June 2017, I had a traumatic back breaking accident which threatened to change the direction of my life. After a long period in hospital, I was unable to walk. As I painfully relearned this most basic, and taken for granted function, I became acutely aware of the physical and mental struggle in front of me. The initial euphoria of living to tell the story, was soon replaced by the realisation of the sheer size of the task ahead. It was daunting… and little overwhelming. For someone who was perviously so active, and positively thrived in the outdoors, these were difficult times. I found myself in some very dark, lonely places.
By far the easiest option would have been to give up, however, I’ve never taken the easy option… so I set myself some small (big) goals. The first of which was walking to the kitchen, followed by walking to the garden, then actually leaving the house, walking my dog, followed by carrying my camera… over the course of autumn 2017, I slowly and steadily ventured a little bit further, always with the assistance of a thoracolumbosacral back brace and walking stick… everything felt new, everything felt exciting, the fleeting change of season was beautiful in so, so many ways. Unable to carry a tripod, extra lenses or camera filters, all shots were hand held, which offered a new sense of freedom too… this was what I saw, this was the healing power of nature, this was how I began my rehab…
