A father and his son are birdwatching while standing on a rocky outcrop along a riverbank in Montreal, each looking through binoculars in opposite directions. On the left, the father, wearing a teal plaid shirt, tan shorts, and dark boots, stands with his binoculars raised; a small case clipped to his belt holds the binoculars when not in use. On the right, separated by dense brush, his son, in a tan and navy striped shirt and jeans, also looks through binoculars, slightly closer to the camera. The foreground and surrounding area are thick with tall grasses and wildflowers (white and yellow blooms). The Saint Lawrence River runs through in the distance, lined with trees, and beyond it rises a row of tall apartment towers under a soft, overcast sky.
Leonel Orozco and his son Fabian at their home in Verdun, Montreal. Originally from Guatemala, the family says the wooded riverside landscape behind their condominium reminds them of the nature they left behind. Passionate birdwatchers, father and son spend hours observing the many bird species that inhabit the area along the St. Lawrence River.
This photograph is part of a body of work that, while originating from newspaper assignments, also reflects my personal practice exploring people’s attachment to place and the way environments shape identity. Love for a neighbourhood, a street, or a landscape cannot be photographed directly. Instead, I aim to reveal this connection by portraying people within the spaces that matter to them, and through the activities that give those places meaning.
For Leonel Orozco and his son Fabian, that connection is found in the natural spaces surrounding their home in Verdun. Originally from Guatemala, they are drawn to the wooded riverside landscape and the rich birdlife that echo the environment they left behind. Their shared passion for birdwatching offers a glimpse into how they experience and inhabit their neighbourhood, as well as their relationship as father and son.
As a documentary photographer, I am interested in how individuals shape their sense of belonging through everyday interactions with their surroundings. Rather than focusing solely on the physical characteristics of a place, I aim to document the personal relationships people develop with it. Through these stories, a neighbourhood becomes more than a location: it becomes a space of memory, identity, and connection.
This image attempts to make visible something intangible: the affection people feel for a place, and the ways that feeling becomes part of their daily lives.
Explore the other stories–Adil Boukind is a documentary photographer and photojournalist, born in France and based in Montreal, Quebec. His work looks at how ancestral practices persist or shift within contemporary societies, and what they reveal today. He also explores questions of identity tied to territory. Portraiture has become an important part of his approach, as a way to stay close to his subjects and ground these broader themes in individual experiences. He regularly works with Quebec, Canadian, and international media.
