The Second First Flight

In Corvo, the smallest and most remote of the Azores islands, the local community lives in intimate symbiosis with the surrounding wilderness.

A prime example of this relationship is the conservation project "SOS Cagarros" dedicated to protecting Cory’s shearwater, a seabird endemic to the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Every autumn, for five nights, the island switches off its public lighting, plunging into darkness to allow these seabirds to orient themselves by the light of the moon and stars without being disoriented by the village lights.

During this period residents walk the streets searching for young birds that, during their first flight, might fall among the houses.

These birds are carefully gathered, kept safe overnight in cardboard boxes, and released the next morning on the cliffs, already guided toward the ocean that will be their home for the next five years until they return to land to reproduce.

This collective gesture is a powerful example of interspecies relationships, where the human community serves the survival of another species, temporarily relinquishing modern conveniences to restore the natural balance of the ecosystem they share.

It is a tangible step toward a new vision of progress, measured not just by technology but by the ability to coexist with the natural world.

How can an image translate this relationship into a global reflection?

Photographing this community is not just an act of documentation but a question: how can we forge connections for a sustainable future in an era where development models are being challenged?