[nfb-talk] Fw: Re: Developing in the Darkrooms

[Laura Eaves]

Hmm--interesting...From another list I'm on...
Why the sudden rash of articles about blind photography???
--le

----- Original Message ----- Developing in the dark rooms

Sharmila Ganesan

[ 4 Feb, 2007 0102hrs IST

Mahesh Umrrania has forgotten his mother's face. He was nine when he last 
saw her. Today, he is 22 and she is a blur, just like everyone else. Mahesh 
started

losing his vision from the age of three and now only remembers the world as 
a set of colours. The faces are gone. But since February last year, he has

found a new way to see. That was when he met Partho Bhowmick at a lecture in 
the National Association for the Blind (NAB), who introduced him to 
something

called the camera. At first, it was difficult to believe Bhowmick, a 
corporate executive with an interest in photography who said things like, 
"You don't

need eyes to take pictures. They can be taken in the mind." But the man had 
evidence. "These are the photos taken by Evgen Bavcar, a blind photographer

from Paris. There are many such artistes abroad. You can also do it," he had 
said. The invitation was tempting.

Umrrania doesn't try to describe faces anymore. To his friends now, he just 
hands out their photographs. All taken by him. "It's my new medium," says 
Mahesh,

who wears glares. Every Sunday since last February, he has been taking 
photography lessons from Bhowmick in the audio library of a school for the 
blind

in Mumbai, along with eight other blind students. Among them are some who 
lost their vision at a later stage like him, some with very low vision, one 
who

can only see outlines and two who haven't seen the world at all. They were 
born blind. During these classes, Bhowmick assists students by describing 
the

scene in front of them. The instructions are simple. Touch the subject; take 
four steps behind, judge the height and click. "It's like a dance," he says.

The rest is imagination.

Bhowmick has many international counterparts to guide him on email. In the 
US, a man named Mike Anders teaches photography to the visually impaired. 
Another

man in Poland uses tactile clues to help the blind. A photojournalist in 
France encourages the blind to take photos on the street by harassing 
passers-by

to capture their reactions. "Don't talk about things like the sunset that 
the blind can't relate to. Talk about things they can touch or hear," they 
all

told Bhowmick.

It was easier for the late-blind like 48-year-old Dharmarajan Iyer to grasp 
lessons as their memories of structures and faces are still alive. The 
deputy

director of Forward Markets Commission, a regulatory body under the ministry 
of consumer affairs, lost his vision at the age of 30. Before that, he had

travelled around the world and taken pictures which now lie in his album. "I 
had not dreamt of touching the camera after that. I would only pose," says

Iyer.

For students like 22-year-old Rahul Shirsat who was born blind, each session 
was a revelation. He recalls the class where Bhowmick drew a number of 
parallel

lines along his left hand with a pen. Then he was asked to go up and down 
the staircase a couple of times. "Do you find anything similar?" Bhowmick 
asked

him. "It's a series," Rahul replied and took an image that his teacher 
thought was brilliant -- from the top of the staircase, with the tip of his 
shoes

in the frame.

Sujeet Chaurasiya, a shy teenager says "I can only see white." But he really 
means black. "I take my best friend's help. I once took a photo from the 
window

of the two trees right there," he says, pointing to the playground. His 
classmate Nikhil Mundhe once captured a teacher near the wash basin. "He was 
washing

his face and was embarrassed," says Mundhe, smiling. For some reason, they 
all like to keep the viewfinder near their eyes. In each of them, there is a

desire to see or be seen. Recently, Mahesh even shot his own mirror image, 
when Bhowmick told him what a mirror was.

Often, they ask for feedback. "I like to know if I've cut off their head or 
something," says High court advocate Kanchan Pamnani, one of the students, 
laughing.

Kanchan was once very finicky about the colours she wore, but after she 
began to lose her sight, it worried her more. She says that the visually 
impaired

have the advantage of visualisation. "When I go to the High Court, I know 
every single shop or building that leads to it. That helps me to think 
ahead."

When Bhowmick began to teach photography to the blind, people sneered. Many 
thought he was kidding. Only the Victoria Memorial School for the Blind saw

purpose in the cause. They gave him four students and space to start 
lectures. Then five more joined. His students say that they feel they have 
begun to

see more after taking to photography. Recently, when Raju Singh shot the 
Asiatic Library, he could not see its pillars. But when he held the 2- D 
image

of the library close to his eye, the pillars became visible. "I even shot my 
friend's wedding last week," says Singh.

As shots of the Gateway's pigeons, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and 
students sleeping in a line are readied for the unique exhibition of blind 
photography,

the students of Bhowmick know there will be many questions. Dharmarajan Iyer 
is sure some people will ask, "How did you do that?" when they actually mean

"You can't do that." Iyer has his answer ready. "I'll tell them I can also 
cook."

