Carl,
Your suggestions don’t always have anything approaching the desired effect.
It’s a different time, place, and socio/economic/political climate.
And for another thing, it depends on who you meet, whether or not you become
best friends as you did with the man you mentioned who was in some kind of
position with some kind of pull.
I think as often as not, one is met with the “you’re so amazing, you’re so
wonderful, how on earth do you cook, feed yourself, put your shoes on the right
feet and find your way home at night” attitude, but for all how amazing you
are, what you are not is included, treated as competent, no matter how often
you prove yourself by doing a million things, and doing them well. You’re still
shunted aside, it is tacitly, never spoken, that as a blind person, you can not
possibly be an equal, let alone outstanding participant. Your volunteer
activities will be limited to the blunt scissors and isolation of the presumed
incompetent, no matter what your abilities, and no matter how often you
demonstrate what you are indeed capable of. It just serves to increase the wow
factor in how amazing you are.
Now that I”ve spewed my cynicism, I will say I suppose it’s still worth a try,
due to the uncertainty factors I mentioned, but don’t get your hopes up too
high.
Alice
On Aug 27, 2015, at 10:08 AM, Carl Jarvis <carjar82@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
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,
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 for it".
But if I were looking for a job that paid a living wage, I'd explore 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 Jarvisfrom mine.
*****
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 social worker?
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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