Carl,
You were born in America and grew up in the area where you ended up seeking
work as a blind person. You had sight as an adult and had jobs before you
became totally blind. You had relationships before you became totally blind.
All of these gave you many advantages that Abdulah doesn't have. He is new
to this country. He is still learning to be proficient in english. He is
totally blind. So it is much more difficult for him to even know what
groups to join, let alone, to be integrated into these groups. I don't know
if there are people in his area of Texas who do the kind of work that Sylvie
does in Seattle, but that's who he needs to connect with, someone who can
help him become more proficient in reading and speaking english and in
finding entry into this society, because being an immigrant and totally
blind in a state which isn't known for its welcoming attitudes toward people
who aren't white Christians, is really hard.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 10:08 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: interesting article by blind photographer
Abdulah, Miriam is correct. Blind people have an easier time finding work
in the social services field, and in particular with government agencies.
But that is not to say that we don't meet with prejudice and
ignorance...maybe that's the same thing. Something I used to promote in my
own Training Center, was the value of connecting with other people.
Volunteer in groups that have exposure to the sort of work you are wanting
to find. Join social action groups. Become involved in political
organizations, church groups, neighborhood work groups, any sort of activity
that is comfortable for you to join, will put you in contact with people who
will learn that your blindness is not going to hold you back. I joined
bowling leagues, social clubs, democratic party politics and blind
organizations in an effort to put myself around people who might help me
connect with a job. I campaigned for a man who ran for Seattle City
Council. He promised me a job, if he won. Too bad he lost.
But seriously, I became known in my neighborhood. I ran and was elected as
precinct committeeman, I sold Fuller Brush door to door, I rang doorbells
for almost every fund raiser that came along. And through my involvement in
the Blind Organization, I met, among many others, Ken Hopkins, and we
became fast friends. When we succeeded in the passage of our Commission for
the Blind bill, Ken was hired as director. He offered me a job. I took it.
I will admit that I had a job by that time, but working in Seattle,
organizing blind people, had more appeal than serving lunch to Spokane
County workers.
While I knew that I had the qualifications to do the work I did at the
Commission for the Blind, I would never have been hired by the past
administration. I had no college degree. I had organized opposition to the
inept administration. I could have been the last unemployed man on Earth,
and they would have hired a Cow.
But what I'm saying is that all of this activity, this volunteer work, this
joining and participating proved to people that I was competent, despite
being blind.
Of course we blind people will have more rejections, more doors slammed in
our faces, than sighted people. But withdrawing is only going to make our
lives more isolated. If I am rejected, I waste no time being angry or hurt.
I turn my back on that closed door and head for the next one. I advised
students to seek out people with whom they could speak frankly, asking what
advice they would give to help find work. People are often more than
flattered by such requests.
There are far, far more opportunities than there are closed doors.
Carl Jarvis
On 8/27/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Abdulah,for it".
It's certainly true that there's discrimination against blind people.
That receptionist was wrong to tell a customer in advance that the
only massage therapist available is blind because she was allowing the
customer to refuse your services on the basis of his or her
prejudices. And it is certainly true that after I received my social
work degree, I had a great deal of difficulty finding a job. It isn't
only in the US that this happens. People all over the world have fears
and prejudices about blind people. But what I meant was that even
though it may be difficult, a blind person is more likely to get a job
as a social worker than in many other fields, certainly much more
likely than as a photographer.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of abdulah aga
Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 6:07 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: interesting article by blind
photographer
Hi Miriam and other list member
Miriam you sad this
can't she get work as a social worker?
you have to know that is not same in every state, every town,
things is different:
like my case, in some state and some town it is very easy get what
people want to, but for other people for some rizents is very hard.
Like me, I am lost any hop for any work, what ever I try its com
something to enable me to do:
even if I have so many training for some work or so on so on, jus one
examples when I took course for massage therapy and I have to do round
300 hours intershift like practical on patient massage, when some call
to ask for massage or to see when he or she can com,
lady who work on front desk each time when some one call she say we
have one guy he is right now free but he is blind!
now when you have some one from other site phone and her it and he or
she didn't have contact with blind people then you can thinks what
reaction is it.
thru this course I learn something what I never didn't thinks that can
happen in USA and I have positive thinks about USA and people's behave
to blind people,
for that time I find out I was rung,
for that time I see how is very hard or almost impossible find job for
blind people or how much is stereo type to disable in USA.
we her talking jus for ordinal people as stereotype but more big
problem is on feel by education people who is job to help or who work
with blind people.
