Holly Cocker Photography

2010-04-08T05:01:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post to say that I have been uploading photos on a near day basis on a Tumblr blog I just created. You can view it here.

I'm currently in Australia and have been for a few weeks, so will be posting lots of new photos on my return. Until then!

The story of emu pies

2010-03-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

On the way back from a road trip to Yallingup in Western Australia a few days ago Conor announced that he was going to be having an emu pie for lunch. He used to have them as a kid and remembered their tasty meat and crumbly pastry very well.

I was not so keen. It's not that I am unadventurous with food (some may diasagree) but surely it's absolutely essential that one must have a McDonalds on a road trip. It's the law. And I wasn't going to break it.

The anticipation for an emu pie built up steadily between the boys along the way and with a tummy happily filled up with a fillet-a-fish we pulled in to the Emu pie shop. Run by an elderly couple all the way through their married lives they kept the tasty emus in a cage by the side of the shack. I was a little disturbed by this especially as one of them started ramming the rickety fence at speed as Conor walked by clutching his emu pie/aka said emu's mother.

Sadly Conor's dreams of eating emu pie as an eleven year old school boy did not match up to the reality of some brown stodge and in a hard pastry case. An ice cream was had to make up for the massive disappointment and then we were on the road again.

Emu Pie Towers

Brother Emu

2 pies please, easy on the gravy

Sure thang.

Lovely Pies. Hannah tucks in sensibly to her gluten free sandwich.

Yummy.

Yallingup Woodfire Bakery

2010-03-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

During a stay on a campsite in a tiny village called Yallingup in Western Australia this week I was introduced to this bakery situated literally in the middle of nowhere...and these photos don't even come close to show how awesome this bakery is. I'm a bit of a foodie and got totally over excited by this, but they only bake 4 types of bread twice a day (7am and 4pm) and people literally queue right in to the woods to wait for their bread - it's that good! We arrived at 4 to be greeted by a kangeroo and her joey and then a hot loaf of fruit bread straight from the oven. We tore of chunks off and gobbled it down as we walked back devouring the hot fruity goodness. num num num.

What's Mine

2010-03-21T02:47:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I mentioned in this blog previously, but I am studying for an MA in Documentary Film at the University of Arts, London at the moment. There were a few reasons for choosing to study this - I adore photography (obviously!) and I meet and photograph so many amazing people with incredible stories and documentary seemed like a way to combine this.

I never went to university before, so the whole studying lark is a bit new to me but so far I absolutely LOVE it! I feel inspired every day to take more pictures and make more films.

Here's one I made this term with two of my classmates.

It's called 'What's Mine'.

In a society where materialism reigns and everything is disposable, what really matters to children and what do they count as being truly theirs in life?

Hope you enjoy it!

World Kidney Day

2010-03-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

It was World Kidney Day on Thursday and I was lucky enough to be invited to the reception and launch at the Houses of Parliament. I had only been to the H of P once before on a school trip when I was about 14, and being a moody teenager I totally didn't appreciate the beauty of the building inside. There are so many amazing paintings decorating the walls and the entrance hall is absolutely massive and totally stunning.

I was asked to set up a stand with some of my photographs to promote how transplants can change lives and through my photos I met lots of really interesting and some really inspirational people. The food was utterly amazing was all cooked up by celebrity chef Lawrence Keogh. He had a kidney transplant himself 10 years ago and so fully understood the dietry requirements of people on dialysis. As a result he has created a renal friendly cook book and cooked items from that. They are free, and absolutely fab. You wouldn't know that the food had no salt or potassium in it at all, was so tasty.... Num num num.

World Kidney Day is a fantastic way to raise awareness for kidney disease and also to encourage people to look after their own kidneys by drinking lots of water and eating less salt. I hope to be involved next year.

Photo thanks to Hollie Matthews

2010-03-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

I left a guest book at my exhibition and here are just a few of the lovely comments I received -

It's fab to have such kind words said about my photography but what's even more fantastic is to to hear how many people signed up to the Organ Donor Register as a result of seeing the exhibition.

Give and Let Live books are ready!

2010-02-20T03:07:00.000-08:00

After copious hours on InDesign, a hell of a lot of tea and about four different versions the Give and Let Live book is ready to be ordered! *happy jig*

Here's a sneak peak...

The book is 36 full colour pages and includes information about the stories of the couples. Every couple who I photographed is included.

The price is £10, which includes postage and packaging.

If you would like one please drop me a line at hollycocker@mac.com

Give and Let Live, Putney

2010-02-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Had a wonderful time on Sunday at a small gathering I had at my exhibition. Was really wonderful to see lots of old friends, Doctors and the lovely participants themselves!

Here's a few photos courtesy of Ned.

Rebekah and Paul next to their photo.

Me and my local MP, Justine Greening

Sam and Simon

My consultant when I was on dialysis, Dr Neil Duncan

My Mum and Laura looking through the exhibition book

Jan and Liz

Sarah stands in front of her photo

The exhibition is still up and will be until 14th Feb, so there's still time to get down there. I've had lots of lovely comments in my book which I'll post up sometime soon and some great reviews in various newspapers and online blogs - which is fantastic! Plus all the organ donor leaflets I put up to encourage people to sign up have gone too which is amazing!

June

2010-02-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

I recently took some photos for June Collier, the artist's new website. Here's a couple:

Shake it like a polaroid picture!

2010-02-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

When I was around 7 or 8 my parents loaded their polaroid camera with a brand new film and gave it to me to document Christmas that year. I took my responsibility very seriously and planned each photo with care making sure I documented the festive season properly. So 15 years on here I am again with a polaroid camera and a ton of film (courtesy of my very lovely older brother) and loving every minute of it!

So much fun, love the retro feel of it and the instant results. Can't believe Polaroid film has been discontinued...gonna have to make sure my stash lasts!

