Can a Blind Person Photograph a Wedding?

Last week I attended a seminar with a professional photographer about the business side of wedding photography.
There were lots of young hopeful budding entrepeneurs there and they probably found something useful.
My problem with photography is that I see it more as a tool for social and personal  change and enjoyment and expression than as a money making exercise.
Hence I have never become rich on earnings from photography and never will be.
It was mentioned during the seminar how amazed the studio was  when a blind person ordered a substantial number of expensive prints.
There was a purpose in that story relevant to the night but it made my mind wander(it often does) back to an  article I had read some years ago about people who were blind doing photography.
The people I read about at the time told how they could take pictures while on holidays and come back and share their snaps with family and friends.
Just like sighted people.
It gave them a sense of belonging,normalcy and well being.
So my mind quickly raced to thinking in this day and age with the marvels of modern technology could a blind person photograph a wedding?
I decided they could to a certain extent but would need some assistance and would more likely be the second shooter.
Bear in mind that not all people who are legally blind have no sight at all.
After all there are blind cricket teams that enjoy playing cricket.
So I googled blind wedding photorapher and eventually came to the website below.
These are some wonderful free resources.

http://www.photovoice.org/shop/info/methodology-series

Here I found an amazing organisation that is based in the UK  and has run workshops on how to use photography to enable marginalised groups of people to find a voice and creative outlet for self expression and personal  growth.

These include:

Young refugees

Vunerable Women

Blind People

I find the reports and how to's very well presented and would encourage people who are photographers and have a sense of social conscience to explore this website and other similar organisation they are linked to.
I find this subject compliments my previous posts on Phototherapy and Using Your Camera for God.

http://geoffthompsonsblog.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/phototherapy.html

http://geoffthompsonsblog.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/using-your-camera-for-god.html

So congratulations Photovoice and have a go photographers.

I would be pleased to hear from any who have been involved in this type of work.

 9/12/15 Have just added a link to a docco on blind photographers.

https://fstoppers.com/documentary/beautiful-behind-scenes-video-offers-insight-how-blind-photographers-work-101989

Images that lift your spirits.

I have just been looking at Steve Parrish's Webpage.
https://www.steveparish-natureconnect.com.au/about-steve-parish/
He is without doubt a National Australian Treasure.His images are just amazing and inspiring.
I thought I would just share some of my own favourites.

Glenelg Jetty and approaching storm

Wedgetailed Eagle near lake Merreti South Australia

Bark on Eucalyptus tree

Blue Wren Tidbinbilla ACT

Reflections Port Augusta South Australia

Nursing home cat on the prowl,Old Reynella, South Australia

Saltwater Crocodile, Adelaide River Northern Territory

"Ta Ta" Lizard, Edith Falls NT

Roadside Architecture, Country Victoria

Well weathered bush Freeling South Australia

The lads and the car

Chapman River Kangaroo Island

Chapman River Kangaroo Island,Paper Bark Tree

Chapman River Kangaroo Island

Chapman River Kangaroo Island

Daybreak at Penneshaw Kangaroo Island

Swan ,Lake Merreti, Riverland South Australia

Contra Jour Eucalyptus leaf

Contra Jour Eucalyptus leaf

Seaweed, Glenelg beach South Australia

Sunset from balcony at Merino South Australia

Sealink at Penneshaw Jetty Kangaroo Island

Backwaters in the Riverland SA

Bush Stone Curlew, East Point Darwin NT

View from "Window on the Wetland" NT

Stuart Highway Outback Australia

Wedgetailed Eagle Central Australia

Red Sand Dune Central Australia

"Written in the Wind" Central Australia

Feral Camel, Central Australia

Zebra Finches, Kings Canyon Central Australia

Wedgetailed Eagle Central Australia

Near "the Breakaways" Coober Pedy South Australia

The end of the road, Breakaways

"two Dogs" at the Breakaways

the Breakaways

Approaching Adelaide

From the Wayside Chapel by Graham Long

Dear Inner Circle,

Sitting in the warming morning sun on Sunday out the front of our building, two young women walked past. Both looked like they'd just had a busy night and had not yet slept. Both women would have been in their late teens or early twenties. Both were very pretty. One had pale skin with a short skirt that revealed lovely legs. She wore a long blond wig. Although her face was pretty, there was something quite sad about it. The other young woman was also pretty but she looked like she'd been spray painted. I'm sure she looked glamorous in the context for which she had herself spray painted but in the bright light of Sunday morning, she looked a bit like a person with cancer in the liver, just before they die. Her very pretty face was heavily made up and on her eyelids were stuck little plastic shiny things that my grandchildren would call, "treasure". They walked right past me and then spray paint girl stopped, came back and sat beside me. "I reckon you could pray for me," she said. "Are you feeling a bit burdened?" I asked. "What would I be burdened about?" she said with an annoyed tone. I said, "Well, to be young and pretty can be a burden". Her mood changed and she poured her heart out right there on our front bench. She finished by saying, "I wish I was old and fat and ugly and then no-one would hit on me ever again." I held her bright orange hand and prayed, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength" and said the blessing of Aaron and when I finished she said, "That was really cool" and she joined her friend who was waiting about ten feet away and they walked toward the main drag of Kings Cross.

