Images Without Sight: Frame 3: "What I've Learned About Light"

Friday, August 21, 2009

Frame 3: "What I've Learned About Light"

When I first met with Tess I really had no idea why she wanted to talk to me. As she unraveled her concept my inner self was very difficult to contain. The creative juices were "boinging" all over the place as it were. My husband can tell you that if I am left to ponder for 45 minutes it can be "dangerous", as in his world it usually translates to "work"! In mine, it's a fun project which ends up to be aesthetically pleasing -- a work of art, usually in wood, or in nature in one of my many gardens.

When Tess asked if I knew of anyone who would like to participate in a photography experiment of this kind who was blind or visually impaired -- I rather selfishly said -- "how about me?" Truly, I was so happy she said "yes!"

She modified the camera and that was helpful, especially for the distance settings. The others were helpful but my memory is good and there aren't too many others to keep straight. The camera does rather feel like a child's toy but I am learning to respect it more and more. The first time I tried loading the film though I was a wreck! I have small fingers and they are sensitive, have a light touch and are very adept. But they felt -- well -- untrained and stiff and like they were all thumbs. But after having loaded several rolls of film I am quite good at it and certainly I am much faster now!

I still stress about winding the film and getting the number correctly. I have no vision really and I want so to be measured and precise -- am I a perfectionist? Well, in some things, yes. I have had to loosen up where this camera is concerned, though.

I find shooting inanimate things is easy -- or a person and inanimate things. My Seeing Eye Dog is a good poser and she truly understands the concept of having her picture taken. She will stay in a pose (remarkable!) until the shutter clicks! Then she runs around in a gleeful dance as if to say "Oh, I did so well! Look at me, I'm sooo pretty!" Inez is the perfect model that way. My other dog, Nellie --hmmm, not so much. It is a struggle and to try to capture them together --impossible.

Tess asked me why I was drawn to the project . I told her that though I am blind I still have a "visual" context. I was a designer in past years. Even as a visually impaired person I went to floral design school in Denver and graduated top in the class. This was after the school owner told me on the first day "People like you don't belong in this business." I stood there at the time with my white cane and thought, "I'll show you, lady." And I endured the first two weeks of torture to emerge victorious.

I know therefore about balance, texture, depth, and most of all I have learned about light. Color I know too but that is a dimension I need not worry about in this artistic form.

Light is all I have left where "sight" is concerned. It can be a friend or a fiend. The glare often, depending on the day and the atmospheric conditions, can be excruciatingly painful for me. Or, in the soft morning light of early morning, or in the golden hues of evening as the sun bids us adieu, it is tender with its touch. That is my favorite time to capture the images, as I know the gold must bathe each object richly with exquisitely different light. Finding the unexpected within the hopefully expected image is like opening a present.

My next lesson is to learn how to hold the shutter open longer... And to possibly use a small tripod. That, I think, may prove difficult in the beginning as I like to be in control (ah, a revealing statement!) and hold the camera myself.

Until next time this is your photographer at large and her faithful Seeing eye Dog...

Susan Gjolmesli and Inez

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What Motivates a Photographer?

One might think only a sighted person would be interested in photography, because they could see the outcome of their efforts. When I (a sighted person) started shooting in the dark using a Holga, I quickly began to enjoy the process of shooting itself. I found it challenging to think of new situations to shoot and new photographic possibilities. It was a challenge, also, to stumble around in the dark -- setting up my subject and determining how far it was from the camera lens. The pictures were almost second to this experience. So, Susan and I share a common interest.

Susan was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa when she was a child. She cannot see. If we are sitting by a window, Susan can tell there is light in that partof her vision, but beyond that she cannot discriminate by sight. Over the years even this ability has dimmed.

Susan navigates the larger world with the help of her Seeing Eye Dog, Inez, who is a happy and comic Golden Retriever. Nellie, Susan's retired Seeing Eye Dog, also lives at home. Both dogs figure prominently in Susan's life and their personalities come through in the photos on these pages.

Susan describes how she sets up a shoot: She walks around the set and feels everything for its relationship to the other subjects she wishes to capture. She walks back and forth to determine the distance to the subject and her ideal focal setting, and then snaps the picture.

If she is with someone, she might ask them what they see and then shoot with that information in mind.

What is motivating Susan to participate in this project? What motivates her as a photographer?

Susan describes herself as seeing in images, even if she can't see images the way I see images. She loves color, texture, and dimension. And she loves solving problems. To her, setting up a shoot is a challenge that she wants to meet. She meets each challenge with enjoyment and verve. I get the sense that the process might even be more important than the outcome.

Bio: Susan Gjolmesli

Susan Gjolmesli is the photographer for this project. She was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa at the age of ten and navigates her world with the aid of a Seeing Eye dog, Inez. She is an avid gardener and was formerly a floral designer. Put that in your kettle of "preconceived notions."

Susan is Director of the Disability Resource Center at Bellevue College in Bellevue, Washington where she was recently named by the college as a Living Treasure. Her office works with students so they have access to classrooms, libraries, media and resources. Not only does the office provide physical assistance for classroom participation, they offer technology to translate traditional academic materials into media which can be consumed by the student. Technologies include scanners, braille printers, screen readers, mobile pda/scanners, personal media devices, text enlargers, and screen magnifiers, among others. The office serves as an advocate for students and an educational resource for the campus.

Susan is often called upon to present at events both on and off campus; she is a spoken advocate for equal rights. It would be trite to say that she has long been an advocate of the disabled. More to the point, she has worked to educate us as to how narrow-minded our view of the world can be -- inasmuch as we view people who are blind or deaf or require the aid of assistive devices as being "disabled."

Susan would be the last person to describe herself as disabled. In fact, the ability that she cannot see has empowered her in so many other ways that we take for granted.

Susan is also a writer, and her opinions may make you think twice about your own. Read her article,"You Shouldn't Have Any Children and Other Forms of Blindness."

You can also explore the Disability Resource Center at Bellevue College to see what these folks do to enable students to succeed. Software, hardware, technology, advice, support, and advocacy are all available to help students interact with what the majority of us think of as a "traditional" classroom.

Bio: Tess McMillan

This is an Independent Study Art Project I began while a student on scholarship at Bellevue College. Since graduating, I confess I don't really spend much time in a studio; I've become more of an office drone. However, I will never lose the appreciation for light that I gained through this project. It has been transformational.

It was while working with the Holga that I discovered my own love of shooting in the dark, illuminating my subjects by painting them with various kinds of light. People often think of photography as capturing something that exists at a given moment. I prefer to build my photographs using subjects that don't or can't exist together at any given moment.

As we concentrate more and more on technology, I see schools giving less emphasis to the study of art. This, in my opinion, is causing an entire generation of students to lose out in learning new ways of thinking, problem-solving, and seeing the world.