Will be adding my photos to this album in my Flickr page.

(that'll be me in the middle along with Dan and Pippa)

Exhibition is up!

2010-01-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I (with a l'il help from my friends) set up Give and Let Live at Putney Library, in South West London. I have exhibited 17 photos there and they are available to view from today till 14th February.

Address: Putney Library, 5/7 Disraeli Road London. Postcode, SW15 2DR.

Nearest tube: East Putney (5 minute walk from library)

Nearest train station: Putney (1 minute walk library)

I'm thrilled with how it looks - the whole set works really well. Do come down and have a look! I'll post some photos up at some point. The exhibition is different from the photos I have posted up on my website.

Breathe Easy Jess

2010-01-13T03:33:00.000-08:00

I woke up to hear the very sad news that Jessica Wales who I photographed here and here sadly passed away last night.

A complete fighter from start to finish Jess was on the transplant list for 4 years waiting for a call to give her a double lung transplant. She was given two years to live when she first went on the list but shocked doctors by outliving their exceptations by two years.

During those four years Jess endured nine false alarms for transplant. For those of you who are reading this and aren't in the 'transplant world' this is when a donor pair of lungs is found for you, you receive a phone call that tells you to get down to the hospital straight away and prepare for transplant, your heart races, your spirits life - this could be the day your life is saved - you go through numerous tests at the hospital, sitting around for hours hardly daring to move through nervous excitment and then suddenly a Doctor takes you in to a little room and tells you that the donor organ are too damaged/you are too ill for transplant or another reason that sends you crashing down once again into dispair. This happened to Jess NINE times. How she got through this I will never know.

A couple of days after Christmas Jess received her tenth call - and this time the transplant went ahead. Her friends and family were overjoyed - what a Christmas present! Sadly the call didn't come in time for Jess, her body was too weak to withstand such huge surgery and she passed away peacefully surrounded by her family last night.

She was one in a million - a complete super star. I feel honoured to have met her and photographed her. We should all feel inspired by Jess as her sheer strength and determination was incredible.

Please sign the organ donor register to stop this happening again and again. Today three other people will have died from lack of a transplant. This has to stop. We have to do something about this.

Please take two minutes out of your day and sign up to the UK transplant donor list in honour of Jess.

Breathe easy Jess. You'll be missed. XXX

Finding Sol

2010-01-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

An award winning short film that I produced last year. Directed by Stella Scott.

Finding Sol from Stella Scott on Vimeo.

Snow Day.

2010-01-08T13:29:00.001-08:00

J in the snow.

More Innocent Veg Art

2010-01-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

On the packaging of an innocent veg pot near you! A creative collaboration with Dan Usiskin.

Claycross Lunch Club, Derbyshire

2010-01-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

Every week for the past 25 years a large group of elderly people have gathered together cooking lunch, playing bingo, drawing a raffle and gossiping and chatting together.

I spent a morning there meeting the very lovely people who are members of the club documenting their goings on. Many of the old people there see the Claycross Lunch Club as their highlight of the week - for some, it's the only time they leave the house all week. There was an incredibly warm and close atmosphere and I was made to feel very welcome.

Many of the members had been coming for the whole 25 years that the club had been open. I witnessed a 'new girl' (a 68 year old who had recently moved to the area to be closer to her daughter) being paired up with an 'old girl' and being introduced to people and shown round the hall. The confidence of the 'old girl' and nervous excitement and shy questioning of the 'new girl' mirrored the behaviour of the 'new kid at school' relationship between two children.

The whole set of photos can be viewed here.

Chesterfield Ballet School

2010-01-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

And a little scout for good measure...

Chesterfield

2010-01-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

Having a long overdue catch up...lots of photography has gone on in the past few months, here's just some of it!

In late October I headed oop north to Chesterfield for a commission. The photos are to be put up in Chesterfield hospital which has recently celebrated its 25th anniversary of being open. I was asked to take photos of the people, businesses and landmarks in Chesterfield who were celebrating some sort of 25th anniversary in 2009. Along with a lovely researcher I visited and photographed so many fab people in the town...click on the photo to find out more info about who is in the picture.

2009-12-24T16:45:00.000-08:00

Kidney Life Magazine

2009-11-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

Got a nice surprise the other day when the quarterly issue of Kidney Life magazine came through the door and I saw that I was on the front cover along with some of my photographs! There is an article inside which I wrote, I'll scan that in later and post it up.

Gifts of Life postponed

2009-11-27T08:35:00.001-08:00

Just a quick blog to say that unfortunately the Gifts of Life exhibition (which was due to go ahead in December) has been postponed for many reasons BUT it will go ahead in 2010 and be bigger and better than before so I'll update the blog as soon as I hear any news!

I am working on the book as I type though so will post details up on how to purchase a copy asap.

Save Jess-tival

2009-11-02T12:12:00.001-08:00

Here's some photos from Save Jess-tival - Live Life Then Give Life's amazing organ donor awareness concert. It was held a couple of weeks ago in an fantastic basement venue in Shoreditch. It was a great success with loads of people turning up and everyone enjoying a brilliant night of music, comedy and entertainment.

Ed Byrne

Natalie Imbruglia

Ed Byrne

Susanna and Mike from The Yeah You's

The Yeah You's

The people behind the scenes...

Team Life Live Then Give Life

Natalie says hello to the very beautiful Jess

Sarah

Matt and Emily

Pops

Oli and Kati

Little update...

2009-10-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

I've had a massively busy couple of weeks with lots of nice photography work happening. A couple of Saturdays ago I held a stand at Spittalfields Market as part of Photomonth, selling lots of prints. (see below)

I've also exhibited in the PhotoOpen exhibition in the Truman Brewery in London and attended the launch which was pretty awesome as there were so many cool photos being exhibited so I felt pretty honoured to be included.

