DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Photographer shoots a paralyzed mom. Hanging off a cliff. With her son. In a wheelchair

May 8, 2017 by Dunja Djudjic 10 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

A print or a photo shoot can be a great gift for Mother’s Day. But photographers Benjamin Von Wong and Karen Alsop took it to a whole new level. They gave a quadriplegic mom a unique photo shoot and a chance to connect with her son through an adventure.

Sarah Jay (SJ) Staszak used to be a master rock climber, abseil instructor, and passionate cyclist. After a routine surgery gone wrong, she became unable to go on her adventures. The photographers and the team gave her a chance to experience the same thrill and adrenaline again. Despite bad weather and SJ’s disability, she was hanging off the edge of the cliff of the Blue Mountains once again, together with her son Hamish, for an epic photo shoot.

When Hamish was only 3 years old, SJ had a routine surgery that went wrong and left her quadriplegic. Suddenly, she became unable to take her son to all the adventure they both had been used to, and Benjamin and Karen wanted to bring those adventures back.

The photographers and the team of volunteers all got together to make the project possible. Benjamin even served as a guinea pig to test out the wheelchair hanging off the cliff:

Since SJ was an experienced climber, we wanted to make sure all the pieces were as ready as possible before she arrived. Unfortunately for us, the weather was not cooperating – nevertheless, we persisted.

When SJ and Hamish arrived, they started off by dangling him off the edge alone and taking the shots:

After that, it was SJ’s turn to experience the thrill of hanging off a cliff after so much time. Two Broncolor light set-up, beauty dish in the front and reflector in the back followed, and finally, her son joined her for another shot:

After Benjamin’s shoot was over, it was Karen’s turn to make her project. She took SJ and Hamish to the studio and took a number of shots for her Heart Project.

While fearless SJ, Hamish and Benjamin were hanging off the cliff, Karen remained on the sidelines. She was photographing the scenes for the composites she had in mind. Later in the studio, she took photos of SJ and Hamish, and turned them into dream-like composites she’s known for.

With the magic of Photoshop, Karen turned SJ into an adventurer she was before the surgery. At the same time, Benjamin brought out her adventurous side once again, and captured SJ along with her brave son. Although life can’t be staged in Photoshop, SJ doesn’t give up the fight, for herself, her family and above all – her son. If you want to help her fight, you can visit the GoFundMe page and help make The Blue Mountains more accessible for the disabled community.

As far as I’m concerned, this isn’t just a courageous photo shoot. It’s a perfect Mother’s Day gift, a great chance for SJ and Hamish to share a thrilling experience and strengthen their bond, and above all, it’s a proof of what I always believed – moms are super-humans.

Credits:

Photographers: Benjamin Von Wong & Karen Alsop
Producer: Adam Cubito
Safety: Blue Mountains Adventure Company
Video Producer/Videographer: Valentina Vee 
HMA: Paris Ambrose
Technical liaison: Jake Anderson
Assistants: Don Rajadurai, Stuart Alsop, Brian Bird, Yvette Martinette, Nikki Miller, Karley Miller, Courtney Holmes
Additional thanks to: Glen Isla Luxury, Blue Mountains Accommodation, Woolworths & BWS Leura Cindy Chen at Adobe Australia

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

This photographer has ALS and shoots amazing street photography from his wheelchair Photographer mom shared a photo of her son and his father in a shower – and now she’s going to court This mom uses photography to help her autistic 4-year-old son socialize Mom’s Touching Wedding Photos Honor 8-Year-Old Dead Son

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Benjamin Von Wong, Cliff, inspiration, Karen Alsop, rock climbing, rock climbing photography

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« Sundisc is a softbox that is totally flat
Lighting tips: How to give your photos the famous National Geographic style »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy