Katherine Needles (b. 1984) is a documentary and portrait photographer based in the UK, whose work centres on human connection and cultural exploration. Her photography has earned recognition, including a shortlisting for the New Blood D&AD Award, and has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, and other publications.

Born in Lisbon, Portugal, and raised in a therapy-based community, Katherine developed an early interest in human relationships. She holds an MA (Hons) in Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews and later worked in human rights. In 2011, she was commissioned for a photo documentary project focusing on an indigenous community in the Amazon, marking the start of her career as a photographer.

IN THE SHADOW OF SUMMER

Shot at our family’s summer home in rural Pennsylvania, USA, this photo story explores the theme of metamorphosis through the experience of loss. These images document the last summer spent with my father as he navigated the recent news of his Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis—his body rapidly changing and deteriorating against his will.

A deep fear of loss drove me to capture him before the unthinkable happened. What should have been just another blissful summer holiday at our family lake house was instead overshadowed by the unknown, all of us engulfed in uncertainty. Amid a backdrop of endless summer days, the photographs portray the intrusive metamorphosis of my father’s body and our inner worlds. It is a reflection on familial loss, captured in a place imbued with memory and meaning, portraying a multigenerational experience of both anticipatory and retrospective grief.