A month or so back I did some work along with Dan Usiskin on the art work for the new Innocent Veg Pots. Two of those were released this week, one of them being a yummy mushroom rissotto, so next time you are in your local supermarket check out the photos in the inside of the cardboard sleeve on the pot.

I've also just been on a four day shoot in the lovely Chesterfield oop north. The local hospital are currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of one of their buildings and I was given the brief to take photos of people and things which have a 25th anniversary coming up this year too. I think I photographed 20 different things in the end so it was a lot of hard work though I had an amazing time. I took photos inside a neonatal unit, on top of a police station, at an old people's social club, within the market stall and even a newt amongst others! Am currently wading through the hundreds of photos I took, and will post some up in due course.

I'm still working on Give and Let Live and only have one more shoot left I think! Sad times, I've enjoyed it so much! Not long till the exhibition starts now...!

GOL shoot 17 - Ermine and Leroy

2009-10-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

Almost exactly a year ago Ermine's Dad, Leroy, donated his kidney to her. It was wonderful to meet and photograph them both - and they were totally natural in front of the camera which made some lovely photos.

PhotoMonth

2009-10-07T02:27:00.001-07:00

Last week saw the opening of PhotoMonth which is the East London photography festival - the biggest photography festival in the UK.

I am also absolutely thrilled to find out that one of my photos (see below) has been chosen to be printed exhibited in the Photo Open exhibition! Do come down and see the full exhibition.

Here are the details -

Old Truman Brewery

020 7770 6003

F Block, T4, 15 Hanbury Street, E1 6QR

Aldgate East tube

www.trumanbrewery.com

Open daily 11am-6pm

I am also holding a stall selling limited edition prints, framed and unframed at Spittalfield's Market on Saturday from 10am - 6pm. Please come on down - and if you mention that you've seen my blog I'll be happy to give you a 20% discount.

Spitalfields Traders Market

020 7377 1496

Brushfield Street, E1 6AA

Liverpool Street tube

www.spitalfields.co.uk

Tues-Sun 10am-6pm

If you don't manage to come to Spittalfields, I'm opening a shop on my website selling a selection of prints which I will announce when it's finished (still building it at the moment!)

Happy PhotoMonth!

GOL shoot 16 - Andy and Maff

2009-10-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

Remember Andy who I visited on his house boat back in May? I met up with Andy (on another boat, keeping in with the theme!) last week along with his kidney donor, Maff.

Maff is such a lovely, genuine guy and he and Andy were great to photograph and happy to lark about in front of the camera as well as posing for some more serious shots. Here's the result...

GOL shoot 15 - Ashley and Nick

2009-09-30T03:33:00.000-07:00

Ashley and Nick are brother and sister and at the beginning of the year Ashley donated her kidney to Nick. Nick suffers from polycystic kidney disease and so knew he was going to need a kidney transplant for a while. He's doing really well now and Ashley is absolutely fine too.

I met up with them both in Brighton on Friday night. I've always had a soft spot for Brighton - I'm not sure why, but I'm guessing it's something to do with being by the sea and the constant whiffs of fish and chips that float your way! So I was spolit for choice with places to photograph Ashley and Nick. It was late afternoon when we met and was a beautiful warm sunny day. The sun was setting and so I made the most of the evening light and photographed them walking along the beach with the sunset in the background and also did some close ups.

Afterwards we had a drink on the beach and chatted and then I wandered off to take some more photos, grab some fish and chips and get on the train home...

GOL shoot 14 - Sam and Simon

2009-09-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

I met Sam and Simon at Sam's Mum's house which was only a short walk from my house....and only two minutes away from my old flat. So literally a trip down memory lane!

Sam donated her kidney to her husband Simon on the 7th July this year. It was an AOB incompatible transplant which means that Simon had to undergo a treatment called plasma exchange to remove any antibodies from his blood that might try and attack Sam's kidney which has a different blood type. It's literally amazing how much medicine has advanaced and how these kind of transplants can be successful nowadays.

Simon's transplant was a success and he looks and feels great. I had a really nice chat with them over a cuppa and they're both really lovely people.

Here's some photos from the day...

GOL shoot 14 - John and Liz

2009-09-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months I've shot lots of different donor and recipient couples - husbands and wives, mother and son, father and son, boyfriend and girlfriend and friends. But up until now I hadn't photographed a brother and sister. So that's where the very lovely Liz and John came in!

Liz donated a kidney to her brother John 10 years ago now and John is doing brilliantly. I was invited over to Liz's house for a delicious lunch and very good chats. John is the Chair of the Six County's Kidney Patient's Association which represents hundreds of people who have been affected by kidney disease. It was lovely to meet them both.

GOL shoot 13 - Liz and Jan - The 'after' shoot plus the Adidas 5K

2009-09-08T03:46:00.000-07:00

Remember Liz and Jan? Liz donated her kidney to her best friend Jan at the end of June and I visited and photographed them just before the operation. I'm very happy to report that the operation was a great success, so much so that Jan and Liz decided to take part in the Adidas Women's 5K in Hyde Park on Sunday to raise money for their kidney unit! Amazing!

I couldn't believe how different Jan looked when I saw her - she looked so healthy and happy - it was amazing! Her skin looked a much healthier colour and the difference in her energy levels was really noticable too. Plus, as I told her, she looks about 20 years younger! Liz looks great too - to see what a difference Liz has made to Jan's life first hand was amazing. After we left the park and I was chatting away about how amazing Jan looked my boyfriend aka camera assistant numero uno remarked that that's how he and my family felt about me! It was quite strange to be on the other side of the fence for once!

