“Barriers are just in the mind,” Mandurah photographer Kirk Norman said.
“It’s all about finding one’s ability within a disability.”
The Halls Head-based sports photographer has taken breaking barriers into his own hands, by creating an all media campaign to bring positive empowering thoughts back into Australia’s sports photography.
The campaign, which has been six months in the making and will be launched in October, gathers the stories and photographs of West Australian sportspeople with disabilities.
Mr Norman came up with the project after he felt inspired by stories like Jake Howe’s, the West Australian wheelchair rugby player.
An unfortunate party accident left Mr Howe quadriplegic in 2012, when his partner was three months pregnant.
He broke his spine and was told he would have to use an electric wheelchair due to the lack of mobility in his upper limbs.
Mr Howe was determined to see his son’s birth, and invested all his determination into getting through rehab as quickly as possible.
During his time in rehab he learned about his own ligaments and how to operate a manual wheelchair despite his reduced mobility and was introduced into wheelchair rugby.
He had never been a sporty type of person, but he took the sport on board and he has now a date in Sydney in November to try out for the National Wheelchair Rugby Team.
Mr Norman has teamed up with videographer Stuart Shepard, camera assistant Joanne Norman and Wheelchair Sports WA to select 12 athletes with different disabilities and professional sporting experience who are willing to talk about ‘their ability within their disability’ and how sport changed their recovery.
“Too many people are born with, or involved in an accident resulting in a permanent disability, are suffering from the thought that there’s no positives left,” he said.
“With sharing the stories and images we capture, we hope to change those thoughts, with inspiring images that speak a thousand words, photographs that speak a thousand words and also a video commercial of their story.”
From October on, Mr Norman will share one athlete’s story and photographs every month in the Ability within their Disability website and social networks in a bid to inspire other athletes and non athletes.
At the end of the project, a calendar will be made available for purchase, with photographs of all 12 athletes.
All the project proceedings will go towards Wheelchair Sports WA, which assists people with disabilities from their accident to their recovery, and encourages them to take part in sport.
Mr Norman is also working on organising the first project’s exhibition, which would be scheduled for February.
Kirk Norman took the camera for the first time four years ago and found his niche in sport photography.
He is now looking at moving one step forward, combining his passion for sport portraiture with an empowering and positive message.
For more information about the project go to kirknphotography.com.au.