Images Without Sight: Winter and the Dark of Night

Monday, January 11, 2010

Winter and the Dark of Night - Part II

Sunflowers, solarized and looking like they're on fire!

Susan: To my dismay when Tess took my film to the darkroom the shots I spent so much time taking did not turn out. I was horrified and so bummed out. There were some terrific shots there ... my fussy self threw a bit of an artiste temper tantrum at home and vowed never to "shoot in the dark" again! And to this point I have not attempted the shooting in the dark thing since then. I have been doing the French beret pout where this technique is concerned.

In late October I tried something equally challenging for someone who does not see. It was one of those infinity shots again. My husband and I happened to be at the Swedish Club Bazaar near Lake Union. The building is high on a hill overlooking Seattle on Lake Union. The building has a wrap-around balcony on the second floor so I asked Bjorn, my husband to escort me out to take some urban Arial shots of the lake and of the city. I was given some audio description of the views and panorama. After asking some contextual questions I set about making some decisions for shots.

Vine maple leaves with sunlight coming through from the sky.

The day was one of those typical gray, NW settings. I found the noise levels of the area disorienting and had to concentrate carefully on my posture and holding the camera ever so still. I was very happy it wasn't windy as the wind truly adds another level of disorientation which would have made my ability to keep my horizon upright impossible. Perhaps these are things sighted people do not think about but they are environmental conditions which do affect my mobility and kinesthetic skills.

Today I reviewed with Tess some of the hard copy prints from the summer. She has finished up her class and received good feedback from her instructors.

A question keeps surfacing. What do I get out of taking the pictures? I have responded in another blog entry... I enjoy the challenge, I enjoy capturing beauty in something tangible. It's fulfilling to discover something aesthetically pleasing, decide how one might frame it, make it even more beautiful if that is even possible and show the world how it moves you. If everything goes right, you can capture the spirit of that beauty at that time, at that moment....even if you are blind.

Tonight I have vowed to "shoot in the dark" again. It's nearly Christmas and I decorated the tree last night, all by myself. My dogs may not be willing subjects but I'm going to give the old college try.

I think I have figured out what I did incorrectly the last time. Not only am I fussy, I possess a great deal of tenacity as well.

For now I bid you adieu.

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.