Meet little Indie.
She is two and a half, LOVES The Wiggles, Dora, balloons and the colour pink. She has that little spark like all toddlers do, she is curious, loves being thrown in the air by her Dad and loved popping balloons by throwing them on the grass one at a time 🙂
Sadly little Indie was diagnosed with Leukaemia at just 3 months of age, she has recently had a bone marrow transplant and is starting her third round of chemo today, just while we are all preparing to switch off for a while over Christmas.
A family friend contacted me about family portraits, I did not hesitate. I know the value of portraits and the importance of capturing Indie’s personality and the bond she has with her parents. I started brainstorming ideas for our portrait session and how to help Indie and her parents to forget cancer for a while and just be a family together.
I raided my daughters room and borrowed her pink netted tent, a pink ballet quilt and bought 80 balloons in shades of pink to fill the tent with. Indie loved it all. And the netting filtered the high sun perfectly creating a glow inside.
As a photographer I see light and shade constantly everywhere I go. I know light like the back of my hand, how it moves and how it can be enhanced. Light breaks through the darkness, travels faster than sound, moves around corners, fills shadows, bounces from one surface to another… its strength is doubled when reflected and Indie’s light has been reflected by many, many people who have had the pleasure of her company, who have been touched by her story and who have experienced the little ray of light that she is.
If your greatest test is to be able to bless someone else while you are going through your own storm, then Indie is one of the strongest people I have ever met. Being in contact with her this past week had me wondering why on earth this would happen, trying to possibly imagine what she is going through, and had been going through for pretty much all of her short life. Trying to make sense of it all will leave me empty handed, though in looking for the positives, I have realised the renewed perspective Indie has shown me and that you can surprise yourself with how strong you can be when being strong is the only choice you have. Indie is a fighter and her spirit is strong. Her light shines brightly, and light can most definately overcome the darkness.
We got some beautiful portraits which Indie’s parents are happy to share and you can see below. If you wish to see Indie’s story so far, just cut and past this URL showing their A Current Affair story from earlier in the year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-h9TMtUDnE
If you wish to follow Indie in the future and get involved in any future fund raising events, jump onto her Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/IndieRoseTaurima?ref=ts&fref=ts
A big thank you from me to Indie and her lovely parents for the opportunity to share 45 minutes of their day.
Jen and Jai, it was an honour to photograph you all. Thank you.
K.