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Manuel Perez just wants the people of Downers Grove to know how blessed they are to have the beautiful Lyman Woods so close by.
He calls the 154 acres of land an oasis between Downers Grove and the City of Chicago.
And if the people do not have time to visit the woods, Perez is more than happy to bring the woods to them.
“There’s so much to see there it’s unbelievable. You don’t have to go far. We have so much to see in Downers Grove,” Perez said.
Over the last eight years, the full-time physician has found time to walk the grounds of the nature preserve with a camera and capture the moments so many people never get to see.
Throughout June, Perez’s photographs can be seen in the front lobby of the Downers Grove Public Library. They depict close ups of butterflies, fawns nursing from their mother, flowers and lush sunsets and have names as simple and playful as the images they depict.
As rich as the photographs are, the images only gain depth when one knows about Perez’s fascinating background. Before setting foot in Lyman Woods, before living in Downers Grove, before coming to America, Perez was a physician in Cuba in the 1980s, “when the Communist party was on the top of the world and they think that they’re the best,” he said.
He said he devised a plan to escape Cuba by writing political essays. Ultimately, he was honored by the Soviet Union for his writings and was invited to Russia to receive an award, he said. While en route, he defected to Ireland then made his way to America as a political refugee, he said.
But all that is in the past, a past Perez said he hasn’t shared with many people. While interviewing for this story, he said he wished to keep the focus on his photographs, of which he has thousands.
Though he has won awards and been recognized for his photographs in the past, Perez has no ambition to make photography his full-time career.
But when he retires, Perez said he will spend more time with his camera. Most likely at Lyman woods, where he can be seen stalking nature in the early hours of the morning, just in time to capture an image of the fog.
“I see things in the woods that nobody would ever see,” Perez said. “I walk in the woods. I walk in the woods. You walk and you pay attention.”
Manuel Perez just wants the people of Downers Grove to know how blessed they are to have the beautiful Lyman Woods so close by.
He calls the 154 acres of land an oasis between Downers Grove and the City of Chicago.
And if the people do not have time to visit the woods, Perez is more than happy to bring the woods to them.
“There’s so much to see there it’s unbelievable. You don’t have to go far. We have so much to see in Downers Grove,” Perez said.
Over the last eight years, the full-time physician has found time to walk the grounds of the nature preserve with a camera and capture the moments so many people never get to see.
Throughout June, Perez’s photographs can be seen in the front lobby of the Downers Grove Public Library. They depict close ups of butterflies, fawns nursing from their mother, flowers and lush sunsets and have names as simple and playful as the images they depict.
As rich as the photographs are, the images only gain depth when one knows about Perez’s fascinating background. Before setting foot in Lyman Woods, before living in Downers Grove, before coming to America, Perez was a physician in Cuba in the 1980s, “when the Communist party was on the top of the world and they think that they’re the best,” he said.
He said he devised a plan to escape Cuba by writing political essays. Ultimately, he was honored by the Soviet Union for his writings and was invited to Russia to receive an award, he said. While en route, he defected to Ireland then made his way to America as a political refugee, he said.
But all that is in the past, a past Perez said he hasn’t shared with many people. While interviewing for this story, he said he wished to keep the focus on his photographs, of which he has thousands.
Though he has won awards and been recognized for his photographs in the past, Perez has no ambition to make photography his full-time career.
But when he retires, Perez said he will spend more time with his camera. Most likely at Lyman woods, where he can be seen stalking nature in the early hours of the morning, just in time to capture an image of the fog.
“I see things in the woods that nobody would ever see,” Perez said. “I walk in the woods. I walk in the woods. You walk and you pay attention.”
