Adventures in photography

Living with a disability all these years has been an interesting existence. I've gone down many paths filled with several twists and turns along the way. I've met some fantastic people along my journey as well. Luckily I still count many of these folks as my friends and sadly some have gone out of my life through the passage of time. My regrets are few and my disability has given me a unique perspective on life.

The most troubling thing to me about living with a progressive disease is the lack of recreational outlets. For many the desire is there but finding creative solutions is a significant barrier. Well in the next several months, I'll be looking to turn the tables on this trend as I delve into some new adaptive recreational opportunities. My first foray will be into the world of adaptive photography.

Photography has always been something I've wanted to do but the how has always been the barrier. This changed recently when I paid the folks at MonTech a visit. MonTech is a state program that provides support in all kinds of areas relating to Assistive Technology. Chris and Whitney over there showed me this awesome camera mount which attaches right to my wheelchair. It got me excited to see that I could have a camera brought up to my eye level. I ordered the mount and now have a major piece of the puzzle solved.

A big hurdle though has been figuring out how to activate the shutter. Nikon makes remote shutter releases but they are unfortunately too hard for me to push. I've been discussing these issues with fellow DMDer Scott Sands. Scott has been a great resource and he's been doing adaptive photography for a little while now. Thanks man for your advice and willingness to listen! I'm currently working on getting this issue solved and things are looking good. Tonight may have been a breakthrough moment though. I found a company in Arizona that makes bite switches for skydiving photographers. I'll be anxious to see if this will be workable for my needs.

Well now for the biggest decision, the camera. After much research and contemplation, I've decided to purchase the Nikon D5000. The Nikon D5000 is great starter DSLR and has all the features I'll probably ever need. It also has an awesome multi angle screen that will come in very handy for me. I should get it just in time for the photography class I've signed up for.

Hopefully I'm well on my way to being successful in adaptive photography. This may be quite useful in my journalistic pursuits but my main goal is to get out there and have fun. Just because you have a disability doesn't mean you should miss out. It may require some ingenuity but that is all part of the journey.

Peace...Mark