Photographer Christina Hartnell has spent the last ten years capturing life’s precious moments. When a cancer diagnosis turned her world upside down this year, she realized just how precious life can be. She is now launching a photography project to highlight local teen cancer survivors as they check off their bucket list items.

In June, Hartnell discovered a bump right above her collarbone. She soon received her heartbreaking diagnosis: follicular Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. 

As a mom to a toddler, Hartnell’s world came crashing down.

“I was mad, frustrated, hating life, hating the world,” Hartnell said. “I did everything I was supposed to do in life. No drugs, hardly drinking, no smoking, exercising… so why me?”

When Hartnell began treatment, that anger turned to purpose. 

Channeling her lessons from photography, she was determined to view things through a “different lens.” She decided to launch the “Superhero Project” to give back to teenage cancer patients and survivors.

“Normally you look at the older people and the really young children,” Hartnell said.” The teenagers kind of get overlooked with cancer.”

With her camera in hand, Hartnell plans to capture photos of these teens as they complete their bucket list items. Whether it’s driving a sports car or riding horseback, she wants to give these “superheroes” a chance to fly. 

“I want to give back as much as I possibly can,” Hartnell said. “This project is going to be for high school students between the ages of 16-18, who have fought cancer or are currently going through it.” 

Hartnell says she plans to collaborate with local vendors and complete 30 photo sessions over the next two years. 

“They can have a photo shoot to make them feel amazing and special for a couple of hours at least,” Hartnell said. 

As she completes her own cancer treatment, this is a project she hopes brings healing to those in front of the camera — and the woman behind it. 

Hartnell is still looking for teens to be a part of the “Superhero Project. Those interested or know someone who may be interested are asked to submit a form on her website.

Nature art category – Fields of Dreams, J Fritz Rumpf (USA)

Stefan Gerrits, a judge, says: ‘This striking image immediately caught the jury’s attention with its stunningly vibrant colours and unique patterns. The rich, vivid hues of the gills are beautifully accentuated by the soft forest light creating a mesmerising effect that draws the viewer into this maze of gills. The surreal, or otherworldly, scene is both intriguing and alluring. It provokes the imagination, making the viewer wonder about the origins of such an incredible, mystical, dreamlike, sight of nature.’

Photograph: J Fritz Rumpf/2023 NPOTY

Photo 2024 International Festival of Photography, Australia’s largest photography festival, will be the third edition of the event. The biennial, which will be taking place 1-24 March 2024, will unite 100 free exhibitions and outdoor art installations across Melbourne and Victoria.

Artists from around the world will consider alternative realities and parallel futures in this edition’s theme, ‘The Future Is Shaped by Those Who Can See It’. Outdoor displays of work will be held across Melbourne at locations including Parliament of Victoria, St Paul’s Cathedral and Fed Square, while a celebration of local artists is encompassed in contributions from Jemima Wyman (palawa), Angela Tiatia, Amos Gebhardt, Zoe Croggon, Elisa Carmichael (Quandamooka), Sammaneh Pourshafighi, Jo Duck and Kenton/Davey. 

What to expect at Photo 2024

‘An exciting new addition this year for Photo 2024 is “Queer Photo”, a new festival-within-a-festival that brings together 17 important LGBTQ+ voices,’ curator Brendan McCleary tells us. ‘Taking place across galleries, parks, and a historic mansion in Melbourne’s west, the programme brings together exclusive presentations by international artists such as Sunil Gupta, Clifford Prince King, and Aotearoa collective FAFSWAG, alongside new commissions by exciting local artists including Lilah Benetti and Ngarigo man Peter Waples-Crowe. People will be able to experience Jake Elwes’ AI-generated drag queens alongside queer Wiradjuri woman Karla Dickens’ exploration of race, gender and injustice, Daniel Jack Lyon’s documentation of queer youth in the Amazon and the world premiere of Vic Bakin’s heartfelt portraits of his queer community in Kyiv, Ukraine, taken in a time of conflict that threatens their very existence.’

They join artists including Ryan McGinley (USA), Omar Victor Diop (Senegal), Carmen Winant (USA), Edward Burtynsky (Canada), Mous Lamrabat (Morocco), Candice Breitz (South Africa), Cao Fei (China), and CAMP (India), alongside established names Nan Goldin (USA), Malick Sidibé (Mali) and Rennie Ellis (Australia), in the immersive programme, which also includes talks, film screenings and workshops.

‘Throughout March, Melbourne will become a vast open-air gallery of photography,’ adds associate curator Pippa Milne. ‘Curating the programme, we looked to artists who are envisioning various futures through fascinating and memorable lenses. Highlights include a trail of enormous lightboxes that will illuminate the banks of the Birrarung (Yarra River) with striking collages of global demonstrations by Jemima Wyman, Indigenous superheroes by Tony Albert and ancestral beings by Amos Gebhardt. In the Parliament Precinct, there are a number of installations at landmark sites including “Uncanny Valley: Photography, Tech and the Hyperreal”, an exhibition outside the Old Treasury Building that features portraits of cyborgs alongside portraits by cyborgs, and an exhibition in Parliament Gardens looking at the future of water from a First Nations’ perspective. We also get to celebrate some of the biggest icons of photography at Photo 2024, with an epic 20m installation by Nan Goldin, and the first Australian exhibition of Malick Sidibé.’

Photo 2024 International Festival of Photography will return for its third edition from 1 to 24 March 2024

photo.org.au