Field Notes from a Wandering Photographer – Week 7: My Recovery Era

This week felt like living in the space between the frames — the part no one sees, the part you’d normally edit out. The days moved, but I didn’t quite move with them. Instead, I drifted through Canberra’s medical circuit: physio, psychology, imaging rooms with fluorescent lights that hum louder than your thoughts, waiting rooms full of people pretending they’re fine.

Recovery is a strange kind of choreography — slow, repetitive, deeply unglamorous. And I’ve been performing it from a single mattress in my mum’s toy-room, tucked beside a bookshelf of children’s novels and a box of toys that make random noises if you even breathe near them. Not exactly the coastal-chic lifestyle photographer setup. But it’s safe. And for now, that’s enough.

And I’m realising this: recovery isn’t passive.

It’s work.

It’s presence.

It’s choosing to show up for a version of yourself who doesn’t exist yet — but will.

Your Body Keeps Score (and keeps reminding me)

The neck pain from the accident still burns across the base of my skull, and the headache — the one I’ll likely carry for the next few months — follows me everywhere. Some days it softens to a low hum; other days it pulses with sharp insistence. It shapes every hour of my day in ways no one ever sees.

I stay positive — genuinely. I’m grateful in ways I can’t articulate. But pretending this hasn’t changed me? That would be the real lie.

This accident shifted my entire internal landscape.

It didn’t just bruise me — it rewired things. Being hit at high speed isn’t something your body or brain just shrugs off. There are moments, especially driving, when headlights in the rear-view mirror hit differently now — when a flashback rolls in out of nowhere and I feel my whole system brace before I even realise what’s happening.

What’s also difficult is navigating the aftermath — the practical pieces, the financial strain, the loss of freedom, the slow process of rebuilding without the systems people assume will catch you.

And the hardest part?

I still can’t go home.

I miss my cottage by the ocean — the jasmine climbing the fence, the salt air, the late-afternoon light that hits the kitchen window like a movie still. I miss the quiet, the freedom, the version of myself who lived there.

I’ll get back there next year. I’m holding onto that.

And through all of this, I keep thinking about the work I do — photographing people in their real, unrepeatable moments. It hits differently now. Every wedding, every lifestyle shoot, every messy, blurred, in-between frame feels like the good stuff. The stuff we don’t get twice.

In Between Shoots

Editing looks different these days. Slower. Softer. Done in small bursts between appointments and horizontal recovery sessions. I’m moving gently through the final galleries of the year, delivering what I can and being honest about what needs to wait.

This season has taught me more about boundaries than any business podcast ever could.

My camera is still away being repaired — a symbolic little pause we’re taking together. But when it comes back, I know the first shutter click will feel like a full-body exhale.

And somehow, even from this tiny toy-room base of operations, enquiries for 2026 weddings keep landing in my inbox — Canberra, Melbourne, Gippsland, Yass, and everywhere in between. It feels like a quiet reminder that when your work is rooted in heart, it carries itself even when you need to slow down.

Book your 2026/27 Wedding or Elopement

If you’re dreaming of photos that feel soft, editorial, and real:

I’m now taking bookings for 2026 weddings and elopements in:

• Canberra and surrounds

• East Gippsland and Lakes Entrance

• Melbourne and Regional Victoria

Enquire here → BOOK MY 2026 DATE

Let’s tell your story beautifully.

Shout outs for the beautiful wedding below because there’s a whole lot that goes on behind the photos:

Venue: @longfield_1838

Celebrant: @_kristendavidson

Videography: @forgetmeknotfilmsau

MC: @sealedwithakass

Cake: @mysweetlady_cbr

Makeup: @j3kka_mua

Hair: @amyclarehairsalon

Catering: @goldenroastaustralia

My podcast interview with Behind The Veil that I recorded back in August comes out this month, talking all things:

• vibes and visual storytelling

• editing that feels like memory

• moments behind the scenes of a wedding photographer

• the joy and chaos of wedding days

And if all goes to plan, I will be back behind the lens shooting many more memories and love stories later in the season!

The idea of holding my camera again feels like returning home.

There’s also editing for

• a boudoir session that felt like a reclamation

• a branding session that captured a team stepping into a whole new chapter

• small creative sparks reminding me I’m still me

Even when my body hurts, my creativity hasn’t stopped.

The stories continue.

The galleries fill with light.

Life, even the messy version, moves forward.

Currently Loving

Here are a few things making my days feel softer, easier, and honestly a bit more main-character-energy:

Sol Cleanse Daily Celery Juice

Fresh, hydrating, and the perfect way to offset days where I’m running on vibes and adrenaline.

Discount code: ROWENA10

This vanilla matcha latte from Woolies

The Morning Made Vanilla Matcha Latte. Ridiculously good. Dangerous.

ALL’S FAIR on Disney+

My guilty pleasure. Peak escapism. No notes.

Arnica cream & Panadol

For all the behind-the-scenes bruises the internet doesn’t see.

GOODBERRYS! It’s a Canberra delicacy I recommend everyone try! My favourite flavour is a chocolate concrete with flake and almonds and a maraschino cherry on top! I’ve definitely been indulging in some comfort food lately!

Music that feels like a soft reset

Aperture by Yukon Leopard

Intangible and Four by Ben Green

The soundtrack of my resting era.

Fresh air + giving myself permission not to hustle

A quietly radical concept.

Red Light Beds at Reset Recovery in Belconnen

My new personality trait: being gently microwaved back to life.

What’s Next

Signature Sessions by the Sea, Some ideas arrive fully formed. Others whisper.

This one has been whispering.

A session that feels like summer — like movement, like memory, like the life you’ll want to show your grandkids.

I wasn’t sure whether to wait until I have a car again or until I’m fully back home…

but this offering feels too right to sit on.

One hour with a little red kite.

Your loved ones barefoot in the sand.

A handful of photos that feel like you.

Bare feet. Laughter. Light.

A documentary-style, intimate family session with warmth, movement and the beautifully chaotic magic of real life baked into every frame.

40+ high-resolution images, delivered through a curated online gallery with an integrated print store.

These sessions will take place in:

Marlo · Eden · Batemans Bay

Dates to be confirmed.

If you can already see it — the water, the wind, the joy — get in touch to join the waitlist.

This offering feels like the first spark of my next chapter.

Soft. Sun-warmed. Honest.

And that’s it! The life behind the scenes of Hello Ro Photography an Australian lifestyle and wedding photographer. If there’s something you’d love me to write about, maybe a behind-the-scenes topic, a favourite shoot, or even what I’m packing for my next trip — leave a comment below or DM me on Instagram at @hello.ro.photography. I’d love to hear from you.

If you’d like to see more of my work, visit www.hellorophotography.com or find me on Instagram at @hello.ro.photography.