41 Michael St

I met Wally Petersen for the first time at the beginning of 2003, when I took the photographs at the wedding of his son Chris to my good friend Di Batchelor. He was well into his eighties by then, and although his smile was still lively his health was beginning to fail. He had lived in his modest home at 41 Michael St, in Masterton, for 45 years. After he died the following year I visited the house several times, photographing it as it was when he had lived there and then recording the gradual clearing away of his possessions. Thus, indirectly, I have created a portrait of his life.