On the road with Sophie Matterson
When I got the call from Australian Geographic to track down Sophie Matterson and...
Many things arise in the journey of life often unexpectedly and i’m always surprised with human nature’s ability to cope with the highs and lows of being alive on this planet. Sometimes it seems that the elasticity of this pull is too much and recovery appears impossible.
The road leading up to this day wasn’t a walk in the park I had to get special permits from the head of health in Adelaide as well as deal with a small hospital room and an even smaller budget of time. Each shot within the hospital walls was planned out, lighting setups sketched out and a stopwatch set for each shot. The nurses were super helpful and friendly which helped greatly with load in/out as well as keeping an eye on my OH&S while in any public spaces.
Spending the day with Audrey Wonga fortified my resilience, inspired and motivated me a great deal. During pregnancy Audrey developed gestational diabetes which affects between 2 – 10 percent making it one of the most common health problems within pregnancy.
The first image in the series is purposely lit to focus the viewers attention toward her face. Audrey’s motivation behind the images is her desire to show that she is just like everyone else, share with others that diabetes is manageable and there is life after limb amputation.
With assistance from her trusty gopher Audrey demonstrates her independence motoring all over town, visiting the shops and dropping in on the grannies.
As always I learnt a great deal researching gestational diabetes as well as interacting with Audrey and her family. Never take these connections for granted and always honoured to be able to walk alongside community and listen to their ups and downs.
A big thanks to Christopher Crismani and the nursing staff at the Coober Pedy Hospital.