Paradise for Birds: Kay Park Finds Serenity in a Changed Landscape

At the World Grand Prix Photography Awards 2026 Autumn Season, Kay Park received the Platinum Award in Black & White & Fine Art Photography for “Paradise for birds”. The photograph offers a distinct perspective on the natural world. Birds are perched on bare tree branches. After the heavy rain passed, the fog around the island created a paradise for birds.

Paradise for Birds by Kay Park

Birds are perched on bare tree branches. After the heavy rain passed, the fog around the island created a paradise for birds. 

Interview

What inspired this award-winning photograph?

This photo shows a summer scene at Dumulmeori, where the Bukhangang River and the Namhangang River meet. Birds are perched on trees left bare by the highly acidic droppings of freshwater cormorants.

Despite the bleak atmosphere, the island remains peaceful and serene.

After the heavy rain passed, the fog around the island created a paradise for birds.

What creative or technical challenges did you encounter?

Flowers carry meaning beyond mere visual beauty.

At first, I began to wonder how to express flowers—lovable and charming in their own right—more beautifully, and naturally, flowers became the theme of my photography.

Flowers provide emotional comfort and stability in our lives, evoking a range of feelings such as joy, gratitude, and love. Sometimes, they become a friend or family member to someone.

I have seen magnolias that, even when their branches are broken and cut, still bloom with their resilient vitality.

Even from the same tree, cherry blossoms bloom anew in a different form each year.

Through the process of capturing flowers, I feel a desire to live vibrantly in a new way as well.

I hope that feeling reaches those who see my photos.

These observations and experiences deeply inspire my work, and I seek to capture the diverse emotions of life through flowers.

The presence of flowers is a source of expression for me and provides endless opportunities for recreation.

Editor’s Note

In Paradise for Birds, the meeting of bare branches, perched birds and post-rain mist creates an image suspended between desolation and refuge. The ecological detail in the photographer’s account complicates the scene: the stripped trees are not simply a formal device but part of a living environment shaped by the birds themselves.

The photograph’s contemplative mood depends on that tension. Rather than offering an uncomplicated pastoral view, it allows stillness and environmental change to occupy the same frame. Park’s wider reflections on flowers and resilience suggest a recurring interest in how living things persist and renew themselves.

Follow Kay Park

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kaypark.photography

Website: https://kaypark.kr

About the World Grand Prix Photography Awards

The World Grand Prix Photography Awards (WGPPA) is an international online photography competition recognising creative work across photographic disciplines. Winning photographers can share their work through online award showcases, while selected winners may be invited to take part in editorial interviews published by WODACC. These features give readers a closer look at the artists, ideas and processes behind the photographs.

For photographers exploring international online competitions, the award offers a way to present work beyond a personal portfolio and, for selected participants, an opportunity to share their creative stories with a wider audience.

Competition website: https://www.wgppa.com/