Will I or will I NOT venture out into a local park ever again?

I am transformed when photographing nature behind the lens, much like a hunter stalking its prey.  Of course, I am searching for beauty, but I am also super mindful of the harsh reality of my surroundings.  I never wear my earphones nor do I ever pull out my phone.  My senses are in tune to everything and everyone that can do harm.

Late winter, I typically drive down to San Antonio, Texas, to see family.  My mother, no longer living out in the hill country, now lives in San Antonio proper, sending me to the local parks nearby in search of birds.  This is also my last chance to photograph water birds wintering here in Texas.  So this last weekend I used eBird to find the hotspots near me searching specifically for ponds and lakes.  The two hotspots to come up were Live Oak Park and Woodlawn Lake Park.

Live Oak Park

I really do wish the local community would pick up garbage at the water’s edge, because if it weren’t for pieces of trash all over the place, my nature photos would have been pristine.  Being the photographer I am, I captured what I could regardless of the environment.  Double-breasted cormorants and ducks of all sorts made Live Oak Park the destination for all things waterbird. 

Woodlawn Lake Park

My mother asked me a question after the whole ordeal at Woodlawn Lake Park.  “Which photography are you most proud of?  Your Swan?  Or photographing the violent altercation which got you published in a San Antonio news outlet?”  I didn’t have to think twice about it.  The Swan!  Of course!  That’s the kind of day one could have patrolling local parks in the heart of a major metropolitan area.  You have to be super vigilant when out in an area with a high crime rate as I was in.  Anything can happen.  ANYTHING.

And the big question is, will I ever go to a local park again in a major metro area?  Probably not.  I have a car and the means to travel wherever I want to go.  I had a thing about having to pay for park entry, but after this past weekend, I feel shelling out ten bucks knowing a cop is on patrol is probably well worth the expense.