I first met nature photographer Shahzad Khan on a cold December evening in High Park, a large swatch of greenery in Toronto’s West End. I had come to the park to feel reconnected to the world. That day, my worries were flooding my body with anxiety, making it difficult to feel anything. I knew that trudging across the snow-covered ground would bring me back to my centre. I began to feel more grounded when a small red-bellied woodpecker landed on my finger, calming me. Soon after, I encountered Khan, who was aiming a snow-white telescopic lens toward the treeline. I approached him to inquire what he was searching for so close to sunset. He told me he was a photographer, and that he was looking for a great horned owl that lived in the park. Stories of wise and powerful creatures filled my mind. I’d never seen an ...