At the commencement of the 2004 shipping season, Toronto was visited by three ships from the Polish Steamship Line - Iryda, Isolda and Ziema Gnieznienska.

These colorful ships, laden with unrefined sugar, were each unloaded over a period of a week. This slow unveiling of their spectacular hulls yielded a changing canvas of weathered ephemeral beauty.

Photographed mostly in the dawn morning light, the colors dance with intensity in juxtaposition to the glassy calm water, clear blue sky and the calmness of a city not yet awoken.

One of the interesting aspects of the photos is that they remind us of Photoshop effects people strive for. And so it is nice to see a photo that looks Photoshopped but that in fact is not Photoshopped. Photos that are perfectly mysterious and beautiful without any effects.

You can see more of Three Sisters at File Magazine's Gallery of Three Sisters and more of Marshall Sokoloff's work on his website, blurbism.