photography with a disability

[sam walker]

I'm curious of anyone in the group is photographing with a disability. I'l start the thread. I suffered a stroke `14 yrars ago at 39 yrs . My left hand was paralysed . The left leg didn't do well either. The left eye remained well. After all that medicine would allow the final treatment was walk as soon as possible. The left leg recovered to a degree without the foot. I walked my *** off even if was slow and awkward. Mostly suburban sidewalks. Very boring. I did live by a forest with a river. I decided walking along trails with roots and rocks would make me work harder. **** if this area wasn't full of birds, I starterd with binoculars and a field guide . I was lucky to qualify for social security and retire. I came from a graphic arts backround Nature, Photography was always an interest. Most cameras were controlled by the right hand. Digital photo eliminated two hand film loading. . No need for manual focusing with the left hand Autofocus solved that . Get to the woods find the bird Make it the target. Bust your tail moving in on it and capture. Bird photography drives me A great deal If I'm not in the field hunting with the camera I notice the decline in walking. . in conclusion it's about going for a target to pull you along. The mind keeps active with finding the bird and the technical exercise with running the camera. Not all disabled people can do it A right hand and left eye are needed . The rest is the desire. I foound it to be a good therapy.
No boo hoo here just cururious if others are doing it with less than able bodies
good sightings,
Sam

[James Shadle]

A good friend - Paul from the Miami shoots from a wheel chair. He has a mono pod mounted on the chair.
He goes pretty much any place the chair will. Paul has even shot from his chair on my boat.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Not me Sam, but I certainly loved reading about your determination and passion in pursuit of this wonderful craft! Kings to you :cheers: and welcome aboard BPN by the way. I left you a message on your intro thread.


Looking forward to seeing your images mate! :)

[Paul Guris]

My wife has Lupus and is disabled. She can certainly walk, drive, and generally function, but at a greatly reduced and often inconsistent level depending upon how she feels on any given day. I introduced her to birding 23 years ago and we did some crazy chases in our earlier days (like driving 21 hours to and from Florida in a 3 day weekend for a rarity), but have had to slow down more and more as the years have passed.

We now carefully pick our places and pace when it comes to birding. Easy access, level walking, and of course cooperative birds are all important. If it's cold or even cool, her circulation problems required that we have a warm place she can retreat to. Taking up photography has been a very natural fit with our slower pace of birding, and it's added a new dimension to our days out.

[Rob Miner]

Hi Sam, I have been disabled since 1987 - heart disease. My disability is not as severe as those that have inoperable hands, legs or other. Mostly I suffer from lost of physical capability. I started my photography after the ailment. Needed to learn photography and decided that bird photography would give me more chances per day to learn than a walk in the wild for landscapes . Chose a trip to Brownsville, Texas to start the adventure. I have been hooked since. I do not have the longest lens nor are they available to me, so I chose blindes, automobile blindes and enlarging a home birding area. I went back to College a short time ago and learned what I could about computers and Photoshop - mostly it has been a self educated process with the help of BNP and it members.

I was recently asked why I was into the photographing of birds as I had not tried to sell or enter a contest. My answer was I had spent a business life time trying in vain trying to satisfy everybody else - I now photograph birds and look at the efforts of the membership just to enjoy, because I use to take all of it for granted. :)

Rob..................

[sam walker]

thank you all for your replies. Glad to see others are using bird photo to keep them moving and engaged Never worry about slow locomotion. In a crowd I'm always hanging in the back. I'm sometimes getting more birds than my abled bodied mates. I'm moving past those shorelines slower. My gait makes me move carefully so as to not trip. The camera has me searching for those view windows in the reeds and brush. So there can be an up side to being pokey.
Never quit.:)
Sam

[Paul Guris]

As a long-term and serious birder I've noticed one other thing, Sam. I'm starting to see marks that didn't really hit me before when I review my photos. There's quite an advantage to having infinite time, a massive image on a nice big monitor, zoom abilities you can't get in the field, and a comfy environment when looking over a bird. It's really neat when you notice something new in a highly familiar species or when you can ID .

