During these unsettling times, finding peace is essential to one’s mental health. As I finally embrace the artist I was always meant to be, I find myself seeking solace in nature to continue my craft of wildlife photography, and tune out the chaos of the world.
However, this isn’t always possible when living in a big city. I’m learning that there are very few places to retreat where human entitlement does not get in the way.
The other afternoon, during the height of cherry blossom season, I went to a local park hoping to photograph some migrating birds. Luckily, the park was quiet and I found a tree where a tiny Cape May warbler was foraging for pollen, so I planted myself to watch and wait for the right photo opportunity.
Photography takes a lot of time and patience. To get the right shot, I can spend hours waiting for the subject to give me that ideal pose in good light. I find this peaceful and relaxing…most of the time.
As I waited for the bird to perch on a lower branch, a group of people showed up and decided they wanted to take a photo under the tree where I was standing.
I approached the woman with the cellphone, “Excuse me, I’m photographing a bird in this tree, would you mind using another? There are about 40 in the park.” And I gestured to an empty tree beside me.
She looked at me and said, “What if I want this tree?”
I replied, “Well I am asking politely. Please, I am using this tree, and you could scare the bird away.”
She and her family didn’t move. They stood close watching while the bird stayed high. Then she said, “How long are you going to use this tree?”
I reiterated my request, “Look, I am asking nicely. There are so many other trees.”
Defiantly, she grabbed a low branch and said, “Mom, come here and pose.”
I protested, worrying she would scare the bird but she said, “It’s a public park.”
Her mother said, “Please, we are just visiting here. We want to take a picture and this is the only full tree.”
Confused, I looked at my tree – it had many bare branches. I pointed to the one next to me, “That one has lots of blossoms,” I said.
The daughter wasn’t convinced and the conversation began to escalate until I finally lifted my camera, indicating that I would take their photo and post this incident on social media. That’s when they decided to move to the next tree and I shook my head, hearing myself ask, “Is this how you act when visiting another country?”
By that time, I had likely lost a lot of photographic opportunities. And my mood was sour, my energy drained. Art isn’t easy to create when one is annoyed.
What was even more strange is that the steady stream of people making their way across the park, stopped at my tree with the bare branches to take photos. I made the same request, pointing out the bird in the blossoms and luckily, they all understood. One couple, new to Canada took their pics under another tree, then asked if I would take a photo of the two of them, and I obliged.
Parks are indeed public. But they are shared spaces. That park where the incident occurred is over 500 acres in size with approximately 40 cherry blossom trees. At first I was baffled as to why someone would choose disrespect and disrupt over kindness and understanding. Then I had the thought. Perhaps it’s about ownership – taking away space from someone else seems gratifying somehow. A growing mindset very relevant today, and throughout history.
I won’t post the photos of the family, because as a photographer, I respect people’s privacy. But I am realizing that the sense of community, respect for others and courtesy is being lost. In a world where there is such growing hate, division and anger, I feel we have the power to change this energy at a local level. Instead of feeding this growing entitlement to take, we could choose to give, to share. Each small gesture creating a positive butterfly effect across the world.
Eventually the family disappeared from the park, and I was just about to call it a day, when the bird suddenly came down to a low branch. It turned, looked right at me, and posed.