Behind the Scenes on Von Wong's Epic Photoshoot: 'Paralyzed Mom Hangs off Cliff for Mother's Day'

Photography is more than just taking a pretty picture. For many, it’s about capturing a moment. This couldn’t be more true for Benjamin Von Wong with his latest project.

Photoshop Artist Karen Alsop reached out to Von Wong to see if he would be up for some friendly competition and to participate in the Heart Project to tell the story of Sarah-Jane (SJ). After a routine surgery that went wrong, SJ woke up paralyzed changing her adventurous life. Von Wong couldn’t refuse once he learned more about her.

Unable to take her son to many wonderful experiences, Von Wong and team set out through the Blue Mountains of Australia to give her some of those experiences back and capture that amazing moment so her son could remember for years to come. The weather didn’t stop this adventure either; The team persisted through the all the preparations and safety checks for the shoot to continue. With the cold temperatures and the freezing rain, Von Wong sat in the wheelchair himself to test the safety of it being suspended off the cliff due to SJ's conditions. After a few amazing shots with Von Wong, it was time to continue the competition and for Alsop to take her turn and change reality for a moment.

I love the fact that Von Wong uses his skills and passion to continuously help out other people. I also love the fact that he gets out there and creates these amazing works of art on location. Yes it can be done behind a desk, but seeing that these photos are not composites make it that much more powerful and astonishing to look at. After seeing these images, I chatted briefly with Von Wong to get a little more information about this project.

Von Wong's portion of the project spanned across two days and Alsop's portion was just one day. Hiking up in the mountains with equipment can have its own challenges and as always you need to have some safety measures in place, not to mention the weather. With SJ’s condition and having the wheelchair being suspended over a cliff, this adds in extra safety measures so I was a bit curious to see what was on Von Wong's mind throughout this process. "I didn't have many concerns personally, but the safety rigging crew was really worried about making sure the wheelchair was well balanced so it didn't flip over," Von Wong said. It sounds like he wasn't too worried, but I am sure with a safety team present and all the planning and precautions in place, it takes away some of the worrying. He wasn't given much of a choice in being the test subject for the safety of the dangling wheelchair, but he was “totally fine with it.” The best thing about projects likes this is the final results and the reactions from those involved. "The most rewarding thing about this project was seeing SJ's reaction to the final results," said Von Wong. "It's a memory that she would never normally have."

The project was transformed into a charity project because both Von Wong and Alsop wanted something that held a social component to it. The project isn't over just yet, and neither is SJ's journey. A GoFundMe has been started to help her continue, so make sure to check out the campaign and read more about the photo shoot on Von Wong's blog. SupportSJ.org isn’t only to help benefit SJ and the rest of her journey, she wants to help other mothers in need and help make the world more accessible to them. What motivates Von Wong to do shoots like this isn’t only to help with the one cause that’s involved for the shoot, it’s a much bigger picture than just that. There’s no better way to end this but with his answer: "What I love about sharing these projects is that they inspire others to also do charitable projects of their own… and that's how the world becomes a more beautiful place."

Camera Equipment:

• Sony a7R II
• Sony Vario-Tessar 16-35mm lens
• Broncolor Beautybox 
• Broncolor Siros L 800 W/s monolight
• Broncolor Move 
• Broncolor Reflector

Credits:

Photographers: Benjamin Von Wong and Karen Alsop
Producer: Adam Cubito
Safety: Blue Mountains Adventure Company
Video Producer/Videographer: Valentina Vee
HMA: Paris Ambrose
Technical liaison: Jake Anderson
Assistants: Don Rajadurai, Stuart Alsop, Brian Bird, Yvette Martinette, Nikki Miller, Karley Miller, and Courtney Holmes
Additional thanks to: Glen Isla Luxury, Blue Mountains Accommodation, Woolworths, and BWS Leura Cindy Chen at Adobe Australia

All photos used with permission of Benjamin Von Wong and Valentina Vee.