Of course not as neat as finding a tree frog hitching a ride on a woodpecker (http://www.burdr.com/2010/01/frog-on-a-bird/)! This is something that could easily be passed over as a tumor or feather damage in the field. Having a photo not only allowed this to be noticed but also to be shared.

[David Gancarz]

See http://www.naturephotographers.net/pm0900-1.html
Dr. Peter May is a Biology professor at Stetson University. I have never had the pleasure of meeting him. He is relentless in his pursuit of the science of biology and photography.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Sam,
Can't say that I know anyone......but glad to meet you and great to know that you are out there busting your *** too!!! I know a few places such as Gatorland and the Alligator Farm in Florida will provide you access and great ops......as will Wako, Green Cay and the Anhinga Trail for places with good access......so when it is peak season down in the Sunshine State....remember James's boat.....and the other great locations available to you!:cheers:

[Joe Austin]

Sam,

Last year, surgery for a brain tumor followed by a stroke this Feb. has left me with bilateral hemianopia (loss of the outer half of the field of vision in each eye). I just tried to do photography a couple weeks ago for the first time since the operation. Only seeing half the view finder at one time certainly presents some challenges, but I still enjoyed it immensly and can't see giving it up. Fortunately, photography isn't a race and we can do it at our own pace.

[Neil Roux]

Yip I am a disabled photographer.I have Muscular Distrophy.I enjoy bird photography immensely!!A family member usualy have to help me to mount my Sigma 50-500+Canon 50D because of the weight.Use a monopod or self made stand clamped with manfrotto 035 Superclamps.Yes I am also out there busting my chops in the hot South African sun photographing birds(on farm)or a family place next to the Kruger National Park.Using a wheelchair has its positives.To sit next to a dam or pond is less tiring...

I use a window mount(made by my dad)with a gimbal head when photographing from a vehicle.Use a remote release with the camera cause I cant keep my arm there before it tires.So I just put my right hand on my lens's tripod mount beneath the lens where the finger grooves is.So I just move the gimbal in direction I want to shoot at and use my left hand with the remote to shoot.Works great for me.Keep my right hand there while driving around in a vehicle(my dad do the driving)when I am in Kruger or so.So when I see something I am quick in action.Have to say I hate ball heads.Ball heads is not made for disabled people....

[Tony Whitehead]

Keep up the good work Neil - sounds like you have adapted well to your challenges. I agree a ball head would not be a good option!

[sam walker]

Thanks Neil Keep shooting under sunny African skies. I've been advised for years to shoot wirh a tri or monopod. I'm not ever going to do it I just can't thread the pod to the body. I could get help at times. The pod to me is an anchor. Be sure the bird will move either fly,dive or walk away. I want to swing the camera. Movement for sure is death to focus. Focus improves with shutter speed. Since I'm 100% handheld I shoot Shutter Priority. At 1/200+ on sunny days I can usualy overcome my movement shake Always willing to set my elbow on my knee as a brace when possible. It's a strange arrangement but then so am I.
Sam

[Luc Hosten]

I also had a stroke some twenty years ago so the determination shown in the recovery phase strikes a chord. I also remember walking back to health and collecting golf balls in the bushes on a golf course for a few months. I was lucky and managed to recover almost fully except for a weakness on the right hand side - maybe that is why I tend to always shoot with long lenses on a tripod to avoid camera shake. It also lead to a greater appreciation of the environment and an aversion to rushing things. My other disability is colour vision deficiency with greens and red but I see this as an advantage as I am very careful with colour in images and look more at tone and contrast than other people. The colour problem made it impossible to print colour and sometimes I get the reds and greens completly wrong in photoshop.

[Neil Roux]

Thanks Sam.I try to improve my setup all the time to make things abit easier.The only problem with my setup is when I move around(driving the wheelchair)the lens is abit top heavy.Will one day get a Canon 400mm 5.6L or a 100-400 because they are lighter.Will be very far in the future though because I cant afford one(very expensive in SA)

I have wondered how good a Quick Action Harness(google it) will work for me.Look like a good setup.Would realy like other ideas from fellow photographers.Yes setting up a tripod with a heavy lens,while sitting down is not easy at all.Can be a challenge in itself.