Hi, I’m Rich. I’m a portrait photographer; I like telling people’s stories through photographs.

I like running as well, and whenever I come for a run around Richmond Park, I always stop at this tree. And the reason I stop here is because this is where my wife and I would come for picnics quite a lot when we first met.

My wife passed away in August 2021, and just stopping here on my runs is where I can stop and think; and talk to her; and tell her about what’s going on in the world that she’s missing.

There have been a number of times when I’ve come up to the tree and there’s already been someone sitting here, so I’ve stood to one side and waited out of sight for them to go. And there have been other times where I have been sitting here lost in my own thoughts, and I’ve seen someone, or even a group of people, come up and hover on the path waiting for me to go so that they can come and spend time on this tree.

These moments got me thinking about this tree and that it seems as though it holds a special place for lots of people, and so I’m interested in finding out about those people and finding out what their stories are and how they relate to this tree.

So if this tree means something to you in some way, I’d love to hear from you, to hear your story of why this tree is special, and to take your portrait.

And then if there’s enough of us, we’ll see whether we can turn that work into an exhibition, or a book or something.