Carle make good exompool when he work for blind
and when was one senator in visit,
when sad you blind people should get what ever you want to, but next
time when was wotting for something about disable he was agenst that,
this is good sine how education people understand blind people and
when they are need to do something then this people do agenst blind
people good understanding.
abdulah hasic.
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 3:06 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: interesting article by blind
photographer
Naturally I wondered the same thing. My guess would be that her
employer was eager to help her out of a job, and she was too
uninformed and traumatized to resist. From time to time we encounter
such people. They felt they could not do the job, even though blind
people were doing the same work elsewhere. By the time they are
referred to us, all doors have been closed.
As an old photographer myself, I would not consider pointing a camera
and clicking to be Art. But for someone with limited vision, someone
who can appreciate general shapes and patterns and shades, I'd say, "go
But if I were looking for a job that paid a living wage, I'd exploresocial worker?
ways of opening doors to the profession I'd been employed in prior to
vision loss.
Then photography would be a relaxing leisure time hobby.
My bet is that this woman lacks the self-confidence and the
information she needs to go back into her former field. I know many
blind people in the social services field who are making a decent
living. I know of none in photography making anything approaching a
living.
Carl Jarvis
Carl Jarvis
On 8/26/15, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Why can't she get work as a social worker? That's one of thelemons.
professions that has been open to blind people. Well, open in a
limited fashion but it's ironic that she says her blindness stopped
her from being a social worker.
As for her photography, I'm glad she's enjoying it. I'm not sure that
what she's doing is art, but it's nice that she's having fun.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl
Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 10:43 AM
To: blind-democracy
Subject: [blind-democracy] interesting article by blind photographer
We can let events get the best of us, like that "poor me" feeling
when we begin losing our sight, or we can make lemonade out of those
pesky
The following article is one about making lemonade. No, I'm notauthor expresses.
suggesting that we all rush out and buy a camera. But we can stop
and look at those things that interest us. And we can explore ways
of modifying them so we can have that feeling of accomplishment that
the
Carl Jarvis
*****
I'm a legally blind photographer. Here's how modern technology makes
that possible.
by
Tammy Ruggles
on July 13, 2015
I was declared legally blind 14 years ago, at the age of 40. I lost
my driver's license and my social work position, for which I had
earned a bachelor's and master's. It was my chosen profession, and I
didn't give it up lightly. When it disappeared, so did some of my
confidence and sense of identity. What was I to call myself if not a
from mine.
I ended up becoming a photographer.
The words "legally blind photographer" don't sound like they should
exist together. Indeed, until recently I didn't think this path was
available to me.
I'd always loved taking pictures, ever since I was a little girl,
snapping shots of my family and pets with the Kodak and Polaroid
cameras my mother always had around.
The author at age 5. (Tammy Ruggles)
But I was born with retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive blinding
disease that deteriorates the retinas over time. And with retinitis
pigmentosa comes night blindness, which meant I couldn't see in a
darkroom to use the chemicals and develop photos, nor could I read
the settings on a camera to shoot manually - all major problems in
the era before digital photography.
So as a teenager I decided, regretfully, to put my love of
photography in a box and leave it alone.
I didn't feel bitter about it. It was just another adjustment I had
to make given the vision problem I had.
The miracle of the digital camera
My condition didn't deter me from enjoying photography in my mind. I
read about photographers like Alfred Stieglitz and Ansel Adams, and
daydreamed about the kind of pictures I would make if I could - not
family snapshots with a disposable camera, but those on the fine art,
creative side of photography.
Maybe a mountain, or a snow-covered field, or an unusually shaped tree.
Definitely landscapes, because I'd grown up with rural scenery all
around me.
Then, in 2013, after I could no longer drive, practice social work,
or sketch drawings, I decided to turn my dream of being a
photographer into a reality.
I had heard so much about how easy point-and-shoot digital cameras
were, and I wanted to try one.
I still have some vision. "Legally blind" doesn't mean completely blind.