Jan

Liz

A friend and advocate of Life Live Then Give Life also decided to do the 5K. Jess is 20 years old and has cystic fibrosis. She has been waiting for a new pair of lungs for 4 years and has sadly had 7 calls, but for one reason or another the opeartion has not been able to go ahead. Jess is very poorly and is on 24hr a day oxygen. Her lungs can only hold the enough air to fill a can of coke so the fact that Jess wanted to to do the 5K and walk 200m of every 1k was utterly amazing. She decided to raise money for LLTGL and is currently raised almost £1500!

Jess with her team - her Doctor, physio, dietitian, nurse, Mum and lots of friends.

Being filmed by Emily, chair of LLTGL. Emily completed the race in 2006 whilst waiting for her new lungs to come along. Read about Emily's experience of the day here. It's pretty amazing.

Off to the starting post

Along with 'Team Jess' she completed the race in amazing time and managed to walk parts of it too, she's absolutely incredible and an inspiration to everyone. My toes, fingers, arms, legs etc etc are crossed for her that her call comes soon and that she will be running the 5K next time.

Jess

GOL shoot 12 - Michelle and Max

2009-09-07T04:49:00.000-07:00

18 month old Max was born with kidney failure and at three days old had to start dialysis. It really hasn't been an easy ride for the poor little guy. Over the past 18 months he has had four peritoneal dialysis lines inserted in to his tiny tummy and many other procedures to correct a blockage in his bladder and insert a peg tube in his tummy so he can be intravenously fed. Poor Max has also suffered from numerous infections and has to spend 12 hours attached to a dialysis machine a night.

Max watches as Michelle sets up his dialysis machine for the night.

What's absolutely amazing about Max though is despite his problems he is the happiest most positive little boy you could meet. He is constantly smiling and laughing and you would never know that he is unwell. He's such a little inspiration! He has masses of support from his Mum Michelle, Dad Shaun and two older sisters and older brother and he's clearly adored by all of them.

Max and his Daddy

Max really needs a kidney transplant but it's been a long tough road to get him ready for it. He had to weigh 10 kilos in order to have the surgery which isn't easy when you have a baby who doesn't eat and is only tube fed but Max managed it and Michelle went through the tests and is luckily a perfect match for him. The operation will go ahead early next year and Max and Michelle will then travel up to the Evalina Children's Hospital in London where Max will be given Michelle's kidney. After Max is ready to leave hospital, he and Michelle will move into hospital accommodation where they will live for 6 weeks. With the family based in Weymouth it won't be easy but Michelle and Shaun are determined to make it work and to make sure they all see each other as much as possible.

Michelle and Max

Despite Max's illness and low energy levels he is constantly moving around trying to walk and wanting to play and read books. After the transplant Max will feel normal and have masses more energy - Michelle's going to be chasing him all over the place!

Max didn't want to have his hourly tube fed and wanted to play instead. It isn't easy having a child with kidney failure.

He soon settled down though and was proudly showing me his tube and grinning away as usual again.

Max was fab to photograph, always posing for the camera and laughing. Such a cute little tyke. And it was also ace to chat to the lovely Michelle too.

Whilst I was photographing Max and Michelle a reporter came along from the Dorset Echo and wrote a rather nice article on us all. You can read it here.

A little intermission...

2009-09-05T08:31:00.000-07:00

A few photos from my recent trip to Alderney in the Channel Islands, where I spent all my childhood summers. See my Flickr for a few more.

The Breakwater avec le sea mist

Dan

Josh

Will

Oli

Holly P

My Mum at the Torchlight Procession

My brother and friends

Inside a derelict forte that hasn't been lived in for many years (above and below.)

Dan in a trench

GOL shoot 12 - Shazia and Perveen

2009-09-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Shazia's Mum, Perveen, was faced with a Mother's worst nightmare. Her son and daughter had both been struck down with kidney failure and she could only donate a kidney to one of them.

Shazia was diagnosed with end stage renal failure in May 2006 and eventually went on to peritoneal dialysis in Aprtil 2007. It is rare to receive a kidney off the UK waiting list without a long wait if you are of an ethnic minority and the family were well aware of this. By pure coincidence Shazia's brother, Imran, was diagnosed with end stage renal failure too and also needed a transplant. Their Doctor had said that he'd never seen this happen to a family before.

As Shazia's kidneys were in a worse state than her brothers, it was decided that their Mother would donate her kidney to Shazia. Miraculously Imran received a kidney from the waiting list in October 2008 after only waiting three moths. All three of them are doing really well.

Shazia says since her transplant she has taken so many more opportunities up than she would have done before. She has just completed a conversion law degree and is starting Law School in London this month. As she said - all things happen for a reason!

GOL shoot 11 - Leroy

2009-09-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

Leroy is an altruistic donor which means that he agreed to donate his kidney to a complete stranger. He has never met the recipient, and it's unlikely that he ever will - he literally just wanted to help somebody and his selfless act will have totally changed a person's life.

The first time I spoke to Leroy I asked him why he decided to be an altruistic donor and he told me that his motivation for going ahead was to honour the memory of his younger brother Daniel who died of leukemia aged 7 in 1977. He said that he had thought about donating his kidney for a whole but it was not until 2006 when the law was changed allowing altruistic donors to come forward that he could go ahead.

After contacting the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton all the necessary tests were arranged and Leroy donated his left kidney in February 2007 at St George's Hospital in London. His family weren't too keen at first but after a while they understood why he wanted to go ahead and help someone less fortunate than himself.

I really enjoyed meeting Leroy - he truly is an amazing person and it was an honour to chat to him about his experiences. Altruistic donors are incredibly rare and it was lovely to meet him. Leroy showed me a photograph of him and his younger brother Daniel alongside their older brother and whilst Leroy looked at the photo I photographed him. Loosing a little brother is something that I don't think anyone really gets over but I'm sure Daniel would be incredibly proud of Leroy if he was around today.

