Finding Purpose and Healing in Nature Photography

After an injury ended my law enforcement career, nature photography became my path to healing and purpose.

Greg Noakes sat at a scenic overlook in Ontario, July, 2022, (Greg Noakes)

Life is full of unexpected surprises, and for me, I found that out quite early on.

For almost a decade, I worked in law enforcement, with a focus on animal protection and rescue. A childhood dream come true. It was the most rewarding career I could have imagined. Every day, I had the chance to make a difference, to save lives, and to work alongside some of the most vulnerable members of society - animals. There were moments that brought me to tears, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. But through it all, I knew I was in the right place.

Unfortunately, my dream came crashing down due to an on-duty vehicle collision in 2019. I was rear-ended during a call for service, and the impact left me with a permanent disability in my left shoulder. In an instant, the career I had poured my heart into was no longer sustainable. I tried my best to adapt, but the pain was constant, and the limitations on what I could do physically became too much. In the end, I had to leave a job that had been my dream.

An early photo of Greg Noakes holding a Great-horned Owl during an examination.

It was a devastating moment in my life. I had planned to dedicate myself to the field until the very end, but life had other plans. I struggled with what to do next and the mental and physical toll was overwhelming, but I found an unexpected outlet: photography.

I picked up a camera in 2020, a year after the accident, as a way to reconnect with the natural world. Photography offered an escape, a break from the constant demands and pain of my daily life. For the first time, I could interact with animals and nature without the weight of a rescue or investigation on my shoulders. Just me, nature, and a camera. I started with landscape photography at first, but it was a slow process. I'd walk a short distance to a spot, set up my tripod, and work on composing a shot. It got me up and out of the house, without a lot of physical demands.

One of the few instances where I was involved with saving a human life (Greg Noakes)

But as time went on, I found myself falling deeper into the world of nature photography. The more I explored, the more I wanted to push my boundaries. What began as short, 2km outings soon turned into 50km hikes along the Toronto Bruce Trail. Photography was my motivation to keep going out, as I wanted to keep taking photos to improve. But it came with a heavy toll. I had to carefully time my outings, knowing that each one would leave me out of commission and in pain for sometimes days afterward. Every shot I took became a calculated decision. Not just because of composition, but because I knew it would require enduring some amount of pain. The process reminded me of film photography, choosing the moments to capture, rather than shooting everything.

Photography became my escape, a way to find purpose in the midst of the pain. It forced me to slow down and appreciate every moment I had in the field, even though I couldn’t be out there as often as I’d like.

Living with chronic pain isn't easy. There are days when it feels like too much, when I wonder if I'll ever feel “right” again. But it has also given me a new perspective on life. When everything changes in an instant, you learn to appreciate what you have before it slips away. I was in my early 20s when I became disabled, and while it was a blow I never saw coming, I've made peace with it in my own way. Photography gave me a way to live again, to find joy in nature and to make the most of what I can do.

Despite the pain and the setbacks, I’m still trying to make the best of the situation.

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