Billy Michels

This park is the reason I bought the house that I did, only 2 blocks away. I believe that besides Central Park in NYC, Patterson Park is one of the biggest city parks on the East Coast, if not the country. The designers carefully planted trees from all over the world, and used it's natural undulations, hills, valleys, and plains to create wonderful little areas for picnics, concerts, sports, walking, biking, and any other outside activities you can imagine. This park is a natural, peaceful gathering space that highlights the diversity of Baltimore City. We get a lot of bad press for our crime and violence in this city, but what people never see are the thousands of multicultural families in this park, reveling in it's beauty, enjoying themselves, intermingling with others and simply basking in its awesomeness on a daily basis. It is a sanctuary, it is a place to escape, it is a place to reflect, it is a place to begin again, a place to rest, a place to feel safe, a place to play, a place to come alive... no matter who you are. I love this park, and I'm in it every day. I was excited to shoot it from above, as it gave me a whole new appreciation of the undeniable beauty of it - the lines, the curves, the trees, the ponds, the open spaces... I look at this picture almost daily, and though it is only capturing a tiny section of the park, the feeling I get in my heart is bigger than you can possibly imagine.