GOL shoot 10 - Lucy and Nicola

2009-08-28T05:03:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I travelled down to Bramley in Hampshire to meet five year old Lucy and her Mum Nicola. Lucy was diagnosed with Juvenile Nephronophthisis in early 2008 which causes a progressive destruction of both kidneys, meaning that she will need a transplant at some point in the near future.

Lucy is tube fed through the night but eats small amounts in the day. She has a good appetite though and enjoys choosing what she'd like to eat, though often can't manage much more than a few mouthfuls.

Nicola has been tested (as well as her husband) and is fortunately a good match for Lucy. At the moment Lucy's kidney function is steady but if it drops much more she will need a kidney transplant or dialysis.

Lucy was an absolute pleasure to photograph – she is a real girly girl loving all things pink and sparkly. As Nicola and I chatted she sweetly 'cooked' us lunch bringing us little bowls full of carefully selected toy foods. Before we sat down to some lunch she proudly showed me her room (pink, of course!) and her favourite toys. Lucy, who told me she wants to be a toothfairy (too cute!) or a teacher when she is older was lots of fun to be around and to photograph – she was happy to play games and sing Abba in to her CD player whilst I snapped away. She gets tired easily from her condition and Nicola told me it can be very up and down.

It was really nice to chat to Nicola, who is absolutely lovely, about everything, and I had a fab morning. I'm sure we'll keep in touch and I wish them the very best with Lucy's upcoming transplant - I'm sure it will be a great success and Lucy will be even more full of beans!

GOl shoot 9 - Archie and Malcolm

2009-08-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

Last week I climbed aboard the train to Lymington in Hampshire to meet seven year old Archie, his Mum Tammy, Dad Malcolm and little sister Evie.

Archie was born with posterior urethral valves, a condition that can cause urine to be pushed back into the bladder and renal failure. When Archie was only eight months old Tammy and Malcolm were told that he would eventually need a kidney transplant. Shortly afterwards Archie was put on peritoneal dialysis whilst Malcolm and Tammy both got tested to see if they could be a donor for him. It was decided that Malcolm was a better match and the operation went ahead in 2003 when Archie was only two years old.

Almost 6 years later you would never have guessed that Archie had gone through so much – he is one of the most confident, polite and chatty seven year olds I have ever met. Full of energy he and Malcolm happily kicked a football around the garden whilst I snapped away enjoying watching the two of them have fun together. Archie's lovely little sister Evie skipped around the garden whilst they played so I took some photos of her too.

Intrigued that I had had a kidney transplant like him Archie quizzed me about it asking if I had a new kidney inside me too. He is clearly very proud of the fact that his Dad gave him his kidney and it was obvious from the cheeky banter that went on between them that they are very close indeed.

GOL shoot 8 - Laura and Ken

2009-08-24T05:02:00.000-07:00

Laura and I struck up a friendship a few months ago after she read my blog. Laura was working up towards her transplant - which she received from her Dad - Ken, and I had just had mine. Laura's transplant went ahead in January of this year and was a success. From then we emailed each other regularly swopping experiences and asking for advice. Very handy stuff.

Laura also lives in Swindon so the very kind Linda dropped me off at her parent's house at which I was presented by lots of lovely cats and beautiful art! Ken is an artist and paints incredible paintings which I loved. You can view his work here.

Laura suffered from an auto immune disease which attacked her kidneys. After 4 months on PD (quite enough for anyone!) Ken was able to donate his kidney to her.

Ken's studio was an excellent setting for the photographs, but I also took a few in the garden and in the living room below a painting by Ken - the naked Beatles. Very cool.

It was fab to meet Laura after all this time and we hit it off really well. It's unusual to meet someone around the same age as me who has had a transplant so it's always good to chat about things from a 'twenty something' point of view. We seemed to be of a very similar mind when it came to transplants - we both just want to live as normal life as possible and not be just labeled a 'transplant patient'.

Laura's lovely Mum cooked us all pizza and chips (not forgetting chcolate ice cream) and Laura's husband, Simon, came along to say hello. All in all a very enjoyable shoot. I hope Laura and I see each other again soon.

GOL shoot 7 - Sarah and Shep

2009-08-06T07:25:00.001-07:00

Sarah and Shep have been going out together for 8 years. Shep knew he'd need a kidney transplant at some point in his life but when his kidney function fell dramatically one day he was forced to go on dialysis. Shep's family, Sarah and Sarah's brother all got tested to see if they could be a donor for him. It looked as though Sarah's brother was going to donate his kidney to Shep but at the last moment it was decided that Sarah was a better candidate and she went ahead and gave Shep her kidney in November 2008. The operation was a success and they both look absolutely great - you'd never know either of them had gone through major surgery only a few months ago.

We met up in Covent Garden for a drink before heading over to Soho to a little hidden courtyard where I used to work. The summer's evening light teamed with the light blue tones of the door provided a really chilled out setting and Shep and Sarah were brilliant at being natural in front of the camera.

It was really lovely to meet them both. Sarah's really involved with campaigning herself - she is the lead singer of a band called The Floe and soon the band are releasing their debut single entitled 'I Hope You Know' which will be released on the anniversary of Shep's transplant. All proceeds are going to The Transplant Trust. The release of the single will coincide with the NHS Blood and Transplant campaign 'Prove it' which launches on November 2nd. You can check out the band here - they're music is fantastic and I have no doubts that the release of their single will be a huge success.

GOL shoot 6 - Tracey and Linda

2009-08-05T04:49:00.000-07:00

L-R Tracey and Linda

Tracey has been a kidney patient for over 20 years and she knew that a transplant was always going to be on the cards at some point. Luckily for her, her big sister Linda was a match and offered to donate her kidney to Tracey. On 30th April this year - which also happened to be Tracey's birthday - the operation went ahead and was a success. I doubt if anyone else will ever be able to match that birthday present!

