Highly commended

2021
photograph
80 x 80 cm

Photography has enabled me over the years to immerse myself into something positive. To draw on the inspiration I get when I look through the lens of my camera. Since restrictions have lifted regarding Covid, I have been able to move around with my camera. I met Ricky at a community lunch in Geelong.

I started off the conversation with them that I suffered from PTSD from my deployment to Iraq. I asked permission before I took their images, Ricky was one of them. He explained that he doesn’t have a photo of himself and would really like one. I spoke to him about my journey and how photography had been a real tangible thing that helped me with my recovery. A week later I was able to bring the images that I had taken and gave them each a copy of theirs to keep. Ricky picked this image of himself and thanked me with a tear in his eye. I felt I had a real connection to Ricky as I asked him to stare straight down the barrel of the lens. This image is one of my all-time favourites.