Each person's experience is different, but for me it means that
everything I see is extremely blurry - oddly enough, like a camera
lens that is turned so far out of focus that you can't distinguish a
person from a tree, or see where steps begin and end, or where the
restroom door is, or what a person's features look like. I see the
general blurry shape of things, and the closer I am to something, the
better I can determine what it is.
I still have some vision. Everything I see is very blurry - oddly
enough, like an out-of-focus camera lens.
When the camera arrived in the mail, it sat for days unopened. I was
afraid of what people might think or say: "A legally blind
photographer?"
The question I asked myself.
I lost social work. This would be just another thing to lose.
Self-doubt crept in.
But the idea wouldn't leave me alone. And so, with a little nudge
from my son - he actually took the first picture - I picked up the
camera and walked around my backyard with it, snapping the shutter
just to see what I could capture.
When I transferred the images to my 47-inch monitor, I was amazed at
what I couldn't see in my own backyard, but what my camera could:
purplish blueberries
in some brush. Wild pumpkins at the edge of the woods. Individual
brown leaves on a tree (it was fall of that year).
(Tammy Ruggles)
Not only could I take the kind of pictures I'd always wanted to take,
I could see things with my camera that I couldn't see without it,
like it's a second set of eyes. A double gift.
I didn't need a darkroom, because images are "developed" inside the
camera.
I didn't need to read the settings, because I had the camera set on auto.
How I work
I take most of my photos outside, in black and white - I see best in
contrast, plus I've always admired the classic black-and-white style.
Sometimes I
move up close to something of interest while walking, hold the camera
about three or four inches away from it, and snap the shutter.
(Tammy Ruggles)
Other times, I literally point randomly in the direction of blurry
hills and vague shapes of trees, or whatever is out there in the
world, and take a picture.
(Tammy Ruggles)
With landscapes and nature, my vision doesn't have to be perfect. I
can be abstract and make mistakes.
(Tammy Ruggles)
People are more challenging to photograph. I can't tell if someone is
looking at the camera, or if I'm cutting off heads, or centering, or
if the lighting is right or wrong. I can capture someone in a general
way, or a natural way, or in a candid shot, but doing formal
portraits in a studio isn't for me.
I've tried it, but you need better vision to do it well.
Then comes the heart of my work: I take my camera home to my large
monitor to see what I've captured. There's a photography term called
"the decisive moment."
It means knowing when to snap the shutter at the perfect second. My
decisive moments come after I've taken the pictures, when I make my
selections on my big screen. I'm often surprised at the accidental
pictures, like a bird perched in a tree, or power lines that make for
an abstract composition.
(Tammy Ruggles)
I delete many more photos than I keep, and the ones I keep are the
ones I can see best -high contrast, simple composition, and subjects
I can make out fairly well.
I've never had formal photography classes, but I do use the art
education I've had in the past, as well as my years of sketching. I
also learn from my favorite photography "mentors" online, Ted Forbes
and Ibarionex Perello, who both teach the art of photography.
How my low vision affects my art - for the better
If my vision condition is an asset to me as a photographer, it's in
that it's helped define my style. I don't try to set up a photo or
have any preconceived notions about what the picture should look like.
I don't fret over how a shot should look beforehand.
I don't compare notes with other photographers with full vision,
because I already know that their approaches and techniques are
different
They use a viewfinder, and can see details in the subject,
background, and environment they're shooting. They may adjust
settings to their taste.
I don't worry
about how other photographers work; I'm just happy to have found a
way to do my own work with a camera.
I can see things with my camera that I can't see without it, like
it's a second set of eyes
I don't agonize over my art. I snap pictures, then choose the ones I
like.
If I don't have any from the day's shooting that I like, it's okay. I
can always take another picture. And when the day comes that I can't
take pictures this way anymore, because my vision has deteriorated so
much, then I will find a way for that to be okay, too, because I have
a collection of photos that I'm happy with.
I'd like to think that my photography is pretty or interesting, but I
can never really be sure unless someone tells me. I rely on people's
reactions.
It helps me to know how the photo makes others feel. I've had
reactions ranging from "bleak and dreary" to "beautiful." I accept
all of them, because I feel honored to be able to take photos. I've
learned that it's hard to stifle creativity, and that there is more
than one way to express yourself artistically.
I've learned that with the right technology and a shift in
perspective, people can do things they thought impossible.
Tammy Ruggles is a fine-art photographer in Kentucky. You can find
more of her work at her website.
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