I’d often imagine what life might look like had I not caught the wave that broke my back, it wasn’t even a good one. I recall referencing how shallow the reef was, “I’m going to have to walk back out after this one”…I almost didn’t. I heard the cracks underwater, 2 severely compressed vertebra in my thoracic spine sitting on top of each other like pancakes. Eventually the chronic pain, capacity to work/socialise, the disconnection from the outdoors and community…it beat me down. I lost connection with my body, I couldn’t trust it and pain was the only input I felt. It rewires your brain. I learned to use photography as a way to interpret, explore and enjoy nature. It was all I had, the only reason good enough to go outdoors.
But it never replaced the feeling of truly tapping in and physically engaging in natures energy. In 2019 I was up late and randomly watching a live stream of UTMB (a 170km trail running event in the Alps), it looked a bit like surfing to me being locked in and present in nature, the flow of it and everyone had their own style. The body is designed to put one foot in front of the other, it was pure yet radical. I credit that with putting me on a path of being grateful for my ability to walk and really exploring that whilst delving into biomechanics and making sense of my injury.
Fast forward a few years, thousands of km walking/backpacking/trail running and the simple magic of progressive overload, I’ve just completed my goal of hiking the 1000km Bibbulmun Track in sub 30 days. Aggressive enough to be a challenge where finishing wasn’t guaranteed, but not such a miserable pace that I couldn’t take it all in. My spinal injury is still there, I feel it everyday, I still have issues with capacity for work and life but I’m proud I’ve learned ways to get a bit more out of it to the point where I can explore my physical limits once again. I was inspired daily by the resilience and adaptability of our unique flora and fauna, evolving in weird ways to survive difficult conditions and regrow or even thrive after fire.
a well lived, well loved old home in Shenton Park before the many hands arrive to reshape the walls. A farewell to quiet before the new hum.
Client: @whisperingsmith_
Documentation at a castings shop in Midland, Western Australia for @tim__meakins ‘Signal The Moment I Disconnect’ at @rauch_offspace in Krefeld, Germany
nz 🌪️
Tapping back in, almost had to re learn how to chuck a coupla pictures on Instagram again. A.I label is a bit crazy, unfortunately had to go outside for these ones
