Free Wheelin’
Sarah Cheshire became a paraplegic after an accident. Losing the use of her legs, she was looking to a future being bound to her wheelchair, made even more difficult by a lack of infrastructure in regional areas.
She was certain at not being able to experience the freedom of something like cycling. All that changed when Paralympian Michael Taylor donated one of his bikes to local Bendigo Organisation, Freewheeling Fun, who restore bikes and donate them to people who otherwise could never own a bike.
I wanted this image to convey the impact that something like this can have on someone’s life and highlight the difference that often unheralded members of the local community can make to someone’s life.
It was a dark and dull day, so I chose to use flash to make the image a little brighter. I chose a low angle to shoot from to make her bigger in the image. I also had to find a way to relate to Sarah and relax her into the photo, so that we could see Sarah’s overwhelming joy that her new sense of freedom brought to her and the joy she was feeling at this moment.
