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My talks on photography by the blind has brought out interesting
questions both from the blind and sighted and I have answered them to the best of my
ability
Q1 Is
it worth for a blind to try to take photography, why not try to be a Radio Jockey
Unlike other
skills photography
by
the blind is like doing an impossible
task as it
connect you to the visual world, it shows
your point of view of
the visual world
Q2 Photography
can be a hobby but never a profession
True,
it may
not be a full time profession, but
your
photography
can be a source
of income by selling your work to individual and business corporate and NGOs
Q3 What
do we accomplish from the workshop
Workshop along with creating your point of view of the visual
world it help you
to
understand yourself better, improves
your expressive qualities, cognitive
abilities and problem solving skills.
Workshop will provide a platform to show-
case your work thru exhibitions and
publications. Workshop will be motivating
and rewarding for all involved
with it
Q4
How can person born blind participate in the
workshop
No blind is
functionally similar therefore there will be difference in their abilities
to take photographs. Workshop will
be working in groups having combination of
members with different range of
visual disabilities. Person born blind can be a
member of such group where he can perform a role
that is best suited for him
You never know a born blind may take better pictures than other who had
sighted life
Q5 What would be the approach of learning
photography by the blind
You
will be going through the optics and functioning of camera and will be
given tips on ways to take
pictures. There will be indoor
(under control
conditions) and outdoor shooting sessions.
Depending on the theme
different
photo techniques will be adapted along with
the use of cameras ranging from
pinhole to digital
You have to work much harder by using adaptive
learning techniques
Q6 Can a blind take
"Good" photographs as compared to normal sighted
photographer
There is nothing like
"Good" and "Bad" photograph, all that
matters is the point
of view and how effectively
the photographer communicates his point of view
You will be creating your point
of view, a different from that of a normal sighted
photographer. The workshop will
teach and explore how effectively your point
of view can be communicated through your photographs Q7
Will the sighted community be interested to see our photographic work
Sighted
community will be keenly interested in your photographic work to find
out what "they" (blind) see
differently from what "we" (sighted) see
Q8 How do we "See" the final photographs taken by a
us
Before
clicking, every image will be pre-visualizing (metal image) and discuss
in details and final
photograph will be extensively discussed. There will be hits
and misses, we will enjoy the 'hits'
and try to deduce the 'misses'
Since every blind is different, some
people see more than others, some don't see
at all. Individual with limited / low
vision will be able to "somewhat" see the
final result, others with
complete blindness have to "feel" it through
discussions
I can only say, that you have
to "See"
through my eye (other sighted people)
and your "Mind's
Eye" till the time Tactical imaging technique is used
Q9 What kind of pictures are taken by the blind photographers
you know
Interesting
each blind photographer has different point of view and different
message to communicate thru their work. All
of them are using sound (natural
sound or dialogues /
verbal description), touch, feel on the skin (heat to know
direction of light) to create mental images before clicking.
Each work
is awaking
and very different from the perceptive of normal sighted
photographer. They have
worked with different photo techniques -
multiple exposure, painting with light
(long exposure timing) and covering wide
range of
themes like landscape, city
life, architecture, nature, still-life, abstract and
even nudes Q10 Do you
intend to create depth in the content, that is "Fine Art
Photography"
The challenge of the
workshop is also to create meaningful art, creating
artistic
and meaningful content would be a
journey that
would evolve with time and
can only be achieved as participants get more skilful in translating their
"mental
images" into actual pictures
Q11 Should people know
our blindness BEFORE knowing our work
Knowing
you as blind photographer may be the starting point but not the end,
your work will prove that you are
'first' a photographer and than a 'blind'
photographer
Q12 What is
the philosophy of your visual journey and the workshop
The
philosophy of my own work and of the workshop is not different, it is to
work
towards new / original ideas
that provoke emotions and help to "recondition"
our conditioned visual perception of the world around
us. The workshop goes
beyond to establish new understanding in our
society
Q13 What is the duration of the workshop
The
workshop will be a continuous learning and evolving platform. Unlike other
workshops this workshop has NO
"last day", one can work as long he/she wishes
Q14
Will participants continue photography after leaving the workshop
Some
would continue photography independently, workshop is always there to
support their venture
Q15 What is your vision (dream) about the workshop
The
first dream and most difficult one is to establish that blind can take
pictures
and
showcase their work
I wish one day photography other
visual art will
be part of curriculum of all the
blind schools and institutions. It's a very long way to
go, today
I'm at the starting
point of a long hurdle race
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