I travelled up to Swindon to Tracey's house to meet the couple and we immediately began chatting away about our experiences over a cup of tea. Tracey's house was full of lots of little quirky things and she had a beautifully tended to garden which was full of lovely little treasures that Tracey had accumulated over the years and I was determined to capture that part of her personality in the photos. She even has a house rabbit who sweetly hopped around the living room whilst we chatted.

It was lovely to chat to Tracey about what she had been through - having had my transplant a few months before she did I was able to provide an insite on how I feel now compared to a few months ago and whether I had any ups or downs in the kidney transplant rollarcoaster. Tracey and Linda showed me a book of photos of their transplant journey and already I could see how much Tracey looked now that she had had her transplant.

After the photo session in Tracey's garden, Linda kindly drove me to my next couple's house who were conveniently located only ten minutes up the road...

five shoots in...

2009-06-26T07:59:00.000-07:00

Gifts of Life has gone global! Click here to read an article which was published on a very popular newsy Canadian website this month. Glance to the right and you'll see a little picture of me and Oli in hospital and also a photo of Sarah's gorgeous son, Wills. I also have an article coming out in a French magazine too soon, which I'll post up once it's been published....get your translators at the ready!

I'm five shoots in to my Give and Let Live project and I have loved each and every one of them. There is something really amazing about meeting people that have been through very similar experiences to you - there's a natural bond there and already so much to talk about. I could have sat around chatting all day with my lovely subjects (hate that word - makes it sound like a science experiment but not sure what else to put!). I've also noticed many similarities with the couples that I photograph. Whenever I start a shoot I never really direct to begin with as I like the people I am photographing to get used to having a camera shoved in their face (ok, so I'm not that aggressive) but it allows them to relax a little and get used to being photographed. The first thing each couple does when I whip out my camera is react to one another in a very tactile way - where ever it be playfully, loving or just a simple arm around the shoulders. I am fascinated into the relationship between kidney donors and their recipients and it's little things like this that I have started noting.

In the next few months I have at least another twenty couples to photograph. I sent out a group email yesterday asking the question 'What can you now do that you couldn't do post transplant?' I'm hoping to base a few portraits around the answer to that question and I'm looking forward to receiving the answers.

In other photography news I have just been away to a wedding in Palma where I snapped away happily for a week. I took some shots using my favourite film - Fuji Velvia 100 which basically makes things all colourful and vivid which I am very pleased with. Here's a little sampler.

I have a marvelous world inside me.

Hey, wait for meee!

And I also took some with my Canon 5D...

Talia

Noa

And have been fitting in a bit of street photography too!

Recently I have also been asked to write and photograph for a new London blog which is being launched in July. I can't say much more than that but it's something I am super excited about and am already planning posts. I love writing and photography - so the two things combined is awesome!

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

GOL shoot 5 - Sarah and Sue

2009-06-24T02:21:00.000-07:00

Sue and Sarah (left to right)

Spot the PD boxes...

Sarah hasn't had the best of luck when it comes to hospital treatments so I can't blame her at all for feeling apprehensive about having a kidney transplant. Sue in comparison is calm as a cucumber when it comes to the subject of donating her kidney and is very happy to help her friend out.

As a result of lupus Sarah's kidneys failed and she has been doing peritoneal dialysis for the past few years and looks very well on it. Unfortunately back in 2004 a living donor transplant failed due to a bad botch up by the surgeon (luckily he is no longer operating in the UK...phew.) I can't imagine how hard that must have been to go through the whole transplant process only to have to have the kidney removed as it wasn't plumbed in correctly. Anyway, luckily Sue is a perfect match...so much so that they could be sisters. They are just waiting for Sarah to gain some more antibodies so she is an even better match for Sue (there is a much more complicated way of going into this but am sticking to the simple explanation!) and then they can go ahead with the transplant.

I really enjoyed meeting them both. Sarah came along to the Donor Day photoshoot so we had met briefly before but hadn't had the chance to have a proper natter. And Sue seems like an amazing friend and an incredibly selfless person.

GOL shoot 4 - Liz and Jan

2009-06-23T04:53:00.001-07:00

Around about this time tomorrow Jan will be going down to the operating theatre to receive a spanking new kidney from her best friend Liz.

Meeting them both just three days before the transplant there was a definite feeling of nervous excitement in the air. Jan has suffered from polycystic kidney disease for her whole life and has been on peritoneal dialysis for the past five months so naturally she can't wait to feel well again and no longer have the nights tied to a machine keeping her alive.

I met Jan and Liz at Jan's home in Epsom, and they kindly treated me to lunch (with the most yummy scones, strawberries and cornish clotted cream..yum yum) and we had a really good chat about our experiences with dialysis and transplants. Jan's bedroom was full up with Baxter boxes (PD equipment) which brought back many memories for me. The amount of equipment that is needed to do peritoneal dialysis is immense. I used this method of dialysis for three years and every two weeks the Baxter van would toot it's little horn and then proceed to fill a room in my house full of boxes. In these boxes went fluid bags, drainage bags, cassettes for the machine, alchowipes, tegaderm...I could go on and on and on...

I spotted the PD machine next to Jan's bed straight away and was faced with flashbacks of nights struggling to get it to work...whilst I was on PD I seemed to just look at a machine and it would break! I lost count of the many times that the New York Baxter office would be faced with my paniced squeaks from London over the phone. But in a matter of hours they always kindly dropped a new one off, which would no doubt decide it didn't like me and break again within weeks.* I also found myself instinctively picking up bits of equipment and feeling like I should be setting the machine up which was a strange feeling. Somehow I don't think the skills to set the machine up will ever leave me...

