I’ve been wanting to do this photo for a while … I’ve been thinking about it for over a year. Thinking about what it would look like, mulling over the details. But the truth of it is that my office/photo studio is a giant mess. Taking photos in my studio means I have to move boxes and furniture and basically I’ve been procrastinating. 🙂
Gerry went on a motorcycle trip this weekend and I thought “fuck it – let’s do this” so I spent most of the day Friday cleaning up and then was able to reach all my camera equipment and set up the studio on Saturday.
It’s been a long long while since I shot anything in my studio. Last photo I shot in my studio was this hairless one. I just checked the date and it was almost exactly 2 years ago to the day. Funny how inspiration works …
When I took this photo I was in the middle of my chemo and was at my lowest in terms of energy, self esteem and life force. I felt like a ghost. Like I didn’t exist. I would look in the mirror and see nothing of my former self. I wanted to shoot myself this day because I needed to feel real.
There is something about looking at photos of yourself rather then looking in the mirror. When I looked at the photo I was able to see my power. I wasn’t a ghost. I was amazing.
Flash forward to 2 years later and I decided to do another photoshoot – only this time the photo is not just for me. I wanted to shoot a photo that would be empowering and inspiring for someone who was feeling low – like I was 2 years ago – could look at use to propel themselves forward on their cancer journey.
I shot the new photo. Edited it and at 10:30pm I threw it up on FB, Insta and Twitter and went to bed … I woke up the next day to a flurry of messages, retweets, reposts and likes. The messages and comments were really wonderful. I bathed myself in all the love …
So many beautiful messages like this one:
I am so touched by all of your never wavering support and especially by those of you who are going through or have gone through the cancer experience. I wish I could hug each and every one of you. 🙂
My only regret with this photo is that I forgot to put my name on the image … ha ha. I wasn’t thinking. As of today this image has been shared over 750x on FB. It’s all over Twitter, Insta and Pinterest. It’s pretty damn cool. Thank you for sharing.
If you notice that someone has posted it and doesn’t mention my name … please add my name to it or point them in the direction of this website. Not because I want the notoriety (I have enough of that – ha ha) but because I want to connect with as many of you as possible. 🙂
I’ve been thinking about doing a whole series of photos like this … who else do you think I should dress up as?? I’ve been making a list but help me add to it!! — Love you guys.
You are wonderful. Thank you for sharing your light with us.
How about Rosie the Riviter? Forgive my spelling or lack there of.
Thanks for the awesome photo. I hope it helps folks on their cancer journey and gets them through it with dignity, strength, and peace of mind.
I have an idea… but it needs photoshop. You can present some jobs (doctor, lawer, firewoman, musician etc.) into a serie of pictures and in each you are half dressed half and nude the other side with your breast showed and the same setting in background and same expression in your face. The message is : it happens more than we can think and the beauty of it is the healing (or remission). What do you think ?