Regards

Sameer Latey
Mumbai, India
Mob. 9867414004

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Free Deck Estimates
Free estimates from 4 local decking contractors. Quick, easy, free.
http://tags.bluebottle.com/fc/MhtYWUjL7DNL8WlnSLMpppGG8ni9gnJfoWESO/

-------------- next part --------------
Hmm--interesting...From another list I'm on...
Why the sudden rash of articles about blind photography???
--le
 
----- Original Message -----
Developing in the dark rooms
 
Sharmila Ganesan
 
[ 4 Feb, 2007 0102hrs IST
 
Mahesh Umrrania has forgotten his mother's face. He was nine when he last
saw her. Today, he is 22 and she is a blur, just like everyone else. Mahesh
started
 
losing his vision from the age of three and now only remembers the world as
a set of colours. The faces are gone. But since February last year, he has
 
found a new way to see. That was when he met Partho Bhowmick at a lecture in
the National Association for the Blind (NAB), who introduced him to
something
 
called the camera. At first, it was difficult to believe Bhowmick, a
corporate executive with an interest in photography who said things like,
"You don't
 
need eyes to take pictures. They can be taken in the mind." But the man had
evidence. "These are the photos taken by Evgen Bavcar, a blind photographer
 
from Paris. There are many such artistes abroad. You can also do it," he had
said. The invitation was tempting.
 
Umrrania doesn't try to describe faces anymore. To his friends now, he just
hands out their photographs. All taken by him. "It's my new medium," says
Mahesh,
 
who wears glares. Every Sunday since last February, he has been taking
photography lessons from Bhowmick in the audio library of a school for the
blind
 
in Mumbai, along with eight other blind students. Among them are some who
lost their vision at a later stage like him, some with very low vision, one
who
 
can only see outlines and two who haven't seen the world at all. They were
born blind. During these classes, Bhowmick assists students by describing
the
 
scene in front of them. The instructions are simple. Touch the subject; take
four steps behind, judge the height and click. "It's like a dance," he says.
 
The rest is imagination.
 
Bhowmick has many international counterparts to guide him on email. In the
US, a man named Mike Anders teaches photography to the visually impaired.
Another
 
man in Poland uses tactile clues to help the blind. A photojournalist in
France encourages the blind to take photos on the street by harassing
passers-by
 
to capture their reactions. "Don't talk about things like the sunset that
the blind can't relate to. Talk about things they can touch or hear," they
all
 
told Bhowmick.
 
It was easier for the late-blind like 48-year-old Dharmarajan Iyer to grasp
lessons as their memories of structures and faces are still alive. The
deputy
 
director of Forward Markets Commission, a regulatory body under the ministry
of consumer affairs, lost his vision at the age of 30. Before that, he had
 
travelled around the world and taken pictures which now lie in his album. "I
had not dreamt of touching the camera after that. I would only pose," says
 
Iyer.
 
For students like 22-year-old Rahul Shirsat who was born blind, each session
was a revelation. He recalls the class where Bhowmick drew a number of
parallel
 
lines along his left hand with a pen. Then he was asked to go up and down
the staircase a couple of times. "Do you find anything similar?" Bhowmick
asked
 
him. "It's a series," Rahul replied and took an image that his teacher
thought was brilliant -- from the top of the staircase, with the tip of his
shoes
 
in the frame.
 
Sujeet Chaurasiya, a shy teenager says "I can only see white." But he really
means black. "I take my best friend's help. I once took a photo from the
window
 
of the two trees right there," he says, pointing to the playground. His
classmate Nikhil Mundhe once captured a teacher near the wash basin. "He was
washing
 
his face and was embarrassed," says Mundhe, smiling. For some reason, they
all like to keep the viewfinder near their eyes. In each of them, there is a
 
desire to see or be seen. Recently, Mahesh even shot his own mirror image,
when Bhowmick told him what a mirror was.
 
Often, they ask for feedback. "I like to know if I've cut off their head or
something," says High court advocate Kanchan Pamnani, one of the students,
laughing.
 
Kanchan was once very finicky about the colours she wore, but after she
began to lose her sight, it worried her more. She says that the visually
impaired
 
have the advantage of visualisation. "When I go to the High Court, I know
every single shop or building that leads to it. That helps me to think
ahead."
 
When Bhowmick began to teach photography to the blind, people sneered. Many
thought he was kidding. Only the Victoria Memorial School for the Blind saw
 
purpose in the cause. They gave him four students and space to start
lectures. Then five more joined. His students say that they feel they have
begun to
 
see more after taking to photography. Recently, when Raju Singh shot the
Asiatic Library, he could not see its pillars. But when he held the 2- D
image
 
of the library close to his eye, the pillars became visible. "I even shot my
friend's wedding last week," says Singh.
 
As shots of the Gateway's pigeons, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and
students sleeping in a line are readied for the unique exhibition of blind
photography,
 
the students of Bhowmick know there will be many questions. Dharmarajan Iyer
is sure some people will ask, "How did you do that?" when they actually mean
 
"You can't do that." Iyer has his answer ready. "I'll tell them I can also
cook."
 
Regards
 
Sameer Latey
Mumbai, India
Mob. 9867414004
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Free Deck Estimates
Free estimates from 4 local decking contractors. Quick, easy, free.
http://tags.bluebottle.com/fc/MhtYWUjL7DNL8WlnSLMpppGG8ni9gnJfoWESO/ http://tags.bluebottle.com/fc/MhtYWUjL7DNL8WlnSLMpppGG8ni9gnJfoWESO/