I spent a good part of my isolation in March and April alone in Stanley Park, taking self portraits with trees. The trees made me feel less lonely during a heartbreaking and isolated time of my life. This hobby-photography project helped me explore the ideas of abandonment, being alone in the ‘wild’, healing with nature, and heartbreak. I would wake up at 5:00 am or sometimes earlier, sad and unable to sleep, put on my hiking boots and a thick wool sweater or my favourite jean jacket, and go photograph myself and the trees that kept me company, along with winged and furry creatures of Lost Lagoon.

Having this creative project helped me heal, reflect, and see myself from a healthier point of view. It led me to realize that maybe that’s what self-portraiture is about, seeing yourself from different angles and building yourself up again. With self-portraiture, I was able to get out of my head and gain fresh perspective. I would go home and edit the photos to the best of my novice ability and see myself with the trees, and knew I would eventually feel whole again.

Everyone had/ is having unique COVID experiences. Many of my loved ones have experienced major life events such as marriage, death, birth, career changes, and relocations. There have been more subtle experiences as well, such as reaching out to those who mean the most despite distance, exploration of hobbies that might have been dormant, or extra time with books and music instead of happy hour with friends. I think I’m the only person who didn’t bake banana bread, but it’s god damn delicious so I hope you did.

Despite what I was going through, I am grateful that I was able to play in Stanley Park, marvelling at, sharing a beer or two with, and hugging wooded giants. I ran through, photographed, and meditated in this urban forest daily.

These are my favourite self portraits with trees, and portraits of trees, that I took during that time 🌲

Favourite tree books include:

1) The Hidden Life of Trees

2) the Lord of the Rings

3) The Lorax