I'm going to be thinking of Jan and Liz a lot this week. My fingers and toes are crossed that everything goes well. I'm sure it will do. I'll be photographing them both after the transplant, so look out for the 'after' pictures soon, with a heroic Liz and a happy healthier Jan.

A bit of Photoshop tampering here...not something I usually like to do but thought it was quite appropriate!?

Jan leaning over one of her many PD boxes in her bedroom. Won't be needing those anymore!

*I'm sure I just had bad luck with PD machines as I don't think it is very common to go through as many as I did.

GOL shoot 3 - Paul and Rebekah

2009-06-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Rebekah is thirteen years old and received a kidney from her Dad, Paul, three years ago.

The Wagnell family actually live in Milton Keynes but decided to come down to London for a day out, so we met bright and early in Regent's Park on Saturday morning...the weekend of Father's Day, so very appropriate. Regent's Park turned out to be a great setting for the shoot - Rebekah was full of ideas for photos and even climbed a tree at one point - bet she wouldn't have been able to do that before the transplant! We all had a lot of fun and it was really lovely to hear Rebekah and Paul's story.

I had never met anyone as young as Rebekah who'd had a transplant so it was really interesting to hear her point of view. There were so many things that I hadn't even considered with children having transplants - for instance Rebekah is treated at the Evalina Children's Hospital but Paul had to be treated in St Thomas' so poor Tina (Rebekah's Mum) had to run between the two hospitals during the transplant looking after them both! Think I took it for granted that Oli and I were in next door beds! We also chatted a lot about the upcoming Transplant Games which sounds amazing and I am hoping on coming down...to take photos and meet people, not to participate in the sports I may add!

Rebecca is a lovely person and clearly has a very close relationship with her Dad. I hope these photos convey this.

GOL shoot 2 - Bill and Sheila

2009-06-09T04:53:00.000-07:00

I had never been to Wales. Shocking, I know. So when Bill and Sheila invited me down to Cardiff to take their photo I brushed up on my best Gavin and Stacey phrases and hopped on the train. Tidy.

Bill and Sheila have just celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary. 11 years ago Bill donated his kidney to Shelia after she had been on dialysis for four and half years. They never let dialysis stop them from doing anything, going on lots of holidays and essentially not letting dialysis rule their lives. Whilst on dialysis I felt very similar to Bill and Shelia and travelled, worked full time and fitted in dialysis somewhere between and so it was great to hear that they did the same.

Their transplant was the first non related living donor transplant to happen in Cardiff and they have since maintained a very good relationship with their surgeon, who has now retired.

I had a lovely day with Bill and Shelia, they took me out for a lovely Italian lunch and then a whistle stop tour of Cardiff.

They chose to have their photos taken at the Donor Stone in Cardiff which is a stone dedicated to all those who had donated their organs. It is located in a lovely quiet park full of other memorial stones, plaques and statues and was a very appropriate setting for the shoot.

View the images on Flickr (they look prettier) here

GOL shoot 1 - Doug and Julia

2009-06-09T03:08:00.001-07:00

Last week I hopped on the train to Letchworth in Hertfordshire where I was met by Doug and Julia - my first couple for the Gifts of Life project. Doug gave Julia a kidney a few years ago, after she suffered from polycystic kidney disease. She is now is feeling a whole lot better due to Doug's generous gift.

The sun was shining, there was Banoffee cheesecake and a cute little tortious called Arnie... A lovely shoot with fab people.

Here are a couple of shots (unedited as always) from the day. I won't be posting up the ones I am planning to use in the exhibition or the book...you'll have to wait for those!

You can view these photos on here and here on my Flickr page where the colours look slightly better.

Kidney Research

2009-06-09T02:18:00.000-07:00

The lovely people at Kidney Research asked me to cover a parachuting event in aid of their charity a couple of weeks ago up near Shrewsbury.

Louise Edge's husband Roger has recently had a kidney transplant after quite a few years on dialysis and she decided to jump out of an aeroplane to raise money for Kidney Research and also show her support for Roger.

The shoot was mostly documentary based with me and Dan following Louise and her huge team of supporters round snapping away, capturing all the emotions involved. It was hard not to be blown away by the incredible supportive atmosphere that flooded through the air field. Louise was amazing - she was very nervous but acted like a complete pro and once back on the ground admitted that it was the most incredible and exhilarating thing she has ever done.

The shots are going to be used in a poster campaign for Kidney Research, which I can't wait to see.

Here are some shots from the day (these are unedited or colour corrected)...

Louise and her daughter Milly before the jump

Getting all kitted up

Asking last minute questions

Watching the first lot of parachutes come down

Watching Louise go up in the plane
Louise's husband Roger and son Callum

And parachute down

Milly waving as Louise get's off the plane

Back down on the ground, relieved and proud.

research, inspirations and chips on brick lane :)

2009-05-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

Last night (for a bit of research or maybe we just fancied a night out!) Sarah and I went to see 'England' at the Whitechapel Gallery. We both remarked that it's always interesting to see other ways in which people incorporate transplantation in to the arts and this was no exception.

The story of a girl waiting and receiving a heart transplant is told by two actors with the added extra of sounds and a walk around the gallery. Definitely worth a visit if you are interested in this sort of thing. However the story did incorporate an ending which wasn't very transplant-friendly (without ruining it for you, it doesn't stick to facts) so I think Sarah and I will both be writing to the gallery asking that they do state that the play isn't based on truth in order to avoid scaring any potential donors. We then headed off to Brick Lane and shared some chips whilst talking about Gifts of Life, as always it was good to share ideas :)

On another note I have been researching lots of photographers for inspiration for my photos. I have always been a big fan of Annie Leibowitz, Martin Parr and Mary Ellen Mark but I have also been sifting through the billions of photos on Flickr. There are so many amazing photographers on there, and I love the fact that all these photos are at my finger tips. Here's a little montage (is that the right word?!) of some of my faves so far...

