Representative Gabrielle Giffords has only just begun her long journey back from a terrible brain injury. Yet if the recently released photos of her smiling and talking are any indication, Giffords’ recovery is well on its way.
Photographs of the Arizona Rep. were released on her Facebook page Monday morning, marking the first time the public has seen Giffords since she was shot in the head during an assassination attempt on January 8 that claimed the lives of six people and wounded 13 others. The images were taken on May 17, the day before the 41 year-old congresswoman underwent surgery to repair her skull, and a day after she saw her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, launch into space.
The man behind the sunny photographs is P.K. Weiss, a longtime friend of Giffords’ who worked as the photo editor of the Tucson Citizen for 3o years before snapping the now-famous photos.
In a new interview with CNN, Weiss says he knew from the moment he walked into Giffords’ room that it would be a special session.
“Obviously, I had not seen her since before Jan 8. So when I walked in and she yelled PK! PK!, I had to the same rush of relief everyone is having today from seeing her pictures. That was my motivation in making these images.”
Weiss, who admits that throughout her career Giffords “never liked having her picture taken,” says the key to his photos was the fact that he tried to just document the emotion of the environment.
“I’m the fly on the wall and just watch, no posing, just capturing moments. She was busy working on her rehabilitaion, meeting with doctors like in the images you see,” he said. “I strive for the natural image.”
To see more of Weiss’s photos of Gifford, head to the congresswoman’s Facebook page.