Photographer's Cancer Battle Puts Different Scenery Through Lens
DENVER (CBS4)- Driven by his family and his passion, Scott Wilson was not going to let stage 4 colon cancer change everything.
"I was determined particularly for our children to just present as normal: a dad, a husband, a colleague, a friend, as possible," Wilson said. "And for me to be able to shoot was my normal."
Maintaining that normal feeling would be even more difficult for the award winning landscape photographer when doctors told him about his treatment. A side effect of his chemo was a severe photosensitivity that would keep him out of direct sunlight.
"It was like, Colorado State Parks to the rescue. The abundance of wildlife at our doorstep is just phenomenal and I could access it through this car," he said.
The inside of his blue Volvo became his studio and the result was photo after photo after photo.
"Over the course of those two weeks I built up a collection of wildlife images," he said.
The collection inspired an idea that would help Wilson fight cancer on a much larger scale.
"I think the name came before the images," he said.
Wilson teamed up with the colorectal cancer alliance to create a fundraising book, with every dollar going to research.
He titled the book "Through the Window."
While Wilson says the initial goal was to raise money, it quickly turned into a mission to spread awareness.
"I'd find that people had bought the book and they say 'Scott, love those pictures' and 'Love that hummingbird' and then maybe the third question they are asking 'How you did you find out about your cancer?'" he said.
Now that mission is one he hopes to continue for years to come.
August 19 is World Photography Day; it will also mark one year of remission for Wilson. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance is launching a new social media campaign on that day, encouraging survivors and family to snap a picture of themselves in nature and post it on social media using the hashtag #alliesinnature.
If you would like to support Wilson and his cause by purchasing a book, you can do so by following the link:
www.ccalliance.org/throughthewindow
Karen Morfitt joined the CBS4 team as a reporter in 2013. She covers a variety of stories in and around the Denver metro area. Connect with her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @karenmorfitt or email her tips.