Art Description (What inspired you to create the artwork?) "I approached this beautiful creature as silently as possible but he noticed me anyway. Looking straight into my eyes, he swam a little closer even though the only thing in my hands was a camera. I pushed the button and captured a swan, no other thing in sight. Was he here alone? Is his lover coming back? As I leaned a little bit further, he harried away, to the centre of the small lake. The answer to my questions was silence. No swan songs, no wings flipping, no calm swimming sounds. He was here alone, this lonely little lover."

This little piece was written by me on the day I took this photo. Last summer I wanted to try wildlife photography, so I started with the easiest animal I could find in Toronto - a swan. These birds are poetic, the way they bond with each other, the way they communicate, hate, love, protect... As a young person myself, I am still discovering these feelings - loneliness and sadness, and as a romantic, I always wondered how these birds could bond for life. Seeing this lonely swan made me wonder if he just started a new path or was finishing the other. Somehow I got bonded with those precious honest eyes.

Oh, this lonely little lover!