Each of the ten photographers on Team Turquoise (aka, the best EAW team of all time) was locked into the theme of "tough cookies / girl power" for our individual stories. I was assigned to shed light on the story of Johanna Shaver, a 16-year-old girl who, in a tragic accident, lost her leg in lawnmower accident at age four. Since the event, Shaver has sported an artificial limb to countless sports games - tennis, swimming, cross country - and has gone on to be known as a beacon of hope and determination in the Jeffersonville community for her unrelenting persistence in pursuing a wholesome lifestyle, despite her handicap. Getting to know Johanna, was quite simply, an absolute pleasure. A bright, bubbly young woman with a huge heart and a knack for giving me a hard time. I was ecstatic when she and her mother attended the final slideshow at the end of the workshop to view my images (and be massively embarrassed by a standing ovation for her awesome-ness).
And for the behind the scenes reminder… After dumping off my cards to editors and rushing off to presentations, my work was downloaded, sifted through, tagged and slimmed down. My lead editor, Santiago Lyon, of the Associated Press, carefully considered each image by our team's photographers to craft a concise 8-12 image edit for every individual. The following is just that for Johanna's story. Enjoy.
