for as long as i can remember, i have always had an obsession with canals. often tucked away behind buildings and under railways, they offer glimpses of a natural world even in the most urban and uninviting of climes.

in the summer of 2015, i was lucky enough to recieve a photography grant to explore the gowanus canal, one of the world's most polluted waterways, from atop the canal itself. over the course of three months i paddled around the heart of brooklyn in a canoe, shooting over 60 rolls of film and processing and printing everything at the gowanus community darkroom. the ten photos below are the results: a love letter to the canal's blissful chaos.