© Ian Pettigrew
College have been speaking about the importance of personal projects
recently. Personal projects can turn out to be your best and most
fulfilling work, because for whatever reason, you have specifically chosen to
do it. I recently stumbled upon a Canadian photographer, later found out
he's half Scottish! Well, he is currently working his way through a
personal project called Just Breathe, where he's photographing
adults who are living with Cystic Fibrosis (CF).
Media coverage surrounding CF is sparse. Since the birth of social
media, I'm connected to a lot of people who have CF. There's always
somebody who knows a person who has died recently. It can get really
upsetting reading things like that. It's not high profile like Cancer,
but it's equally devastating. It will kill you; it just drags the process
out a bit. Adults living with CF can often feel like it's a battle to
stay alive, that's why they are often referred to as Warriors within the CF
community. Treatment regimes are physically and mentally demanding for
patients. Like many other long term chronic conditions, it may not be widely
understood that family members can also endure years of emotional trauma as a
direct result of caring for and/or living with the sick person.
After being
diagnosed later in life himself, Ian wanted to spread the message that this is
no longer a children's disease and the best way to do that as a Photographer,
is by taking pictures. Lots of pictures!
Ian started his career in
advertising and got the photography bug by working alongside photographers for
many years. He used to think photographers had a glamorous life. He
admits he was wrong. Just like I used to think the ladies behind the
make-up counters in department stores were glamorous, before I did my school
work experience. Someone once asked him why he would want to be in a
job that made him poor, but money isn't everything.
As well as Ian's standard portrait
head shots for his Just Breathe Project, I found another one called Salty
Girls - The Women of Cystic Fibrosis Here he photographs
CF women. But, what does the name mean? Well, the salt in CF
patients bodies travel differently through the tissues to that of non-CF
people. Patients secrete higher volumes of salt through their sweat.
There was an old saying around the 1700s which went like this, "woe is the
child who tastes salty from a kiss on the brow, for he is cursed and soon must
die". They used to believe CF children were bewitched. In this
project Ian captures how CF can ravage your physical appearance. I'm well aware of
how the effects of CF have changed my appearance and body image. I've
always been a little self conscious. It's healthier for me to weigh more,
but society wants you to be thin. I think it's very brave of the ladies
to expose themselves like this. It takes real courage, which I'm sure
they have truck loads of.
Ian wants his images made into a photobook. If he can get enough financial support or even better a sponsor, he could make this a reality sooner. If you are in a position to be a sponsor of this book, great. If not, well you could always join the organ donor register in your county instead. I'll leave you with some of Ian's images and one of me, which is my contribution to Salty Girls - The Women of Cystic Fibrosis. Photo credit to the lovely Nicola Grimshaw and her team at My Boudoir - Make-Over Boudoir Photography.
Ian wants his images made into a photobook. If he can get enough financial support or even better a sponsor, he could make this a reality sooner. If you are in a position to be a sponsor of this book, great. If not, well you could always join the organ donor register in your county instead. I'll leave you with some of Ian's images and one of me, which is my contribution to Salty Girls - The Women of Cystic Fibrosis. Photo credit to the lovely Nicola Grimshaw and her team at My Boudoir - Make-Over Boudoir Photography.
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| © Ian Pettigrew |
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| © Ian Pettigrew |
© Nicola Grimshaw
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