The Perfect Evening

Standing at the front of the house, photographing the full Moon recently, I imagined our son standing with me. What would our perfect evening together be? Not wanting to fast forward our time together – he’s too young to crawl yet – there is so much that I look forward to with him.

A perfect evening would involve wildlife watching, star gazing, and taking photographs. I hope our boy will share my love of all three. We’ve started the groundwork, with insect houses and bird boxes in the garden. A camera captures footage of nocturnal visitors, including foxes and a hedgehog. His bedroom has a star chart and glow in the dark Moon on the wall. The bookshelves already house a range of nature guides and books about space.

I wouldn’t want to force likes and dislikes on a child, but we will be clear of our own respect and enthusiasm for nature, and all those she embraces. This respect extends to behaviour when taking photographs in the natural environment. I wrote before about leaving no trace when working in a natural setting. The wildlife I photographed at a local rescue centre was all captured with a zoom lens from outside their enclosures. The centre works hard to ensure animals  are rehabilitated whenever possible so keep human interaction to a minimum.

The ethics of how we work in any profession are as important as the final output. Hoping that our son shares our love of the world around us, we will encourage him to enjoy the natural world both consciously, and conscientiously. So our perfect evening might include watching wildlife from a distance, leaving out suitable food and some water for garden visitors, and no flash photography. We have many books to learn from together, but there is nothing quite as perfect as spending time surrounded by nature, beneath the stars. Especially in the company of others who share your passion.

I don’t want to wish time away, or make assumptions about the future. But to imagine is to dream, and to dream is to look forward and work towards something.