[nfb-talk] Blind Photographers

[Laura Eaves]

I'm that way as well, but I haven't mastered centering the camera right -- I 
always get someone's head chopped off or someone missing from the picture...
Oh well.
--le

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "kaye zimpher" <kayezimpher at bellsouth.net>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 7:10 PM
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Blind Photographers


I personally thing this is awesome! I love pictures even though I can not
see them and this article inspires me to try to take them myself. I suppose
it really is not about "teaching anyone about blindness," but like George
says, it is about doing something I enjoy. When I attend national convention
and other travels I am always looking to a friend to snap my shots that I
keep in my collection. Now I am truly inspired to do it myself.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "RyanO" <rosentowski at neb.rr.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 8:46 AM
Subject: [nfb-talk] Blind Photographers


> >From the Associated Press:
>
> Blind Photographers Show Work in Israel
> By MARSHALL THOMPSON
> The Associated Press
> Friday, February 9, 2007; 5:46 AM
> TEL AVIV, Israel -- Reaching above her dark glasses, Riki Fritsh held a
> compact camera to her forehead and snapped away at a group of passengers
> boarding
> a bus. Most of the travelers were caught off guard by the camera's flash.
> But they were even more surprised to learn that Fritsh is blind.
> Fritsh is one of nine blind photographers featured in an exhibition at the
> Bezalel Academy of Art and Design at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
> "When people see the photos, they are proud of me," said Fritsh, 50, who
> has
> been completely blind since birth. "They can't believe that I took these
> pictures."
> Organizers said one of their goals is to let visitors see what it's like
> to
> be blind.
> "When we follow the things that they decide to shoot, it reveals their
> world
> to us," said Iris Shinar, one of the group's instructors.
> Some of the photos in the exhibit are out of focus. Some don't show the
> subjects' faces, but all provide candid glimpses into the lives of the
> photographers.
> One photo shows a darkened apartment and another shows the blurry image of
> the artist in an ornate mirror. A sultry woman _ the girlfriend of one of
> the
> photographers _ lounges on a couch. A 90-year-old grandmother takes a nap
> in
> the afternoon sun.
> An annual exhibit of blind photographers in Tokyo inspired Shinar and
> fellow
> photographer Kfir Sivan to start their own program in Israel. They hope
> similar
> programs will start in other countries as well.
> Several groups exist worldwide for partially blind and otherwise disabled
> photographers, but completely blind photography is still quite rare, said
> Shirley
> Britton of the Disabled Photographers Society in the United Kingdom.
> "There seems to be a lot of people who are partially sighted," Britton
> said.
> "But I don't know if a completely blind person could really do
> photography."
> Shinar and Sivan weren't sure how it would work either. Before the class
> started, they experimented by blindfolding themselves and taking pictures
> to
> see
> what would work. They discovered that holding the camera to the forehead,
> like a third eye, was the best way to stabilize and aim the camera.
> They found volunteer participants from the Herzliya Center for the Blind,
> near Tel Aviv, and started teaching. Since last March, they have been
> teaching
> the group on a volunteer basis, providing the students with cameras, film
> and other supplies. The classes covered composition, fundamentals, and a
> history
> of photography, among other subjects. The results impressed even the
> instructors.
> "Every week Riki brings me a roll and in every roll there are winning
> shots," Shinar said.
> Since she started photographing people on her bus route Fritsh, 50, has
> become well-known and several people call out to her by name as they
> board.
> One
> bus passenger even asked her to be the official photographer for a party
> at
> a local nursing home.
> "At first, it was a bit odd," said Shira Yehzkia, an 18-year-old passenger
> whose grandfather is also blind. "But I get really excited to see blind
> people
> do things that are not regular for them."
> While some might be skeptical that a blind person can create visual art,
> professor Gerald Pryor, head of the photography department at New York
> University,
> said the concept makes sense.
> "They see the world with their bodies," Pryor said. "They sense the world
> in
> a different way, and they can manifest that world in a photograph."
> The art, however, doesn't just share the artists' world, Shinar said, it
> also helps the artists themselves connect to the people around them.
> Shinar said some students like to document their travels and activities
> for
> their grandchildren. One woman photographed her Passover feast
> preparations
> for more than 30 family members.
> The exhibit closed on Tuesday after a three-week run that attracted crowds
> of more than 400 people. Shinar said the class will continue.
> "We can't stop now," she said. "We are like family."
> The photos can still be viewed online at
> http://www.theblindphotographer.com
>
>
> RyanO
>
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