
Blessings in the time of Covid
Several years ago, I started a personal project on rituals — acts of faith unique to a religion or faith community that have a tradition going back centuries or more. It was a rewarding idea and the more I worked on it, the more I was convinced it was a solid pursuit. And beyond that, it was something I got a lot of personal fulfillment out of - I was fortunate to witness moments I couldn’t have predicted or imagined and met a lot of new people.
And then Covid-19 happened.
Almost overnight, most faith centres closed in order to limit the spread of an airborne contagion (something a few people seem to have difficulty understanding) and my idea that slowly but surely began to gain momentum ended abruptly.
But as people begin to find their way through this uncertain time, some organizations figure out how to exercise their faith in ways to keep everyone as safe as possible. One example of this was the annual ritual in the Ukrainian Orthodox faith of the blessing of the Easter baskets, and how the faithful in the Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of Sts. Vladimir and Olga made it happen in 2021.
Taking advantage of a beautiful spring day, they held the service outdoors, kept everyone well distanced and had people cycle through quickly so as not to linger. It was a heartfelt display of faith, and a quietly dignified rebuke to those who’ve used religion as a ruse to ignore the reality of public health measures.
On a personal note, it felt good after over a year to be making photographs for this project again. It very likely will be a long time before this project can be picked up again in any substantive, consistent way. But for one beautiful spring day, new images were being made and the idea lived on.
Father Ihor Shved sprinkles holy water upon the Easter baskets brought by sisters Ruslana and Svetlana Kashyna, during a special Covid-compliant service of the ‘Blessing of the Baskets’, a highly of the Orthodox calendar.
Volunteers helped create a makeshift altar and worship area outside the North End cathedral, including the iconic Easter eggs so closely associated with Ukrainian culture.
Father Ihor Shved tests a webcam set up to bring the service to faithful in their homes. The web savvy is one adaptation many churches are making to the health measures needed to keep their communities healthy.
After the basket ceremony outside, attendees could make a brief visit to the altar to round out their Easter observances.
As the world turns
I’ve never tried my hand at astrophotography, but recently I learned of a traditional Thai “spirit house” in rural Manitoba. This phenomenon is commonplace almost everywhere in Thailand, a devoutly Buddhist nation with a prior history of animism and spirit worship - but understandably rare in Manitoba.
Once I saw it for myself, though, I knew almost immediately that its juxtaposition with a faraway land and culture would best be expressed by a show of the Northern Lights with it. While the aurora did not make an appearance - yet - I did have a crystal-clear sky to work with and a perfect vantage point centering on Polaris, which would offer a focal point for my image.
Adding to the excitement was the fact Manitoba is currently in the grips of a brutal cold snap, and my set-up was done in temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius. It’s nothing proper clothing and preparation can’t handle, but it definitely made working slower and more challenging. As did hearing a pack of coyotes howling in the woods surrounding the site - something the resident sled dogs responded to in kind!
I’m happy with how the shot turned out - while I would have preferred a show of the Aurora I was lucky that a ‘radial’ type display of star trails could still be had with this unique cultural marker. On the technical side, I used a free program called Star StaX and combined 60 separate photographs (looking basically like the second shot here) to make the final lead image. I’d recommend this program, it’s easy and basically self-explanatory to use, does not downsize or reduce your final image, and did I mention it’s free? The third image gives a view of the app’s homepage; be sure to select the download that corresponds to your Mac’s current operating software.
Eid al Fitr, in photographs
The festival of Eid (or Eid al Fitr) is a joyous occasion in Muslim cultures. It marks the end of a month of fasting and introspection during the period of Ramadan, which is a time of reflecting on the blessings one has and to give to charity. In fact, some Christians may see some parallels between Lent and Ramadan, and Eid and Easter.
Here in Winnipeg, Eid is perhaps most notably marked by a large gathering at the downtown Convention Centre and I was fortunate enough to observe this year’s event at the beginning of June.
Held in a spectacular upstairs room fronted by a floor-to-ceiling window, the cavernous space was bathed in light, and the relatively-small figures of the faithful traced long dark shadows as they walked through the early morning sunlight.
It was hard not to see and feel some spiritual metaphors in a diverse group of people coming together in a brilliant, open space. I was free to discreetly walk about, trying to record the feeling and essence of this upbeat gathering. It was a wonderful time to be a photographer.
My thanks to the Manitoba Islamic Association for their help and of course friends Nilufer Rahman and Dr. Rehman Absulrehman!
The first image made when I arrived - surely a good omen for the day’s photography!
I don’t like using long lenses, much preferring a ‘normal’ or slight wide angle lens. I want my images to subtly help the viewer feel as though they were in the middle of what was happening. It also requires me to interact with subjects, and be mindful of how I affect them and the overall scene.
I could write pages about the glorious light on the morning of this event. It was a sensory feast, with beautiful light and shadow, a dazzling array of clothing and peoples, the fascinating sounds of prayer and the warmth of truly sincere smiles and friendliness.
How to find one face, one person, in a crowd that tells the overall story of so many others? That’s the job of a photojournalist and a photographer.
“I’ve Got Goals”…great shirt, kid.
I’d held my camera above my head, in order to get the right perspective on people leaving the event after its conclusion. I liked the lines and overall visual pattern. I didn’t realize until I got home to edit the images hours later that this woman gave a special shout-out to me! Whoever you are, thanks!
The colours and sheer visual parade was fantastic for a photographer. This dress immediately caught my eye.