Andy

2009-05-10T04:38:00.000-07:00

So I have come to the conclusion about three things this weekend - houseboats are totally awesome, colanders should not be put facing upwards in the dishwasher and that there is no end to the amazing support and kindness of the people in the organ transplant community which has been overwhelming.

One example of this was the lovely BBQ that Andy put on for me and Dan this weekend on his houseboat. In August 2007 Andy received a kidney from his close friend and band mate Maff and thanks to Maff's selflessness Andy no longer has to endure hours of PD every day, and I know only full well how tiring and grotty that can make you feel.

Only three days after the transplant Andy and Maff were playing Jazz in the hospital foyer - they even improvised the same part at exactly the same time...spooky!

After the transplant Andy set up Have One of Mine and formed 'Big Buzzard and the Organ Grinders' and releasing a single to encourage others to think about giving the gift of life. All proceeds from the sale of the single went to Live Life Then Give Life. You can purchase the single here - and I've placed the video below. Warning : It's incredibly catchy and will get stuck in your head all day!

It's always really great to meet people that have gone through the same thing as me, there was definitely an instant bond with Andy and it was great to compare stories and experiences. We are going to organise for me to come and take a photo of Andy and Maff soon which I am really looking forward to. Meanwhile here's a few from the day....

Hope

Early evening sun on the river, taken from Andy's houseboat

Sardines about to go on the BBQ

Andy getting the BBQ ready

Battersea Power Station

dates for my diary

2009-05-05T12:25:00.001-07:00

Over the next week I am meeting two of the people I am going to be photographing. Very excited to meet them and to find out more about their kidney transplant experiences and see how well they are now! More soon....

In the meantime check out Sarah's blog to hear how her first couple of shoots went....

Presenting....

2009-05-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

www.hollycocker.com

Thanks muchly to Dan who spoke to the computer in web language and came up with this (I'm paying him in rocky road later). It's pretty basic at the moment but I'll be adding more links to it soon and a shop. Watch this space...

Give and Let Live Photography Project

2009-05-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Hello to all those who have skipped over to this blog from my usual one :) and hello to any new readers out there, and welcome to my Give and Let Live photography blog.

In this blog I am going to be documenting my journey within my project - who I meet, how my photography develops and the impact it has on me as a person. I will be regularly updating it with posts about what I am up to and where I am at with everything. I will also write about the amazing people I am taking photos of, meetings to do with the exhibition, fundraising and Sarah's Gifts of Life project.

To any newbies out there and to anyone who is wondering what on earth I am going on about here is a bit of background on the project....

A few months ago Sarah Milne, photographer and Mum of William who received a small bowel transplant last year, came up with the fab idea of a photography exhibition documenting people waiting for an organ transplant and also people who had received one. Gifts of Life was born. Having just gone through the small matter of a kidney transplant (Hi Oli!) I decided (with Sarah's kind permission) to jump on board and then my project Give and Let Live was born.

Sarah has set up a website which you can view here - containing information on the project and also a gallery which will be regularly updated with photos over the next few months.

Project Mission Statement

I was diagnosed with ESRF (end stage renal failure) in 2003, and waited five long years on the transplant list for a new kidney. My amazing friend Oli came forward and donated his kidney to me in October 2008. This act of pure selflessness has literally changed my life, I have never felt better. As part of The Gift of Life exhibition I am going to be doing a series of portraits of live donors and their recipients.

My aim of the project is to capture the strong bond between a kidney recipient and live donor. This is such a special and extraordinary relationship. I want the photos to represent this relationship and the donor's heroic act and to explore the bond between donors and recipients whether it be friends, family members, altruistic, work colleagues or spouses.

It takes a very special person to donate an organ in order to save another's life. Having a strong understanding of the process of living kidney donation I am particularly interested in the donors themselves – why they made the decision that many others wouldn't even consider and the recipient – how they felt receiving the gift of life from someone they know. I want my photos to reflect this.

During my time spent with my subjects I will no doubt be swopping hospital experiences and transplant stories. I think that the fact that I will have a huge amount in common with my subjects will give the project a different outlook and help me bond with them more easily, which I hope will be reflected in the photos.

I will meet with the couple beforehand to chat and get a sense of their personalities and then decide on the set up and location of the photo. What I'd like to achieve is a picture where the viewer has a sense of who these people are and how they feel, I want to move people and inspire them.

The photos are going to be used specifically to raise awareness of organ donation, and also support and promote the charity Life Life Then Give Life. The photos are going to be exhibited at the Menier Gallery from the 14th - 19th December alongside Sarah's photos, with the plan of more exhibitions across the country. The photos will also appear on my blog and website, and I will make up a booklet for the exhibition will will contain all the photos I will have taken throughout the project.

My passion is photography. I've studied it at University of the Arts in London and been lucky enough to have been commissioned to work for various companies such as Innocent Drinks, Art In Site and Divertimenti Cookery School. You can view my photos at www.flickr.com/photos/hollycocker My own personal website is in the making!

I am looking for people to appear in these photos. I'd love to hear from anyone who has had a living donor kidney transplant, or anyone who has a living donor transplant planned for in the future. Please get in touch at hollycocker@mac.com if you are interested in being photographed or have any questions about the project

Please also get in touch if you are interested in helping out with the project or exhibition in any way. As I will need to fund the printing and framing of the photos, I will be trying to raise funds and looking for sponsorship. Sarah and I are also looking for any other venues that might be suitable to exhibit the photos. So if you can help in anyway, that would be absolutely fantastic...It's all about getting the word out about organ donation!