[Art_beyond_sight_learning_tools] photography, article about Partho Bhowmick and blog of a photographer

[Lisa Yayla]

Hi,
Two links about photography. One an article from India and another from 
a photographer

Blog
Dog's Eye View
link to a very nice blog from a photographer who is blind
http://l-squared.blogspot.com/2006/03/i-have-dogs-eye-view-of-world.html

article

Freeze frame: See how the blind see

A stunning exhibition shows how ‘photography by the blind creates a thin 
line between what we would see and ultimately interpret’

Paroma Mukherjee

Mumbai, February 14: A lone chair beside a beam of light, a 
multiple-exposure frame of a famous Mumbai monument, a portrait of a 
blind sitar player and a complex blur of a pattern of steps —this series 
of abstract, yet real photographs are stunning. More so, when you know 
they have taken by visually impaired photographers.

The first-ever photo exhibition of its kind by the visually impaired in 
India, “Beyond Sight”, put up by students of the Victoria Memorial 
School For The Blind, is slated to travel across Mumbai, Bangalore, New 
Delhi and Kolkata.

Chancing upon an article on accomplished blind photographer Evgan 
Bavcar, Partho Bhowmick decided to initiate the “Blind With Camera” 
project and began working with students of the school that ultimately 
led to the exhibition.

“I had never taken pictures in my life before this. We were given a few 
hours and a point-and-shoot camera. So I would compose my frame by 
sensing movement, noise and measuring the distance between my subject 
and myself,” says Nikhil Mundhe (17), a partially blind class 6 student, 
one among the nine students whose work is being displayed.

The children were guided by “helpers” who can see, says Bhowmick, an IT 
professional.

Sujit Chaurasia (14), born blind, has two interesting exhibits: One is a 
series of hand movements juxtaposed against a hose-pipe and the other is 
a classic composition showcasing children playing on a silent afternoon 
with two trees making up the frame. “I waited before I could gauge where 
the children were positioned. I could hear them play and wanted my 
photograph to capture the moment.”

As Bhowmick points out, “Photography by the blind creates a thin line 
between what we would see and ultimately interpret. Something that looks 
abstract and unreadable to us is what the blind actually see in every 
day life.”

The exhibition throws open unexplored areas in photography—something 
that’s present and something else that’s absent in a composition. Asked 
if photography could become a viable career after this experience, 
Nikhil smiles. “I would like to shoot. But, I want to be a music 
director first.”

Right now, the exhibition is on at the school premises at Tardeo.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=222342