Yesterday, OPSM sent a team of about 11 or 12 people who set up in our community hall and tested people's eye sight all day. I discovered that the man who initiated this incredible gift is a member of this inner circle. One of the technicians told me that about 80% of the people they tested needed help. One of the people they treated more or less lives in an old car and they told me that he was as blind as a bat and no one could believe that he was driving on our roads. When I popped into the hall I was very moved to see people whose stories I know, actually acting to improve their life and health in this way. Thank you, OPSM.

Claudia Karvan told me that she's working along side David Wenham. I forget what the project is but I'm a bit happy to think that two of this country's finest actors, both Wayside ambassadors, will be working together. You would think that one of them would find an opportunity for an unscripted sneeze where instead of saying, "Achoo" they said, "Wayside"! OK, not all my ideas are practical.

There is a darling lady whom I call, Saint Interuptus who for years has attended our little church service on Sundays. She constantly interjects in the service but with good humour and sometimes with great insight. She's become too frail to even walk from my car door to the front door of Wayside and so we've missed her in recent months. Just to keep us humble though, the Almighty has brought us another lovely woman who constantly interjects, not with the same humour as Saint Interuptus but with about 10 times the volume. I call her, Our Lady of Loud. When we pray the Our Father, she particularly objects to the phrase, "Lead us not into temptation" and we get a loud interjection on that every week. This week, I told her to listen more carefully and she'll hear that we are praying, "Lead us not to Tempe Station." It's a prayer about not catching the wrong train. Our Lady of Loud is a sweet lady. She's alive and she's here and she wants everyone to know and without a doubt she is making our lives richer. She has a beautiful heart and literally weeps for people who suffer around the world.

Four or five years ago I was part of some dreaming that said that one day we'd build a building where the community would want to come and be involved with Wayside. We were serious about our dreaming although it did feel a little like a "one day I'll own a Ferrari" type vision. Last Sunday, 35 members of the community spent a good while in our rooftop garden as part of an urban food safari hosted by Wayside ambassador Indira Naidoo and Tim Peterson from Cafe Dov. So many people thanked Wayside for being a part of their community and something of which they are proud.  I don't think there are many times in life when you can have a dream and live long enough to see it embodied before your eyes but Sunday was such a day. A big thanks to Indira and Tim for organising the event and raising over $2500 for Wayside. You can see photos from the day here.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, we have an information night tonight at 6pm. You'll hear an overview of what we do and the roles available for volunteers. You can register to attend by filling out this online form. The people on the front desk will direct you to the fourth floor and you'll be on your way in 90 minutes maximum.

Another busy week and another opportunity to thank you for taking time to read about our work. Thanks for being part of this inner circle,

Graham

Rev Graham Long
Pastor and CEO
The Wayside Chapel
Kings Cross
http://www.thewaysidechapel.com/


 Protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information is important to us, as it is fundamental to the way we operate. All information is kept in the strictest confidence and is stored in a password secure database. Levels of access to information are determined by an authorised employee's specific need to do their job. Personal information collected by The Wayside Chapel is never sold or passed on in any way, shape or form to any other organisation or non-authorised person for any purpose. If you would like to seek access to, or revise your personal information or feel that the information we currently have on record is incorrect or incomplete, or you believe that the privacy of your personal information has been interfered with, please contact us. Our appointed Privacy Officer is Laura Watts laura.watts@thewaysidechapel.com

"Nessie's Cousin"

Here is a genuine Loch Ness type monster alive and well for many years in South Australia.

The locals call it Loch Eel after the nearby town,Lochiel.

Murray Sunset National Park

My late father in law ,Dudley Foweraker, was an amazing self taught naturalist.
He was an expert on  Australian native trees and plants,Australian Birds,Conversation and The River Muurray.
For many years he ran his own successful Nursery business.
He lived in Renmark South Australia all his life.
There is a plaque in Renmark on the bank of the Murray River recognising his services to the community ,particularly in the conservation work, and as a consultant to many on trees and birds and plants of the Riverland.
As a keen photographer and birdwatcher it was always a pleasure and education to go out bush with Dud, sometimes just him and me, and other times with our family and friends.
We didn't use four wheel drives just ordinary vehicles , but we covered a lot of territory.
I would often have a small tape recorder running while we drove through the bush as Dud would give a running commentary on everything we saw.
I usually took photos and sometimes movies.
There are some pictures  here from some of these trip.

The Murray Sunset National Park  is a very large National Park  in Victoria.
We were in the area near the Lindsay Creek not far from the South Australian  border.
This particular part of the park had once been a sheep station.
See also my recent post on Mallee Tracks.

The power of a storm

This tank is similar to some on the Park but they did not have water in them where we went.

Dud reckoned this was a very impressive mallee tree

The other side of the above Mallee tree

My flash brings out the rich colour of the tree trunk

This shady spot with hollows in the sand was a place where kangaroos had obviously been sheltering from the noonday sun.

These trees had been uprooted by strong wind gusts

Red Kangaroo

Venturing off the track,can be dicey if you get bogged.

Galahs in flight

There are deadly snakes in this region

These long tracks criss cross the park

Old Pine Tree