[accessibleimage] photography, The Ultimate Gift narration, art, photography

article

What is seeing?
Seeing with Photography Collective <http://www.seeingwithphotography.com> is a New York based group, whose work is a collaboration between visually impaired and sighted photographers.
There are some absolutely stunning <http://www.seeingwithphotography.com/muted_before_eye_chart.html> images <http://www.seeingwithphotography.com/not_the_lighthouse.html> in the photo gallery.
And the technique is explained: Sighted assistants focus and compose the view camera's frame directed by the blind artist. Then, in a darkened room, we leave the camera's shutter open as we slowly paint our sitter with a small flashlight ...human scaled exposures, lasting many minutes, rather than the instant shutter click we typically hear. Luminous distortions, blurred or glowing forms result from the technique, not digital altering. 

http://www.aphotoaday.org/apadnews/2007/08/what_is_seeing.html

article excerpt
08/23/2007
http://www.sltrib.com/valleywest/ci_6699058
ART ACCESS & ACCESS II GALLERIES The First Annual Student Art Show continues along "Feminine Landscapes" a group art show and "Photography in Motion" by Amy Jorgensen at 230 S. 500 West, Suites No. 125 and 120. For information, call 801-328-0703 or visit www.accessart.org. 


excerpt
The Ultimate Gift is presented in anamorphic widescreen <#> (1.85:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include narration for the visually impaired since author Jim Stovall is blind. 
http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/reviews/article_1346813.php/DVD_Review_The_Ultimate_Gift


article

Blind students see more in movie than others might

Sight-impaired kids show how photos can come from heart

By KAZUAKI NAGATA
Special to The Japan Times
YOKOHAMA — Skill and high-quality equipment are not essential for successful photography. In fact, you don't even need to be able to see the subject.
Maho Otsuka, 10, explains a photograph, projected on the screen, she took of her friend. The event Saturday in Yokohama marked an exhibition of photos taken by visually impaired children. Standing at the back is Hiroshi Suga, who organized the exhibition. YOSHIAKI MIURA PHOTO
"What's important is to take pictures with your heart," says Hiroshi Suga, a professional photographer and member of the Japan Professional Photographers Society.
Proving his point, photos by 23 students from the Yokohama City Special Support School for the Visually Impaired are now on show at the "Kids Photographers — They are Geniuses!" exhibition at the Japan Newspaper Museum in Yokohama.
Although more than half of the students are blind and the rest have poor eyesight, they take amazing photos.
The program started in February when Suga hosted a "reach-out-photography" learning program sponsored by the Photographers Society at the Special Support School, which is attended by kindergarten through high school students.
At first, the program's goal was simply to let the students experience photography and exhibit their work at the school festival. But their photos impressed Suga so much that he went on to organize, with help from parents, the exhibition to showcase the students' work.
The exhibition, which began July 3 and runs through Aug. 26, has been drawing large crowds, according to Chang Bo Ye of the museum's planning department.
Suga has also worked to publish 1,000 copies of the program's photo collection. On weekends, the students appear at the exhibition and sign autographs in braille for every visitor who purchases the collection. The original 1,000 are now almost sold out and an extra 700 are in the process of being printed.
Last Saturday, 15 of the students, accompanied by Suga, gathered for a forum to share their photographic experiences with an audience of about 100 people.
Suga told the crowd that many of the students had never used cameras before, and didn't even know how to hold them properly.
"I had to teach them that the side that feels bumpy is the front (of the camera), and where to feel its shutter button," he said.
Once they learned how to use it, each student was given a disposable camera for two weeks and asked to photograph a favorite subject.
Some photographed friends and family members. Others shot scenery, animals or trains. After two weeks, Suga checked the freshly developed pictures and was astonished.
"The first thing that came out of my mouth was 'Wow! They are geniuses!' " Suga said. "In my 40-year career as a photographer, nothing has impressed me that much," because the students took the pictures with their hearts and expressed their feelings articulately through the photographs, he explained while displaying each work on a projector.
For instance, one of the students, Saki Nagai, 9, who was born blind, took a picture of her 1-year-old brother, Shintaro, while he was peacefully asleep at home. The picture was used for the cover of the photo collection. Nagai depended on her brother's breathing to point the camera.
"I thought it really expressed Saki's love for her brother," Suga said of when he first looked at the picture of this cute baby.
During the forum, the smiles never disappeared from the children's faces as they were interviewed by Suga and asked to comment on their photos. Later, they fielded questions from the audience, and when one person asked how they could sense where the subject is, many answered they depend on sound, just like Nagai did.
"I wanted it to be their forum, not mine," Suga said after the event, adding that he has learned a lot from the children. "They made me realize again the importance of taking pictures with your heart."
These past several months have also been valuable for the students. "Although Saki herself can't see the pictures that she took, she really enjoyed taking (them)," said her father, Takeyuki. "It was a whole new thing for her. And she received so many compliments, and the media picked up the students' works. I think it's been a great experience for her."
For another student, Takahiro Tsurui, 14, photography was a new experience as well. "It was harder than I thought," said Tsurui, who shot Odawara Castle in Kanagawa Prefecture because he likes Japanese history. Though it was hard, he said he had fun and wants to continue taking pictures.
The exhibition runs through Aug. 26. More information on the exhibit can be found on the museum's Web site at www.pressnet.or.jp/newspark. Another exhibition will be held at Photo Entrance Hibiya gallery in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, from Aug. 30 to Sept. 12.
Laquana Sango, a junior at the Oklahoma School for the Blind, shakes hands Tuesday with author Jim Stovall after a screening of a narrated version of the movie “The Ultimate Gift” at the Muskogee school. 

