For my photo series, I chose to do nature photography.
I was drawn to this subject because I've always been interested in nature and being outdoors. I find the bright colours and calming nature of being outside very inspiring.
For these photos, I visited Gillies grove in Arnprior, Ontario. Gillies grove is a small area of old-growth forest and is what's left of the gorgeous forest that used to cover the area. It contains many kinds of plants and trees and is home to a multitude of animals, including woodpeckers, barred owls, flying squirrels and salamanders.
I called my series regrowth because the location that I shot at was hit relatively hard by the storm that happened earlier this year. Many trees that were hundreds of years old were damaged and fell or had to be cut down for safety. But visiting again just months later, it was amazing to see the regrowth. It showed how resilient nature could be. Plants and mushrooms were growing out of trees that had been cut down, and Holes in fallen trees had become homes to many small animals.
After shooting these, I'm even more impressed by nature photographers. Nature photography involves a lot of patience. You spend so much time sitting, completely silent, waiting for the perfect shot. You have to be so careful not to disturb your surroundings.
I learned a lot while doing this series, both about the forest I was in and about nature photography itself. While shooting, I had to find a happy medium between slowing down so I could pay close attention to my surroundings and being very fast because nature can be very unpredictable. If you don't move quickly enough, you can miss the shot. Moving forward, I would definitely do more nature photography.
