Never, did I ever think that I would be photographing women from around the world for the Underneath We Are Women project. I was so naive when I first embarked on this project. I actually remember thinking "I'll photograph 10 women to show the diversity of womens bodies". I know, ridiculous right? So I upped the number to 100. I thought that seemed a lot. But I now know that even in 100 women with their images and stories, I will never truly be able to accurately bring visibility to the true diversity of the physicality, abilities and stories behind women and their bodies. But you know what? I can give it a red hot crack!

As I mentioned, I initially thought I would photograph just 10 women for the project. But after photographing the first four women in a small studio in Adelaide, Australia, I soon realised that I needed to make this a much bigger project. Women asked me to make this a much bigger project. I was something that was not only wanted, but needed. 

In the early days of the project (back in 2015) my partner and I joked about travelling to other countries to photograph women. And given that we had received interest from over 12 different countries, it didn't seem like such a silly idea. But it stayed as just that, an idea. I continued photographing women from all over Australia and over the next two years, had photographed 79 women. During this time, I spoke with many women from all over the world. Some of them expressing how the project had helped them embrace their own bodies and stories, and others expressing how thy'd like to see bodies like their represented within the book. I listened and took on everything these women spoke about.

In May 2017, I received a message via Facebook from a woman in Mexico. She explained to me that she was born with moles of various sizes all over her body, one of which covered her entire left side of her torso, arm and half her leg. She told me that she had countless stories "in which people rejected me because of my moles, they look at me bad, I hear the things they say." She told m that she was interested in the project. She told me "Please, I want someone that hears me." Her message broke my heart, but at the same time, I knew I could do something. I could giver her a platform to tell her story, a platform to be visible. This was back in May 2017. I travelled to America in March 2018 and photographed Lorena in Los Angeles, California. Lorena and her story was the final reason for me to travel to the US and photograph women in New York City and Los Angeles. I photographed women that travelled from Interstate and even Internationally to be a part of the book, coming together to share their stories and raise awareness of their own personal experiences.

It's hard to put into words how truly wonderful and humbling these shoots were. The people I met, the friendships that were formed, between both myself and the women on the day was beautiful to witness. As with all the shoots, stories, struggles, triumphs, tears, laughs, were all shared and supported. 

Thank you to everyone that has believed in the book, taken part, helped out, given support and shared in this glorious wild ride. I thank you. We thank you!

​Now, enjoy some behind the scenes shots from both the New York and Los Angeles photo shoots. ​

Ever wanted to go to the beach with a group of mates that you KNOW will make you feel great? That won’t make negative judgements? Do you wish you could just not give a damn about what others thought of you at the beach, just once! Me too. And I’ve gotten a lot better at it this summer. 
Being able to wear what I want to wear, the bathers that make me feel good, sexy, confident, comfortable, is liberating! It seems like a small thing right? Going to the beach and wearing bathers or a bikini. Sure, to some it is small. And, to others it’s massive!! We all have a right to enjoy public spaces. And we ALL have a right to show skin in these public spaces. ​

People tell me that women gaining confidence to go to the beach in a bikini isn’t a big deal. But here’s the thing. You can’t tell others what does and does not constitute a notable achievement in THEIR lives. The smallest of achievements to you, may just be a life changing experience in another. ​