A Year of Recovery

I could never have imagined that a simple slip on a wet rock at Ardtoe on 6th July 2021 would lead to surgery, four months in a leg brace, a year of physiotherapy, and many more months of recovery before I could once again walk freely and photograph the Peninsula’s landscape. But that is exactly what happened.

Determined not to let the injury define the year, I turned to photography for both purpose and motivation. While wearing a knee brace, I set myself the challenge of returning to the landscape at the start of 2022. My aim was to create five or six photographs each month that captured the Peninsula’s changing character through the seasons.

With my mobility significantly restricted, especially in the early months, I had to choose every location with care. The restrictions were often frustrating, but they also pushed me to think more creatively and find new viewpoints in places I could reach safely.

By the end of the year, I had created a collection of 72 photographs—six for each month—that together tell the story of the Peninsula through the seasons. Looking back at them, I’m reminded how far I had come since that cold January morning when, supported by a crutch, I carefully made my way down the jetty at Salen to take the first photograph in the collection.