When psychologist Matej Peljhan heard that a 12-year-old patient with muscular dystrophy had a dream of seeing himself in a photo “walking around and doing all sorts of mischief,” he had an idea. An amateur photographer, Pelijhan realized he could use Photoshop to help Luka’s dream come true.
And so, the Slovenian photographer got to work, staging scenes with Luka in which he positioned him on the ground and then shot him from above so he appeared to be in motion. The result is a series of eight photos Peljhan titled Le Petit Prince, by the book of the same name. In them Luka is skateboarding, shooting hoops, breakdancing and swimming, among other activities.
A friend recently shared the Upworthy post about this. People I know who’ve seen the photos all agree that they are beautiful. Some think it’s sad that Luka, who is in a wheelchair and has generally limited movement, may never do these things. But the thing is, this boy wanted these visions of himself, and this brilliant photographer was able to give it to him. I say anything that inspires kids with special needs or just generally makes them happy is A Good Thing.
Wouldn’t it be awesome, though, if his next photographs of Luka showed him kicking butt in a wheelchair?
From my other blog:
On getting sucked into special needs parent self-pity
If my child could wake up without special needs
An easy DIY fabric-covered bulletin board
Image: Matej Peljhan web page