5/17/2007
MUSKOGEE -- The Student Council president led the classes in praising a movie they could not clearly see.
High school students at the Oklahoma School for the Blind enjoyed a special screening Tuesday of a narrated version of "The Ultimate Gift" in the school's auditorium.
Alex Myers, a junior at the Oklahoma School for the Blind and president of its Student Council, introduced the writer behind the "The Ultimate Gift" and the creators of the narrated version.
"It's really neat to see what they are doing in technology for the visually impaired with descriptive video," he said. "I've seen some scripted video where the narrator is always talking over the dialogue. This one was good."
Jim Stovall, the author of the book and founder of the Narration Television Network in Tulsa, arranged the screening. More than 50 students and 30 guests attended.
"The Ultimate Gift" follows a young man through a series of obstacles to earn a final inheri- tance. The experience spurs personal growth for the character.
Stovall lost his sight at age 29 due to a hereditary disease of the retina. He has written 12 books and founded the network 19 years ago.
The film was released in March, and the DVD is expected in August. Stovall's company produced the narrated version and asked students for feedback.
Present at the screening were narration scriptwriter Dorothy Thompson, narrator Susan Crane and marketing director Kelly Morrison, who wrote the song "Legacy," which is heard at the end of the film, featuring Tulsa singer Ed Goggin.
Narrative Television produces narrated versions of about 1,000 movies, television shows and educational films every year. It allows visually impaired people to experience the programs. The narration describes facial expres- sions, scene positioning and any- thing that's not in the dialogue but is important to the story.
Students sat through the end credits as the narrator repeated lessons learned by the main character.
Freshman Trey Lewis has read the book twice using Braille and an audio book and attended the non-narrated screenings two times.
"I liked how at the end the narrator just didn't read the credits," Lewis said. "It spoke about the movie. I was excited about this because I wanted to see how they did the audio with the movie. It was well-done, because usually there is talking over the scenes."
Stovall told the students: "You guys should commit yourselves to being readers. A lot of people think being able to read is all about sight. Before I lost my sight, I don't think I ever finished a book. But in the last 19 years, I've read more books than anyone I know."
Stovall spoke with students about the filming of the movie, including his cameo as a limousine driver.
"Somehow, there is poetic justice with the blind guy driving the limo," he joked. 

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070517_1_A7_HAMWo76082

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