Sunrise in Bushy Park “The misty silhouettes of the trees caught my eyes first with the watery sun peering through the gathering clouds. Next, I saw the reflections from the glassy stream, with a bluer sky revealed. The reeds by the water’s edge, and the autumnal leaves above were all captured in the crystal stream, combining to give a moment of magical stillness and peace”, shares Peter, a 60 old man living in Western London, who enjoys photography and has recently taken this picture which crystal clearly represents the untarnished exuberance of Bushy Park’s atmosphere during the November lockdown.
While lockdown overturned everyone’s routine, habits and dreams, it didn’t go far enough to take away our genuine enjoyment and appreciation among the nature. At least not for Peter. His self-discipline pushes him to get up early every morning, mount his cycle and have a short tour in Bushy Park, the second largest of London’s Royal Parks, exploring the break of the seasons, the roaming deer and the lovely repertoire of the screeching birds splashing in the pond.
In the past few months during the pandemic, Bushy Park has been busier and busier with cyclists, runners and walkers searching for new hobbies and interests, while it has been much more peaceful in regard to car traffic. While Peter has found the lockdown situation as challenging as the majority would suggest, he has also obtained salvation thanks to his regular routine and passion for photography.
Peter has been doing photography on and off for 20 years starting off with a cheap camera. “I thought that the camera was the most important thing in photography”, he says. After taking a photography course at Richmond Adult Community College and buying an expensive digital camera, Peter realizes that the camera is only “a tool” and the “brain - behind the eyes, behind the camera lens – proves the key thing to be a successful photographer”. “Undoubtedly, a larger camera alters the perspective and provides more opportunities”, but the Bushy Park picture presenting a multidimensional view of the atmosphere in the park, is taken with Peter’s smartphone.
While Peter’s internal energy pushes him to jump from the bed at dawn every morning, to have his exercise and catch another wonder of nature, it seems that we can also find positivity of the lockdown.
Peter loves photography because it is “visual” and “satisfying”, and he is hoping to take a photograph of a kingfisher very soon – a bird he has seen in the past but has never been able to capture.
